Originally Posted by Zarf4
Each aircraft has a Va or maneuvering airspeed rating at which theoretically most any gust should not exceed the rated load factor of the wing.
Va does not protect against gust loads, it protects against control deflection. See the Vng diagram. There is a separate speed for turbulence penetration speed which, in a jet, must consider both low-speed, and high-speed (Mach), stall.