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Reading a manufacturer wing-loading chart
What the numbers on a Performance Designs or JYRO chart mean, in each manufacturer's own words — and why one manufacturer's categories cannot be translated into another's.
Reviewed Oct 7, 2026 · 13 cited sources · Sources
Wing loading in one line
Wing loading is exit weight in pounds divided by canopy area in square feet (lb/ft²); multiplying it by 4.88 gives kg/m². [1][2]
Exit weight is you plus everything you jump with: container, both canopies, clothing, helmet, instruments, camera and any weights. [2]
Performance Designs: maximum exit weights per skill category
Performance Designs' note CN-0089 explains that the weights on its charts are the maximum exit weights for each skill category, not recommended weights. [3]
The categories in CN-0089 are Student, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert, plus a Maximum column that the note describes as a never-exceed limit rather than a structural limit. [3]
The same note says jump numbers are not the basis of the categories, and that where no minimum is published there is no technical basis for calling a canopy under-loaded. [3]
The footnote under the Sabre3 chart repeats the idea: the numbers are the recommended maximum exit weight for that skill set. [4]
In the Katana document PD states that the listed weights are maximum limits, not targets, and that there are often advantages to staying below them. [5]
JYRO: a recommended range and a weight × size grid
JYRO publishes a recommended wing-loading range on each model page — 1.0–1.6 for the Safire 4 and 1.3–2.0 for the Crossfire 3, for example. [6][7]
Its charts cross exit weight with canopy size: each cell shows the resulting wing loading, and the cell's colour marks a jump-number band from the chart legend, from 400+ to 1200+ jumps. [8][9]
Some JYRO pages add order requirements on top of the chart: the Leia page lists total jumps, jumps on a cross-braced canopy, recent jumps and a coach reference. [10]
Why the two charts are not interchangeable
PD's skill categories with maximum weights and JYRO's jump-number bands with a recommended range are different kinds of category, and no authoritative mapping between them is published. [3][8][11]
SkyLara therefore places an exit weight on each manufacturer's own chart separately and never converts one manufacturer's categories into another's. [11][12]
What a chart does not show
Design, trim and size all change how a canopy flies, which is why manufacturers publish charts per model and size rather than one table for every wing. [1]
Performance Designs' Sabre3 document notes that a higher wing loading generally makes the recovery arc longer. [13]
A place on a chart is information, not approval to fly a size; on SkyLara that decision stays with you, your canopy coach and your drop zone. [12]
Sources
Each statement above was checked against these sources on Oct 7, 2026. Link checks come from the site's source registry; sources are listed as cited, not endorsed or ranked.
- Wing-loading calculatorSkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- GlossarySkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- APerformance Designs — Wing Loading Chart Interpretation (CN-0089) · www.performancedesigns.comchecked Oct 7, 2026
- BPerformance Designs — SABRE3 product page (incl. TABLE-0150 Rev.0 footnotes) (TABLE-0150 Rev.0 (chart)) · www.performancedesigns.comchecked Oct 7, 2026
- APerformance Designs — Katana Flight Characteristics and FAQ (FC-0006 Rev. 0) · www.performancedesigns.comchecked Oct 7, 2026
- BJYRO — Safire 4 product page (page modified 2026-09-02) · www.jyro.comchecked Oct 7, 2026
- BJYRO — Crossfire 3 product page (page modified 2026-09-02) · www.jyro.comchecked Oct 7, 2026
- BJYRO — Crossfire 3 wing-loading chart (image) (WL_Chart_V4) · media.jyro.comchecked Oct 7, 2026
- BJYRO — Safire 4 wing-loading chart (image) (WL_Chart_V4) · media.jyro.comchecked Oct 7, 2026
- BJYRO — Leia product page (page modified 2026-09-02) · www.jyro.comchecked Oct 7, 2026
- Manufacturer guidanceSkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- Methodology — Manufacturer guidanceSkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- APerformance Designs — Sabre3 Flight Characteristics and FAQ (FC-0005 Rev. 0) · www.performancedesigns.comchecked Oct 7, 2026