Design manoeuvre speed, Va
Design manoeuvre speed, Va, is usually taken to be the EAS at which you can apply full control deflection without exceeding the manoeuvre envelope limits. In the positive pitch sense this is the speed at which you can just pull max g at the stall, mathematically Vs times the square root of the limiting load factor. I have always thought this was a maximum for Va, but there might be lower speed limits in roll or yaw.
However, JAR25.335 on design airspeeds says that Va must not be LESS than this figure. It then goes on to give a drawing of the flight envelope in 25.333 which shows a Va below this figure, and adds a statement that Va NEED NOT BE higher than the Vs x root N figure.
Does anyone have a definitive view on how Va should be defined or calculated? This is important for JAR exam candidates, who get asked questions about it.
Dick W