Quote Originally Posted by tony
Just to throw a monkey wrench in this, for the plane to take off it requires thrust correct? If the belt compensates for the speed of the PLANE and not the WHEELS (this is all hypothetical) then how is the plane able to take off and where is the thrust coming from? I'm not saying you guys are right or wrong but the answer isnt as simple as "yes it will take off" or "the wheels arent driving the plane" we know that.. the belt speeds up with the speed of the plane so in essence the plane is going nowhere.
The problem is that you cannot compensate for the speed of the plane.

However, if the plane has ENOUGH FRICTION/DRAG to keep it in one place, it will never take off. A plane has to have forward motion through the AIR in order to generate lift.