Leonardo da Vinci's artistic talents and engineering achievements are well-known but not many know that he was the inventor of one of the world's earliest parachutes, writes Zahra Akkerhuys.

Drafted in one of his notebooks, now in the archives of a French museum, is a tiny thumbnail sketch of the pyramid-shaped parachute, believed to have been drawn in 1485 in Milan.

For centuries nobody has known whether the sketch could be turned into reality.

But now, with the help of an expert from Oxford University, the great master's invention has been put to the test - and it passed with flying colours. Martin Kemp, professor of art history at Oxford University and the world's leading specialist in Leonardo da Vinci and his work, was called in to advise London couple Katrina Ollikainen and Adrian Nicholas, who decided to construct the parachute from the sketch.

He gave them advice on the sort of materials that would have been available to Leonardo at the time of the Renaissance more than 500 years ago.

The only modern-day adaptation made to the design was the use of binding tape which was used to prevent the canvas from ripping.

Also a black box, similar to those used on aircraft, was installed to record the five-minute flight and the speed of the fall. He says: "Leonardo would, of course, only have had natural products to hand. There would have been no nylon or aluminium.

"He would have had a choice of various products but he probably would have anticipated using bent willow and caulked linen, which has been sealed to make it impermeable to air. "We don't know if he ever tried to make it himself. Records at that time were very thin and the few that were produced have not all survived."

Adrian, 38, and Katrina built the parachute to Leonardo's exact specifications.

Alongside his drawing, Leonardo wrote: "If a man is provided with a length of gummed linen cloth with a length of 12 yards on each side and 12 yards high, he can jump from any great height whatsoever without any injury."

And that is exactly what Adrian did.

He and the 90kg and 50ft long contraption were let loose from a balloon 10,000ft above the plains of South Africa.

He admitted he chose the vast open spaces of the Mpumalanga province because he didn't want to land on anyone. The parachute plummeted for a few seconds as the canopy filled. Then it floated down so slowly that two conventional parachutists who were accompanying the attempt had to slow down deliberately just to stay level.Adrian says: "It was an experiment, not a stunt. I am a huge fan of Leonardo da Vinci and wanted to find out if this would work.

"It did not feel like a conventional parachute where you have the wind hitting you in the face. It was more like being in a balloon, it was absolutely rock solid."

Professor Kemp believes the parachute would have been designed with one of two aims in mind.

He says: "It is an extremely simple design and it must be remembered that the parachute would not have been intended for someone to drop thousands of feet after jumping out of an aeroplane.

"It would only have been designed for drops of several hundred feet, rather than several thousand. He could have intended it to be used in a military context by a soldier using it to leap off high fortifications in a bid to escape from an enemy.

"It would then allow him to drop hundreds of feet without crashing on the ground below. "Or it could have been designed for an entertainer to use during a Renaissance festival.

"Streamers may have been attached to the parachute and then if the entertainer leapt off a high building the streamers would trail behind him creating a spectacular sight for onlookers.

"I am delighted to think that this recreation worked as Leonardo hoped it would."