I see a reference to splintered now..it's still too heavy for wood given the size. regardless if it was made of steel. they don't compare to a small one ounce plastic ripped card.

explain the weight of the the plate if it was wood? wood bends and bows? I didn't see "splintered"

Take a look at Test No. 258-20 in table 3 on page 37 of the report.  It lists the "Condition of Plate Following Impact" as "Badly Bowed and Splintered".  Other test in that table list the condition of the plate following impact as being "badly damaged", "badly bowed", "destroyed", "plate split", etc..

The dimensions of the two plates used in the tests are given in table 1 on page 9 of the report as follows:

No. 1, 32 by 27 by 0.69 inches with a weight of 40 pounds.

No. 2, 48 by 18 by 0.50 inches with a weight of 44 pounds.

You were right about the weights and I don't find a reference to the material at this moment but it is certainly not going to be metal.

These plates were dropped from a stationary helicopter at altitude.  What happens to the plates before they start rotating is not relevant here.  It is only the drag coefficient after the rotation starts that applies to the placard.  Remember that the placard goes through the 727's downwash and it is going to be rotating like crazy from that point.

The Sandia Report is available here <https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a395124.pdf>.

I see too many variables. it still becomes a theory where the placard went after it left the plane..

I did notice Hicks saying "while in the brush" which would tend to trap things in place. but I don't know about seasonal and what the grounds look like through the year. then what the placard looks like. they made a perfect reproduction of the placard. very good for that period. I did notice the tear was more than I thought. it appears to be glued down to the file paper covering most of the tear. I don't know if they gave the damn thing back. I'll ask Tom. I don't believe it was there when he was looking over the evidence. Hicks also claims to have folded it up before putting it in his pocket. that's extremely thin. perhaps decal thin. Hominid believes it was glued in place.

I was amazed how detailed everything is and yet they failed to describe the test samples?

It was apparently some kind of very hard wood.

Using the dimensions and weights shown, plate 1 had a density of 116.0 pounds per cubic foot and plate 2 had a density of 176.0 pounds per cubic foot.  This doesn't look realistic.  But in any event, it is only the tumbling drag coefficient that applies to the placard analysis.

A particularly desirable grade of hickory wood is known as calico hickory and this type of wood guarantees the reddish-brown heartwood and the creamy white sapwood on both faces of each piece. ... Hickory is exceptionally heavy, hard, strong and shock resistant, but flexible, with a coarse and straight grain.

did the chute have cuts and rips in it? and can you prove the chute drifted that distance?

Actually. the card didn't like heavy wind. I tossed some cards from a lower height than last time but it was windy (around 20 mph) and the cards didn't like the wind.