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You didn't just change wing loading though. Any two canopies of the same size can have differences, and different sizes also can have different flight characteristics, even at the same loading. For me, I found the 103 almost impossible due to high riser pressures, but the 96 was like butter.

Perhaps the shrinkage was due to you getting it wet?

Not true. Most rig manufacturers don't offer the option. Again not true. Many taller people may even want a longer rig so they don't need to reach halfway up their back to pull. True. Have you ever seen one? Infinity and Mirage both make them so you can't even tell by looking, and Reflex used to when they were still around. What are you talking about. Some of us fly a small main because we like how they fly. The size of the rig is a side effect of the small canopy. Some do. The smart ones don't. Not quite. There are no amount of "skills" to protect you when landing a damaged reserve (where bigger can help keep you alive) or if you are landing unconscious.

Correlation isn't the same as causation. If you take one of these "smaller" canopies that you think open well because they're loaded up and put a lighter experienced jumper on it, odds ore that it will open just as well for them. Or you could try adding lead when you test a larger canopy, assuming you can keep your deployment speed consistent.

In my experience, it isn't all about wingloading. A canopy may not scale perfectly, and the air molecules stay the same size. A 230 square foot canopy at 1.2 is not going to open the same as a 170 at 1.2. If you took that 230 and put on enough lead to load it up the way you do the 170 it would open (and fly) different due to the size even if you could deploy at the same airspeed with all that lead. The canopy has a different weight and different size nose openings. A good manufacturer such as PD will test jump the design and make tweaks to try and get them to be the same, but it doesn't always work.

Pelican cases are awesome. Waterproof, and you can lock them.

5. I've seen several long-term pull-out jumpers with right shoulder injuries.

I can pack in three minutes, and I know several people that can pack faster.

Since we are playing that game, do you really only have only 5000 jumps in 30 years? I know people like you, you would rather talk about how you are a skydiver than go skydiving. Let me guess, you are at the DZ every weekend but only do 2-3 jumps before you get too "thirsty" to jump.

The problem with your theory is fingertrapped lines hold when loaded, they slip out when unloaded.

I think that is key information. Not all tests go as planned in R&D. But it looks like Airtec does extensive testing, unlike some of their competition.

What you are missing is a history lesson. Username Freeflyhol died doing that.

Sangi, could you share with us how many jumps on the CF2 you have? And what about on the other canopies he is asking about?

Excalibur was a 7-cell IIRC