The Vatican Sabotage of the Flying Machine

The Vatican Sabotage of the Flying Machine

Date: 1496–1499

Story:
While in Milan, Leonardo secretly designed and tested a human-powered flying machine, inspired by bat wings and birds of prey. He crafted models using silk, wood, and wire—storing them in a hidden workshop atop the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent.
But news of his flying ambitions leaked. The idea of man attempting to soar like an angel—or a demon—alarmed Dominican inquisitors stationed in Milan under Papal authority. They accused Leonardo of violating the “order of nature.”
Documents suggest the Church attempted to sabotage his workshop, sending spies under the guise of confession and even replacing materials with inferior ones. A test flight, conducted at night with Leonardo’s assistant (possibly Tommaso Masini) ended in a near-fatal crash into the convent garden.
Masini broke his leg, and the machine was confiscated. Fearing Church reprisals, Leonardo abandoned flight for years. The blueprints were hidden among his Codex sheets and only rediscovered in the 19th century.
To this day, some believe the Vatican covered up early aviation breakthroughs that challenged divine hierarchy.

Key Characters:

Leonardo da Vinci
Tommaso Masini (test pilot and assistant)
Dominican Inquisitors
Cardinal Ascanio Sforza

Reference:

Codex on the Flight of Birds by Leonardo da Vinci

Vatican letters, Milan Diocese, 1497
The Invention of the Flying Machine by Domenico Laurenzi