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Thanks, much appreciated!

"...I've had to get used to is the dramatic difference in drive between the 220 and the 266..."

In what sense did you have to get used to it? Would this get to the point where you have to open higher on a Rock Dragon to be able to reach a far landing area that used to be easy to get to with your Ace?

"in moderate wind conditions"

Here's another one of those questions I really should know the answer to already I guess...

In higher wind conditions, would a smaller or a bigger canopy be preferable, and how much does this depend on wind direction on opening (into the wind, with the wind, perpendicular to the wind)?

Thanks,

Eipmoez

[edited to add: sorry for highjacking this thread, feel free to split off Tom or somebody else]

It's not so much that a smaller canopy would be preferable, but that a smaller canopy would be acceptable in higher winds. With more wind to land into, you'd be able to slow down the canopy's (relatively) faster forward speed and still be able to land.

In short, small canopies are ok when you have a good wind to land into, big canopies are ok all the time.

This really doesn't depend on wind direction at opening--it's almost entirely a function of wind direction at landing.

So, let's say you need to overfly an Aussie landing area to get to that wide-open, flat landing area (as is found in many places in Moab), in a moderate/stiff headwind. Would you rather land your bigger canopy in the gnarly talus then have a higher wingloading help to make the preferred landing area? Depending on the distance needed to clear the fray, I'd rather have a higher wingload and make it back.
I know there is no catch all canopy, but my point was this--big canopies are not OK ALL of the time. You can still get into trouble by having too LIGHT a wingloading. If one really wants to get the odds in one's favor when landing--they need to go out and improve their canopy skills.

Smaller canopies are OK when you have the skill to fly them correctly, and landing areas suitable to do so, IMHO.

[the right answer to this question for most of course is to not jump in the first place in questionable conditions, but hypothetically...]

pope