- the image above is from here; it comes from a folio in the Codex Atlanticus; it’s a design for a parachute by Leonardo da Vinci, thought to be from around 1485
- according to the first link:
Leonardo’s parachute consists of sealed linen cloth held open by a pyramid of wooden poles, about seven metres long. In his notebook he remarks that with such a device anyone can jump from any height without injury.
- recently, a Swiss amateur parachutist has used Leonardo’s design to land on the ground successfully after jumping from a helicopter hovering at a height of 650 metres; the parachute itself opened at 600 metres
- there were, however, two important differences between the design just used and the original: first, the design just used was made of modern parachute fabric; and, secondly, the wooden poles were omitted
- one important similarity between the two designs is that, unlike modern parachutes, the da Vinci parachute and its descendant are not manoeuvrable
- the parachutist prepared for his jump by launching scale models of the parachute from a remote controlled model helicopter; he also wore a modern-day parachute as a backup when he jumped
- the story’s from here, where you can also see the parachute in operation during the jump
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