Leonardo da Vinci described a parachute as a pyramid-shaped linen device.
Around 1485, Leonardo recorded the design in the Codex Atlanticus. His notes proposed a linen canopy held open by a framework of poles. The structure was intended to let a person descend safely from a height, although there is no evidence that Leonardo built or tested it.
The design is often discussed as an early parachute concept, but it was not the first practical parachute. Modern parachutes use flexible fabric, suspension lines, and a harness rather than a rigid pyramid frame. In 2000, the British skydiver Adrian Nicholas tested a full-scale replica based on Leonardo’s proportions and reported that it descended successfully, while using a modern parachute for safety.
Leonardo’s sketch belongs to a broader group of flight studies that also included gliding wings and ornithopter concepts. The parachute idea is distinct because it concerns controlled descent rather than powered or flapping flight.