Emanuel Swedenborg’s Glider Sketch

1714 sketch of a flying machine by Emanuel Swedenborg from one of his notebooks. The design is essentially a combination of a glider and ornithopter, with two paddles meant to keep the machine in the air.

The earliest examples of flying machines are from one of two sources. The first are fictional sources, such as myths or epics, and the second are exploratory sketches from great thinkers of their time, such as Leonardo da Vinci. The sketch above is an example of the latter, and it was sketched in 1714 by Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish polymath known for his theological works. The design is a combination of a glider and an ornithopter, and he sketched it in one of his notebooks with full knowledge that it could never fly.

We have two accounts of the Swedenborg glider, both from the man himself. The first is the notebook sketch pictured above, and the second is a published written account of the machine, without an image. The published account is from his scientific journal Daedalus Hyperboreus, and it was published in 1716 under the title “Sketch of a Machine for Flying in the Air.”

The design combines the functions of a glider and an ornithopter. A large, elliptical frame is covered with a canvas material in order to allow the machine to glide. At the center is a small basket in which a pilot would sit, flanked by two oar-like wings that would flap up and down. The wings were designed so that the up-stroke would meet to resistance and the down-stroke would provide lift. We don’t have a view of the bottom, but in the sketch below there is an idea of landing gear springing from below the pilot’s basket.

Swedenborg was aware that the machine wouldn’t be able to fly, but he hoped it would be a starting point for further study when technology was more advanced. Here’s a quote from the article outlining his thoughts:

It seems easier, however, to talk of such a machine than to put it into actuality; for it requires greater force and less weight than exists in the human body. The science of mechanics might perhaps suggest a means, viz. a strong spiral spring. If these advantages and requisites are observed, perhaps in time to come some one might know better how to utilize our sketch and cause some addition to be made so as to accomplish that which we can only suggest.[1]

Sketch of the Swedenborg Glider from the 1910 International Swedenborg Congress. It’s a copy of Swedenborg’s original sketch, showing a bit more detail.[1]

This self-awareness speaks to the innate human need for verticality. Swedenborg knew he didn’t have the means or the knowledge to achieve heavier-than-air flight, and the human body alone wouldn’t be enough. Still, he kept the dream alive and decided to think about the problem even though he knew he couldn’t personally achieve it. He was right, of course, and the quest for human flight would continue through the years.

Read more about other ideas for flying machines here.


[1]: Transactions of the International Swedenborg Congress. London: The Swedenborg Society, 1910. 45-46.