Leonardo da Vinci’s parachute design specified a linen-cloth canopy supported by a wooden frame. In a notebook entry from about 1485, he described a pyramid-shaped structure intended to let a person descend safely from a height.
The design is often described as roughly seven metres high and seven metres wide at its base. Leonardo reasoned that a sufficiently large canopy could provide air resistance and slow a falling person. His design was theoretical, and he did not record a successful test.
Modern experiments have examined whether the original concept could work. In 2000, the British skydiver Adrian Nichols made a successful descent with a reconstruction, although he used a modern reserve parachute for safety. The result showed that the geometry could generate drag, but it did not turn Leonardo’s design into a practical modern parachute. The most important distinction is between the canopy’s proposed shape and the fabric named in the notebook: both are specific parts of the concept.