Originally Posted by
NickLappos
... Ppruners, do what you will, but while you do, please respect the flight manual, and those who wrote it. Trust them, they know so much more than you can fathom about the machine, because it is their job. That is not an arrogant statement, it is a simple fact. It take nothing away from your expertise, it is a simple statement of how we are a team, and that we rely on each other to stay safe and productive.
In general of course I agree with you. However in the particular case of the HV diagram they are often not very well produced. I suppose in part it is because gathering the data is a fairly taxing procedure for a TP who values his job (and his back, if not his life!).
The ones I have seen do not properly allow for variations in mass and density altitude, which affect the outcome in reality. On the (twin) type with which I am most familiar, the HV curve is a single line oblivious to any of the above variables. Fortunately, although the graph is in the limitations section, no-where does it say that you shouldn't operate within the blue zone. Which is just as well because every offshore takeoff puts us into it!
Perhaps one answer to having the HV better respected, is to improve the HV diagram.