Leonardo da Vinci designed a parachute with a fabric canopy and four equal sides.
Leonardo recorded the design in the Codex Atlanticus around 1485. His pyramid-shaped canopy was described as seven metres long and wide, with a comparable height. The drawing suggests that a rigid or semi-rigid frame would hold the cloth open while a person descended from a height.
Leonardo did not test the parachute, and the design differs from modern parachutes, which usually use a flexible canopy and suspension lines. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas built and tested a full-scale replica. The replica descended successfully, although Nicholas used a modern parachute for safety during the final part of the landing.
The concept is an important example of Leonardo reasoning from air resistance before controlled human flight existed. It should not be confused with his aerial screw, which was a separate idea intended to rise through rotating motion. Leonardo’s parachute was meant to descend safely, not to provide powered ascent.