Leonardo da Vinci’s pyramid-shaped linen canopy was an early parachute design.
Leonardo described the device in a manuscript usually dated to around 1485. His notes proposed a sealed linen canopy supported by a wooden framework, with dimensions of about 7.2 metres on each side and 7.2 metres in height. He reasoned that the structure could let a person descend safely from a height.
The design was theoretical rather than a documented working machine from Leonardo’s lifetime. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas built and tested a version based on Leonardo’s measurements. The replica descended successfully, although it was later replaced during the demonstration because of concerns about landing control.
Leonardo’s parachute is often confused with his flying-machine sketches. A parachute slows a descent after a fall; an airplane or ornithopter is intended to generate sustained flight. His design was therefore an important study of controlled descent, not powered aviation.