Page 203 of DATE
The human body weight would be the greatest resistance, and besides, the wings couldn't possibly be made of common linen.
"But," she turned to look at him, smiling as she winked, "I could make something similar for you to see."
One of her past acquaintances had been an airplane designer.
He had tried to improve the performance of airplanes but always believed the wings should be split into an elliptical shape, since old design sketches were always like that.
"No..." she had replied at the time. "Do you think birds' wings are placed like that?"
Whether seagulls or robins, their wings are both curved and angled backward.
At that time, people had no understanding of aerodynamics, and their knowledge of many things was still in the early stages.
But in the end, her viewpoint was proven correct—
The wings, based on her insight, were redesigned into a"∧" shape, and this resulted in a significant improvement in speed and fuel efficiency.
Hedy took out a piece of paper, ready to explain the specific principles behind it.
"Ah... where’s my pen?"
She had a habit of organizing everything neatly, and she was quite methodical in her system of categorization and tidying up.
The red ruby pen they had bought at the antique market should have been in this wooden box.
However, the box held several other pens, but the one he had given her was nowhere to be found.
Hedy instinctively fiddled with the other pens in the box, then began flipping through the small newspapers and books on the table, searching. The pen seemed to have vanished without a trace, as if it had evaporated into thin air.
"Could you have taken it out last time?" Leonardo stood up to help her search in corners and under the cabinets, looking puzzled. "I saw it just yesterday."
"No, I don't take it out casually."
It was worth forty gold coins, after all.
Hedy sighed, thinking that she might have just forgotten due to being busy, and waved her hand dismissively. "Maybe when Dechio organizes the room in a couple of days, it'll turn up. It’s not important."
She picked up another pen and began to show him the design for the glider and the small airplane's structure.
The word "plane" in Old Latin meant "to make... smooth," and also referred to a planer.
Hedy forcefully connected it to the idea of a flying machine and then explained the relationship between power and weight.
"If it's a pedal-powered tool, the force generated by the wings flapping wouldn't be enough to lift a person, let alone take them into the air." Hedy explained, "Unless you use stronger, more flexible wings, but then only someone like a strongman could pull it off."
"And the strongman's own weight would increase," she added.
"Right," she took a sip of orange juice, and began sketching a rough draft on the side.
"I don’t understand... Why can birds fly?"
"Because..." Hedy paused, then suggested, "How about we dissect a bird and see?"
Leonardo couldn't help but laugh. "Alright."
They bought a pigeon, carefully had it decapitated, and began plucking its feathers. In the afternoon sun, they proceeded to remove its internal organs and skin.
The little boy returned, holding a bouquet and some newspapers, and greeted the two of them in the yard with a polite smile.
