What device did Leonardo da Vinci sketch as a conical parachute?

Leonardo da Vinci sketched a conical parachute. His design used a pyramid-shaped canopy supported by a wooden frame and was intended to slow a person’s descent from a height.

The drawing appears in the Codex Atlanticus, a large collection of Leonardo’s notes and diagrams. Leonardo wrote that a person could jump from a considerable height while carrying a structure made from tightly woven cloth and supported by poles.

His parachute was a theoretical design rather than a documented working device. Modern parachutes use flexible canopies, suspension lines, and harnesses, while Leonardo’s proposal depended on a rigid frame. The basic principle, however, was recognizable: air resistance beneath a broad surface would reduce falling speed.

In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nichols built and tested a modernized version of the design. The experiment showed that the concept could work, although the original frame would have been heavy and difficult to control.