The area that I have been flying is bumpier than what I'm used to, and I want to calculate or find a cruise speed that will not 'break' the plane if turbulence is encountered, but also maintain a reasonable airspeed.
I've been doing lots of research, and it seems like people are pointing to using Maneuvering speed. The problem is that Maneuvering speed in my plane is rather slow....about 110-120 kias. The aircraft that I'm using at the moment is the Cessna 210. For the most part, I find that people cruise around 145 kias, but can go up to 155 or even Vno. They tend to maintain that speed through light-moderate turbulence and not bother adjusting the power. My concern is the potential of increasing the load factor on the wings and thus over stressing the plane.
This has lead me to become curious lately about V speeds, specifically Va (maneuvering speed),
Vb/Vra (rough air penetration speed), and Vno (maximum structural cruising speed). I have been looking, with no joy, for a formula to calculate Vra.
From what I've been reading, in GA airplanes, Vno or the top of the green arc is a speed at which the aircraft is able to withstand up or downdrafts of up to 30 feet / second without over loading the plane. The question then arrises, What category of turbulence is 30 FPS? Light? Moderate? In any case, if severe turbulence, or even sustained moderate turbulence is encountered, slowing to or below Va is probably a good idea.
To sum it all up, what I'm looking for is a way to find or calculate Vra, and understanding turbulence in terms of feet per second.
Thanks
