A heavily loaded airplane has a higher stall speed than the same airplane with a light load. This is because the heavily loaded airplane must use a higher angle of attack to generate the required lift at any given speed than when lightly loaded.  (Remember, an airplane will stall at any airspeed if the critical angle of attack is exceeded.) The maneuvering speed will vary with the airplane's total weight , since a lightly loaded airplane is easier to accelerate and it will also have a larger margin between the angle of attack necessary for level flight and the critical angle of attack (where the wing stalls.)

Maneuvering speed is related to load factors, meaning that when an aircraft is at or below Va, the airplane will stall before reaching its structural load limit. In other words, the stall acts as a safety valve, reducing the load on the wings and airframe before they become too great. Remember that maneuvering speed is not marked on the airspeed indicator and that it varies with aircraft weight. For a heavily loaded aircraft, the force of a gust has a reduced effect because the gust must overcome the airplane's inertia. The same gust will produce a greater acceleration on lighter aircraft because displacing a light object is easier than displacing a heavy one. In other words, it is easier to move a pillow than the couch on which it rests. The bottom line is that maneuvering speed decreases with weight, and because it is often listed only for maximum gross weight, pilots must remember to make corrections to VA when operating at lower weights.