Leonardo da Vinci designed a parachute to let a person travel safely downward from the sky.
Around 1485, Leonardo sketched a pyramid-shaped canopy supported by wooden poles. His notes described a structure about 7.2 metres high and 7.2 metres wide, covered with linen cloth. The design used a rigid frame rather than the flexible fabric canopies common in modern parachutes.
Leonardo did not record building or testing this parachute. The concept was nevertheless an important early study of controlled descent, because it recognized that a broad canopy could create enough air resistance to slow a falling person. Modern parachutes use different materials and construction, so Leonardo’s drawing should not be confused with a ready-to-use modern parachute.
In 2000, the British adventurer Adrian Nicholas built and tested a full-size replica based on Leonardo’s measurements. The replica descended successfully, although Nicholas used a modern safety parachute as a precaution. The experiment demonstrated the aerodynamic plausibility of the old design, not that Leonardo had personally tested it.