Leonardo da Vinci’s 1485 design was a parachute intended to slow a person’s descent.
His sketch shows a pyramid-shaped wooden frame covered with linen cloth. Leonardo wrote that a person could jump from a great height while protected by a structure about 12 braccia wide and 12 braccia deep. The design used drag rather than powered flight: air resistance would oppose the fall.
Leonardo’s parachute was never tested in his lifetime. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas built and tested a replica, reporting that it descended successfully, although he used a modern parachute for the final landing because the rigid replica could be difficult to control.
The design is sometimes called the first parachute concept, but Leonardo did not invent the practical parachutes used today. Later parachutes adopted flexible canopies, suspension lines, and systems for steering and deployment.