Oops, major slip: I meant to say Vno, not Vne.

--Gary

"Gary Drescher" wrote in message
news:T_z9d.436094$8_6.136539@attbi_s04...
"Marco Rispoli" wrote in message
et...
It is reccommended that if you encounter turbulence you slow down below
Va
(manouvering speed), so if you encounter an especially stiff gust the
plane
will stall before pulling enough Gs to snap a wing.

Minor correction: the wings snap due to excessive lift (force), not due to
excessive Gs (acceleration). Staying below Vne keeps the force from being
excessive; staying below Va keeps the acceleration from being excessive.
Vne does not vary with weight; Va varies in proportion to the square root
of gross weight, becoming a stricter limit when weight is lower. That's
because the less mass you have, the more acceleration is produced by a
given force.

If you don't feel more than 2G upward acceleration (or 1G downward) in
turbulence, you're well within the acceleration design limits for a
normal-category airplane.

--Gary