Will the plane take off? v. Mythbusters!!! (VIDEO on Page 38)

[DemonEyez]

As an aerospace engineering student, here's my two cents:


As has been said before, no power is supplied to the wheels of an aircraft, it is propelled by either a propeller or a jet. The conveyor belt supplies a force backwards. If that is the only outside force involved, the plane will be stationary relative to the conveyor belt and will be moving backwards through the air. If the aircraft's propulsion supplies a force in the forward direction, the backward speed of the conveyor belt can be cancelled out with the forward speed of the aircraft. In this case, the conveyor belt will be moving past the airplane at takeoff speed but the speed of the air over the wings will be 0, which means the lift will be 0, so the plane will not take off.

ouch.. i bet u fail or build something that fails.

your right mostly. but the treadmill would NOT push the airplane back due tot he wheels. the wheels are free moving. Think about it. in a car wheels are tied to axels, etc etc.

what happens if you put the back wheels of a FWD car onto a raised up wheel and spin em.. absolutely nothing

[ThaABomb]

Even though the wheels can rotate independently of the airplane's motion, there is friction involved that causes the airplane to move backwards. If you don't believe me, put a toy car on a moving treadmill and see if it rolls off.

[Ruiner]

Even though the wheels can rotate independently of the airplane's motion, there is friction involved that causes the airplane to move backwards. If you don't believe me, put a toy car on a moving treadmill and see if it rolls off.

True, but can the plane's engines OVERCOME that small bit of friction?

[speedminded]

Even though the wheels can rotate independently of the airplane's motion, there is friction involved that causes the airplane to move backwards. If you don't believe me, put a toy car on a moving treadmill and see if it rolls off.

Take that same car and duct tape a bottle rocket to it's roof with the fuse facing towards the rear of the treadmill...what do you think will happen when it ignites?