What type of parachute did Leonardo da Vinci sketch with a pyramid-shaped canopy?

Leonardo da Vinci sketched a pyramidal parachute with a pyramid-shaped canopy.

His parachute design appears in the Codex Atlanticus and consists of a rigid pyramid-shaped frame covered with fabric. Leonardo proposed a structure about 7.2 meters high and 7.2 meters wide at its base. The design was intended to let a person descend safely from a height.

Unlike a modern parachute, Leonardo’s version had no soft, collapsible canopy. Its shape was supported by a wooden framework, making it more like a suspended fabric tent. The idea shows Leonardo applying geometry, materials, and air resistance to a practical problem.

The design was not known to have been tested in Leonardo’s lifetime. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas built and tested a full-scale replica, reporting a stable descent, though he landed using a modern parachute for safety. Leonardo’s design is therefore a pioneering parachute concept, not the first modern parachute.