Leonardo da Vinci’s parachute design used a pyramid-shaped linen canopy for a controlled descent.
Leonardo described the device in the Codex Atlanticus around 1485. His sketch shows a rigid pyramid-shaped wooden frame covered with linen, measuring about 7.2 metres high and 7.2 metres wide at its base. He wrote that a person could jump from a great height without injury using such a structure.
The design was not a practical modern parachute. Its frame would have made it heavy and difficult to control, and Leonardo did not record a test flight. Its importance lies in applying air resistance systematically to the problem of slowing a falling person.
A parachute differs from Leonardo’s aerial screw and other flying machines because it is designed primarily for descent, not powered ascent. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas tested a full-scale replica and reported that it worked, although he landed with a modern parachute for safety.