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Old 11th Feb 2013, 20:04
  #15 (permalink)  
englishal

 
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A pokey little Cirrus 22 will easily do 150kias and its Va is 133. I can assure you that even at 120kias, using full elevator in the Cirrus will result in a rapid climb. Sure, in time it will stall, but not very quickly. Now imagine the wing loads at 150 when suddenly commanding full up elevator.
You've never done accelerated stalls then. Part of the FAA CPL is to demonstrate accelerated stalls, and what you do is fly along straight and level BELOW Va for your weight, then yank back on the elevator very quickly. The aeroplane doesn't go into a rapid climb as you would expect but stalls. But critically as you are below Va, none of the forces on the aeroplane exceed any design limits so you don't cause any damage.

The heavier the aeroplane is, the easier it is to stall, which is why Va rises with increased weight.
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