Aerial Propeller

One of the great scientists in history of STEM is Leonardo da Vinci, so I thought it would be appropriate to build his famous invention - the Aerial Propeller. The mechanics are simple, turn the handle and the top rotates. Even though it does not leave the ground, it is still a fun model, and you can challenge your friends in a discussion of why it will not work. It is actually not because of the aerial propeller itself, how inefficient it may be; it produces lift when rotated quickly enough. The principle has recently been tested on a drone with success.

It was quite challenging to design this model, especially the spiralling sail, but I am quite satisfied with the result. The plates rotate a few degrees around the pin hole in the vertical pole and connects to each other on the outside rim of the sail - without stressing any bricks and still quite sturdy. Another challenge was of course the limit of 250 bricks. The model consists of 249 bricks including the minifigure Leonardo!