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Building Leonardo da Vinci's Parachute — The Sealed Linen Pyramid of 1485
In a notebook around 1485 Leonardo da Vinci sketched a pyramid of sealed linen and wrote: 'If a man have a tent made of linen of which the apertures have all been stopped up, and it be twelve braccia across and twelve in depth, he will be able to throw himself down from any great height without suffering any injury.' For 500 years people assumed it could never work. In 2000 the skydiver Adrian Nicholas built it to Leonardo's exact dimensions and descended smoothly beneath it — proving the Renaissance master right. This blueprint reconstructs that rigid-frame linen pyramid: cut and sew the canopy, seal it airtight, lash the frame, and rig the harness.
Advanced
16
Instructions
1
1
Understand Leonardo's design
Understand Leonardo's design
Leonardo's parachute is a four-sided pyramid of sealed linen, twelve braccia (about 7 metres) square at the base and twelve braccia tall. Unlike a modern soft parachute it is held open by a rigid frame. The sealed cloth traps a large volume of air, and the drag of that trapped air slows the fall.
2
2
Cut the four canopy panels
Cut the four canopy panels
Cut four tall isosceles triangles of strong linen — one for each sloping face of the pyramid. Each triangle has a base of about 7 metres and rises to the apex. Add a generous seam allowance along every edge for stitching.
Materials for this step:
Linen Fabric60 square meterTools needed:
Sharp Scissors3
3
Sew the panels into a pyramid
Sew the panels into a pyramid
Stitch the four triangles together edge to edge to form the pyramid canopy. Punch the stitch holes with the awl and sew with strong waxed cord in a double row so the seams can carry the load of trapped air.
Materials for this step:
Binding Rope20 metersTools needed:
Awl4
4
Seal the linen airtight
Seal the linen airtight
Rub warmed beeswax and boiled linseed oil into the whole canopy so the weave is filled and 'the apertures are all stopped up', as Leonardo insisted. A sealed canopy traps the air instead of letting it leak through — this is what makes it work.
Materials for this step:
Beeswax500 gram
Boiled Linseed Oil1 liter5
5
Lash the square base frame
Lash the square base frame
Cut four straight, light poles and lash them into a rigid square frame the full width of the canopy base. This frame holds the mouth of the pyramid open against the rush of air.
Materials for this step:
Green Wood Poles (1-2m)4 piecesBinding Rope10 metersTools needed:
Hand Saw6
6
Raise the apex struts
Raise the apex struts
Run light poles from each corner of the base frame up to a single apex point and lash them there, forming the pyramid's skeleton so the canopy keeps its shape and cannot collapse inward.
Materials for this step:
Green Wood Poles (1-2m)4 piecesBinding Rope10 metersTools needed:
Knife7
7
Mount the canopy on the frame
Mount the canopy on the frame
Lash the sealed canopy to the base frame and up the apex struts so it stands as a taut, rigid pyramid with no slack cloth to flap or spill air.
Materials for this step:
Binding Rope10 metersTools needed:
Awl8
8
Rig the harness lines
Rig the harness lines
Tie four strong suspension lines from the corners of the base frame down to a central harness, all the same length so the load hangs level and the trapped air stays balanced above the jumper.
Materials for this step:
Binding Rope20 metersTools needed:
Knife9
9
Understand why it works
Understand why it works
The 7-metre sealed canopy presents a huge area to the air. The drag on that area is enough to hold a person's fall to a safe, steady speed. The rigid frame keeps the pyramid fully open the whole way down — the reason Leonardo's shape descends stably where a limp sheet would not.
10
10
Test responsibly
Test responsibly
Treat this as an engineering reconstruction, not a stunt. Inspect every seam and lashing under load, and demonstrate it as a scale model or a static drop test only. The historic full descent was made by a trained skydiver carrying a modern reserve parachute — never jump a home-built parachute.
Materials
5- 60 square meterPlaceholder
- 70 metersPlaceholder
- 1 literPlaceholder
- 8 piecesPlaceholder
Connected Blueprint Materials
You can swap these in
Can't get one of the materials? Swap it for an equivalent — these work just as well.
- Instead of Boiled Linseed Oil, try:
Essential Oil (Floral)
Frankincense Essential Oil (Boswellia carterii) - Instead of Linen Fabric, try:
Jute Fabric
Kevlar Fabric
UV-Resistant Fabric
Modal Fabric
Carbon Fiber Fabric - Instead of Knife, try:
Blunt Collection Knife
Gilder's Knife - Instead of Hand Saw, try:
Portable Band Saw - Instead of Binding Rope, try:
Lowering Rope - Instead of Sharp Scissors, try:
Small Sharp Scissors
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Building Leonardo da Vinci's Revolving Bridge — The Swing Bridge for a Marching Army
Building Leonardo da Vinci's Aerial Screw — The Ancestor of the Helicopter
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