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I need to buy more popcorn.

As you know, I'm not opposed to a theory that posits a later jump time. The prospect of having to stop in the states to refuel seems to have shaken him up a bit, and him having to improvise a new plan explains how haphazard he seemed to be in the later stages of the hijacking. Yet I do think it's logical and reasonable to assume that he wanted to jump back where he started. The only problem with that is that he didn't really create a scenario to where he could guarantee that they would be flying back over Portland. V23 and V27 were the only airways that headed south out of Seattle. V27 would be a pretty dangerous airway to risk them taking if you were wanting to jump near Portland. It hugs the coast and is sometimes over the water in that area around the Washington/Oregon border. I've never bought into a Seattle jump because Cooper wasn't ready to jump when they took off. Tina says he was still messing with the bag when they were taking off i.e. he wasn't ready yet. If he wanted to jump in Seattle, it's reasonable to think that he would have been totally situated when they took off. Regardless of where he wanted to jump, Cooper was certainly winging his DZ.

A passengerless 727 could definitely make a non-stop flight from Seattle to Mexico city if not for flying dirty and likely could make even dirty. The ferry range is in excess of 3,500 miles and it's 2,040 nautical miles from Seattle to MC

No Raleigh's indeed. 9 is definitely Viceroy and that last one is TRUE.

It’s all about the money, everywhere, all of the time.

I'd like to hear which indicators you're using to theorize Cooper had 305 as a fallback outcome. I personally feel there's some key indicators he had alot of plans locked in place for 305 specifically but I suppose he could have had a fully fleshed out plan for his primary choice you're assuming AND 305 incase conditions like too crowded of a plane were an issue in the primary choice. Some reasons I think he most likely wanted 305 specifically: #1 picked a flight that ended with nightfall but provided possibility of a jump relatively early in the night. I think it's most likely he wanted to jump at night time to reduce ground traffic and air visibility upon jumping and I don't think he wanted to land at 1 in the morning or anything crazy like that and have to escape dog ass tired. In your scenario we'd have to assume he wanted to jump mid to late afternoon at the earliest. #2 he curiously was fully prepared to jump but waited 30+ minutes to jump which I believe indicates he had an intended landing spot along V23. I'm not sure if you've picked out a specific flight but I assume your primary flight would not require a V23 route. #3 there was limited airlines that published ahead of time that the plane was a 727 (or DC9) in its marketing materials. I think there's a good chance Cooper picked NWA and 305 (in part) was because he had a pamphlet that explicitly told him 305 was going to be a 727 and he could build a full plane around the flight with certainty he'd have ventral airstairs. Was this level of detail disclosed ahead of time in UAL marketing materials? #4 he references Mcchord and give a fair guestimate of the distance which potentially indicates planning specifically for parachute delivery to Seattle

This isn’t my experience. A daily hardcore -pack or more- smoker will always have a rolling supply of smokes and lights. It’s not always a neatly paired one for one, it’s more like a par system used at a restaurants. They never run out. The idea of running out is anathema. Running out is for casual smokers or if they are flat broke…at which point they’ll be bumming cigs from others. Cooper prepared for his crime. Having cigs and lights would rank up there with having a pistol or goggles. Cooper wouldn’t have known how long it would take till he next could grab smokes, he would have arrived at PDX stocked up. His using up one match book off beat with his cigarette pack being used up shows he is a more regular smoker and his ability to pull out another match book and keep on puffing shows he was likely a regular smoker. If his pack of smokes ran out, he likely would have opened another one.