Leonardo da Vinci’s pyramid-shaped design proposed a parachute to slow a person’s fall.
The sketch appears in the Codex Atlanticus and shows a large pyramidal canopy supported by a wooden framework. Leonardo wrote that a person could jump from a great height while protected by a structure about seven metres high and twelve metres wide. The design used the resistance of air to reduce the speed of descent.
Leonardo did not build or test the parachute, and the drawing predates modern parachutes by several centuries. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas constructed and tested a replica based on Leonardo’s measurements; it descended successfully, although Nicholas used a modern parachute for the final part of the landing because the replica could not be steered safely.
The design is often called an early parachute, but it was not a compact fabric canopy like later parachutes. Its rigid pyramid frame is the feature that distinguishes it.