Again, the biggest problem with Va is the general misunderstanding of what it is about. The general understanding is in line with the relatively new term, Vo, and, I presume, in due course, we will all cease to worry about Va which is an engineering thing, rather than operational.
Often people confuse the "design manoeuvring speed Va" which is a FAR/CS-25 structure certification definition with "flap manoeuvring speed"
Va applies to light aircraft also.
Below Va, an airplane will withstand a single full application of a control surface
Caveat. If a full application would put the aircraft above the limit load factor, then the input has to be a checked manoeuvre.
aggressive riders use was being actively taught by an over zealous ex military instructor.
The upset recovery training program was brought to account post accident and subsequently amended. I guess that it is very difficult to train line pilots in the ways of certification test pilots. Mostly things work OK as we don't have aircraft falling out of the sky with no fins on a day by day basis ?