Leonardo da Vinci’s 1485 parachute design used a pyramid-shaped supporting frame.
His drawing shows a large linen canopy stretched over a rigid wooden framework. The pyramid was intended to keep the fabric open as a person descended, while ropes connected the structure to the passenger. Leonardo estimated that the device could let someone descend safely from a considerable height.
The design is often called an early parachute, although it was never tested by Leonardo and was not built in Renaissance Italy. Its practicality was debated for centuries because the heavy wooden frame could have made the descent dangerous. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas constructed and tested a version based on Leonardo’s notes; it descended successfully, though he landed with a modern parachute for safety.
Leonardo’s design was not a modern parachute: it had no compact canopy, suspension lines arranged like those of later parachutes, or control system. Its importance lies in showing a systematic attempt to solve the problems of air resistance and controlled descent.