Leonardo da Vinci designed a parachute in 1485 that could slow a person's descent from a great height.
His drawing shows a pyramid-shaped wooden frame covered with linen cloth. Leonardo specified a structure about 7.2 metres high and 7.2 metres wide, giving the canopy a substantial surface area to resist falling air.
The design was theoretical rather than a documented working flight. It appeared in the Codex Atlanticus, a major collection of Leonardo's notes and drawings. Centuries later, parachutists tested reconstructed versions, including a full-scale pyramid design.
Leonardo's parachute is often confused with his aerial screw, which was intended as a vertical-lift machine. The parachute had the opposite purpose: it was meant to descend safely, not climb.