Leonardo da Vinci’s pyramid-shaped emergency descent device was a parachute.
In a manuscript sketch usually dated to around 1485, Leonardo described a large sealed linen canopy held open by a wooden framework. He proposed that a person could descend safely from a great height beneath it. The design was approximately 7.2 metres high and 7.2 metres wide at its base.
Leonardo did not record a surviving test of the device, and the parachute was not built in his lifetime. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas constructed and tested a version based on Leonardo’s drawing, reporting that it descended successfully, although it had to be released before landing because it was difficult to steer. Modern parachutes use flexible fabric and suspension lines rather than a rigid pyramid frame.