Originally Posted by
shdw
In practical terms, maneuvering speed is a speed at which full control movements will result in no structural damage. I've yet to find an aircraft where published Va doesn't equal sqrt (limit load factor) * Vs, so, we can ignore that entire discussion when presenting this to a pilot.
I agree, but you should have said positive limit load factor. You can still overstress the aircraft with negative g's at Va. You can pull as hard as you want at Va, but you can't push as hard as you want without exceeding the negative limit load factor. Look at the Vg diagram again. Follow the vertical line down from Va. You will see that it hits the horizontal line (negative limit load factor) before it would hit the curved line (negative load available).