The real question everyone should ask is: "how does a manufacturer establish Vne?" Rob Wolfe a respected aeronautical engineer or Pete Field or Rudy Haug (real test pilots) can chime in here and describe how it is done and what the consequences of ignoring it are. One IVP was lost years ago when it exceeded Vne.
-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Berland <cberland@systems3.net>
To: lml
Sent: Tue, Dec 1, 2009 7:47 pm
Subject: [LML] Vne is NOT a meaningless number
Bill,
Advertised true cruise speed in the IV-P is well above Vne so this can’t be true for a lot of airplanes. I believe Vne is a subjective number as I have never heard of any airframe manufacturer diving a plane to a speed it self-destructs. However, I also respect Vne.
Craig Berland
IV-P N7VG
Van of Van's Aircraft wrote about VNE a couple of years ago. Much to my surprise, VNE is true airspeed, not indicated. It's pretty easy to exceed in my Lancair. Results can be explosive, meaning onset of flutter to component failure can be nearly instantaneous. I can't wear a parachute in my plane (Lancair 320), so I wouldn't screw around with it. Bill Kennedy