What parachute shape did Leonardo da Vinci sketch in his notebooks?

Leonardo da Vinci sketched a pyramidal parachute with a wooden frame and linen covering.

His design appears in the Codex Atlanticus and consists of a pyramid-shaped canopy supported by a rigid framework. Leonardo proposed that a person could descend safely from a height beneath the structure, using air resistance to slow the fall.

The sketch is an early attempt to apply physical reasoning to controlled descent. Leonardo described a canopy roughly twelve braccia wide and twelve braccia deep, although the exact historical units and interpretation of the drawing require care.

Leonardo did not test the parachute, and the design differs from modern fabric parachutes, which are flexible and usually dome-shaped. In 2000, the British skydiver Adrian Nicholas constructed and tested a version of Leonardo’s design, reporting that it descended successfully but was too difficult to steer safely for a full landing.