Skydiver Cracks Da Vinci Code

Olivier Vietti-Teppa, 36, dropped 2,000 feet and landed safely in the middle of a military airport in Payerne, near Geneva.

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,” according to Britain’s The Daily Mail. The reserve chute was not necessary, and the Swiss daredevil claimed the jump went perfectly, though he was not able to steer the chute and was lucky that the wind carried him to his destination.

Adrian Nicholas, a skydiver from London, was the first to successfully jump using Da Vinci’s parachute design in 2000, but, unlike Vietti-Teppa, he implemented a standard parachute to finish the jump. Vietti-Teppa used modern materials to bring Da Vinci’s drawings to life, whereas Nicholas only used “tools and materials that would have been available in the 15th century,” Dropzone.com writes.

An exhibit is currently appearing in Perth, Australia, displaying over 60 models of Da Vinci’s designs, constructed by the group Artisans of Florence. For example, the exhibition shows Da Vinci’s portrayals of “the tank, the hangglider and the spring-powered car,” as well as “the modern bicycle, parachute, helicopter, lifebuoy, paddle boat and scuba gear,” The West Australian reports.