Leonardo da Vinci designed a pyramid-shaped parachute to slow a person’s descent.
His parachute sketch appears in the Codex Atlanticus and shows a rigid pyramid-like frame covered with fabric. Leonardo proposed a structure about 7.2 metres high and 7.2 metres wide. The design was intended to allow a person to descend safely from a height, although Leonardo did not demonstrate it himself.
The concept was based on air resistance: a broad canopy would oppose falling motion and reduce descent speed. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas tested a full-size replica based on Leonardo’s drawing and reported that it worked, although he landed using a modern parachute because the replica was difficult to steer.
Leonardo’s design predates the modern parachute by centuries, but it was not the first parachute used in practical aviation.