In regards to Echo's post,

The remote control plane idea is flawed because it needs to travel a longer distance in order to generatete enough lift to take off. I can guarantee you that the plane will move forward. As stated earlier, stand on a treadmill with rollerskates and hold on to the front bar. Set the treadmill to a high setting and attempt to pull yourself forward. You will be able to very easily. This contradicts your previous statements stating that the "plance" will not move forward. The wheels are freely spinning and do not affect the thrust pushing the plane forward. A remote control plane will move forward on the treadmill fine, but it does not have near enough distance to take off. On the other hand, a treadmill the size of a runway will provide adequate distance for a plane to be able to take off.

I have an interesting idea. This same giant treadmill can be used in the car scene as well. If you place a car on a treadmill while in neutral and attach a jet engine in the trunk, will it move forward? Yes! The wheels are not providing any power whatsoever. The jet engine mounted in the trunk of the car will push the car foward against the treadmill since the wheels are only acting as a contact point between the car and the ground. The car can gain quite a bit of speed as well. Now, image if you have an airplane capable of producing twice the amount of thrust as that single jet engine mounted in the back of the car. Understand where I am coming from? The wheels are merely a contact point and are needed to provide control and reduce friction. A plane would not be able to take off very well on a runway while resting on its belly. The free spinning parts allow for this to happen. However, a plane will be able to take off on ice without landing gear. The ice will not provide enough resistance to prevent the plane from taking off or catching on fire. Hell, planes take off from water all the time without landing gear.

I have another interesting idea to consider. Let's say you replaced the wheels of the plane with a flat surface the provides no friction whatsoever. Will the plane move forward with the engines at full throttle? YES! The treadmill will spin freely under this "frictionless" material and will not effect the speed of the plane moving forward. I know this is a lengthy response, but I hope this will eliminate some of the doubts from others who are skeptical about the whole plane vs. treadmill idea. Next time you go to an airport with motorized walkways, bring some rollerskates and hold on to the railing. Then, have a friend behind you try to push you the opposite direction of the motorized sidewalk. You will receive many crazy looks, but you WILL move forward.

This is just my on this question.

Chris