Leonardo da Vinci designed a parachute for a controlled descent from a height, centuries before modern parachutes.
His 1485 Codex Atlanticus sketch shows a pyramid-shaped linen canopy supported by a wooden framework. Leonardo estimated that a person could jump safely using the device, provided the structure was large enough. The design was never known to have been built in his lifetime.
The drawing is important because it applies air resistance to a practical safety device. Leonardo did not describe a fabric parachute packed into a container, as modern parachutes are; his concept was a rigid, open framework with cloth stretched over it.
In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas built and tested a full-scale version based on the sketch. It descended successfully, although Nicholas used a modern parachute for the final part of the landing because the historical design was difficult to steer and land safely.