Leonardo da Vinci sketched a pyramid-shaped parachute as a device for controlled descent.
The design appears in the Codex Atlanticus, a large collection of Leonardo’s drawings and notes. His parachute consisted of a rigid wooden frame covered with tightly stretched cloth. Leonardo calculated that a person could descend safely from a height if the canopy had suitable dimensions.
The sketch was not a practical parachute tested by Leonardo, and it was not built during his lifetime. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas constructed and tested a full-scale version based on Leonardo’s design. It descended successfully, although Nicholas used a modern parachute for the final part of the landing because the wooden structure was difficult to steer.
This concept is often confused with Leonardo’s flying-machine studies. A parachute does not create powered flight; it slows a fall by producing aerodynamic drag.