What kind of parachute did Leonardo da Vinci sketch with a pyramid-shaped frame?

Leonardo da Vinci sketched a pyramidal parachute with a rigid triangular frame and a cloth canopy.

His drawing appears in the Codex Atlanticus and is usually dated to around 1485. The design has a wooden frame shaped like a pyramid, with linen stretched across its sides. Leonardo proposed it as a way for a person to descend safely from a height.

The concept was centuries ahead of practical parachuting, but it was not tested by Leonardo. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas built and tested a full-scale version based on the drawing. He reported that it descended steadily, although he used a modern parachute for the final part of the landing for safety.

Leonardo’s design is not the same as the circular parachutes commonly associated with modern sport parachuting. Its distinctive feature is the pyramid-shaped canopy and supporting frame.