Leonardo da Vinci Parachute Design Passes Proof-of-Concept Test

"Leonardo da Vinci parachute from 1485 finally has successful landing"
Telegraph (UK) (April 28, 2008)

"A parachute designed by Leonardo da Vinci more than 500 years ago has been used successfully for the first time by a Swiss.

"Olivier Vietti-Teppa said the Renaissance genius's design, which consisted of four equilateral triangles forming a pyramid and featured in a text dating from 1485, helped him make 'the perfect jump'.' "

That "for the first time" needs some clarification. A British chap, down in South Africa, used the da Vinci design for a jump, back in 2000. He jumped from a hot air balloon at 10,000 feet: his descent went quite well for the first 7,000 feet or so.