VFE represents the maximum speed with which configuration?

• A. Flaps retracted
• B. Gear down
• C. Flaps extended
• D. Power setting

Answer: (C)

VFE is the maximum speed you should not exceed when the flaps are extended. Lowering the flaps increases lift at low speeds, but it also changes the wing’s loading and increases drag and structural loads. The wing and flaps are certified to handle those loads only up to a specific speed, so exceeding that speed with flaps out can cause structural damage or control problems. When the flaps are retracted, that speed limit doesn’t apply, because you’re in the clean configuration with a different maximum allowable speed. Gear-down represents a different configuration limit, and a power setting isn’t a fixed configuration-related speed limit like VFE.