Aviation & Aeronautics
Intermediate

Maneuvering Speed

Design maneuvering speed scales with stall speed and the square root of the limit load factor. Below Va, the wing stalls before it can overstress.

Formula

Va=VsnV_a = V_s\sqrt{n}

Variables

V_aManeuvering speed
V_sStall speed
nLimit load factor

Example

Vs 50 kt, n = 3.8: Va = 50×√3.8 ≈ 97 kt

Did You Know?

Below maneuvering speed a full control deflection stalls the wing before it can bend the airframe — a built-in safety limit.

maneuveringload factorlimits

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