A Swiss daredevil Olivier Vietti-Teppa jumped at the weekend using a parachute based on sketches made by genius Leonardo da Vinci in 1485. Vietti-Teppa had been wearing a modern reserve parachute in case da Vinci's design - made out of four triangles of fabric and with a pointed top - had failed to open. Vietti-Teppa is the first person to have made it safely to the ground with the da Vinci model. In 2000, Briton Adrian Nicholas tried it but had to use a back-up parachute to complete his descent. Vietti-Teppa's parachute was made using modern fabric along lines imagined by da Vinci. The specifications were found in a manuscript dating from 1485.

The da Vinci's design parachute consists of four equilateral triangles of fabric, seven yards on each side. The base of the pyramid is a square of mosquito net, which enables the parachute to open. A wooden frame originally conceived by da Vinci was not used. It has one drawback - it is impossible to maneuver. Vietti-Teppa said after the jump in Payerne, near Geneva that the parachute worked perfectly, though he was unable to steer it, he just glided gracefully to the ground.