Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute with a triangular cloth canopy in the late fifteenth century.
His drawing shows a pyramid-shaped canopy supported by a wooden frame. Leonardo wrote that a person could jump from a great height while protected by a linen structure measuring about 12 braccia on each side and 12 braccia in height. A braccio was a historical unit whose exact length varied by place and period.
Leonardo’s parachute was an engineering proposal rather than a documented successful flight. The rigid frame would have been extremely heavy by modern standards, and there is no evidence that Leonardo tested it. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas made a replica based on the drawing and reported that it descended successfully, although he used a modern parachute for the final landing.
The sketch is significant because it applies a clear aerodynamic principle: a broad canopy increases air resistance and slows a falling body. Modern parachutes use flexible fabric, suspension lines, and harnesses instead of Leonardo’s wooden pyramid.