Leonardo da Vinci gave his parachute design a pyramid shape to help it descend safely.
Around 1485, Leonardo sketched a parachute made from linen stretched over a pyramid-shaped wooden frame. His notes proposed a structure about seven metres high and seven metres wide. The design predates practical parachutes by several centuries and shows Leonardo reasoning about air resistance and controlled descent.
The drawing is not evidence that Leonardo tested the device himself. Modern experiments with replicas suggest that the rigid pyramid could generate enough drag for a descent, although its handling and structural safety would be serious concerns. Leonardo's design is often called an early parachute concept, rather than the first working parachute. The later parachutes developed by inventors such as Louis-Sébastien Lenormand used flexible canopies and different construction methods.