Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute as a pyramid-shaped frame covered with cloth.
The design appears in the Codex Atlanticus and is usually dated to around 1485. Leonardo proposed a wooden framework about seven metres high and wide, covered with tightly woven linen. His notes suggested that a person could descend safely from a great height with the device.
Leonardo did not test the parachute, and the materials and construction described would have made it extremely heavy. The drawing nevertheless demonstrates a correct understanding of drag: a broad canopy can slow a falling body by pushing against the air.
Modern parachutes use flexible fabric canopies, suspension lines, and harnesses, so they differ greatly from Leonardo’s rigid pyramid. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas tested a replica based on the design and reported a successful descent, although he used a reserve parachute for safety.