Leonardo da Vinci designed a pyramid-shaped parachute for controlled descent from a height.
In a manuscript dated around 1485, Leonardo described a canopy made from linen cloth held open by a wooden frame. His notes state that a person could jump from a great height using the device without injury, provided the structure was sufficiently large. The design was not a modern flexible parachute: its rigid, pyramidal canopy was intended to trap air and slow the fall.
Leonardo did not build and test the parachute himself, so it remained a theoretical invention for centuries. In 2000, British parachutist Adrian Nicholas constructed a replica and successfully tested it, although he used a modern parachute for the final part of the descent because the replica was difficult to steer.
The design is often called Leonardo’s parachute, but it should not be confused with his flying-machine sketches. A parachute is designed to descend, while a glider or ornithopter is intended to generate forward or lifting motion.