What name is commonly given to Leonardo da Vinci’s four-sided parachute design?

Leonardo da Vinci’s four-sided parachute design is commonly called Leonardo’s parachute.

Leonardo drew the concept in the Codex Atlanticus, probably in the late fifteenth century. It consists of a rigid, pyramid-shaped wooden frame covered with fabric. The design reflects his attempt to reason about air resistance and controlled descent rather than simply imagining a person falling with a cloth canopy.

Leonardo wrote that a person could throw himself down from a considerable height without injury using a structure of specified dimensions. The famous note gives the parachute a base about 7.2 metres wide and a height of about 7.2 metres, though the exact interpretation of the measurements is debated.

The design was never tested by Leonardo. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nichols made a replica and successfully descended with it, while using a modern parachute as a safety backup. The experiment showed that the concept could work, but it also revealed that the rigid structure would be hazardous near landing.