Quote Originally Posted by chuck
...i guess i just had a misunderstanding of the "while the conveyer moves in the opposite direction at the same speed as the plane"

but i still have questions...even though they weren't asked for...
so if the plane and the treadmill are always at the same speed then how does the plane move?? say the plane pulls foward at 5mph, the treadmill would go backward at 5mph, i'm assuming the wheels would be spinning at 10mph but the plane would be chilling there??

i get the concept that the plane can move foward but i don't get how it could on a treadmill going the same speed but backward...i think i'm getting mixed up in the plane speed, wheel speed and treadmill speed...grrr
chuck! please, you're smarter than that. It doesn't matter if the conveyor belt is going slower, the same speed, or 100x faster than the plane. It will still take off just like any runway in the world. The wheels are free wheeling and the planes power/thrust comes from above it...two completely differant sources of energy. The only thing the speed of the conveyor belt will have an effect on is what speed the wheels on the plane are free wheeling.

As i mentioned yesterday. Imagine sitting on a skateboard on a treadmill with a rope tied in front of you...like you're being pulled on a sled behind a 4 wheeler. Now someone turns it on and you're still just sitting there stationary as you hold on the rope right (just spinning the wheels). Then the speed is increased....do you go backwards? nope, it only makes the wheels spin faster. Do you think it will be any harder to pull yourself forward or hold yourself stationary? nope, just the same as 1mph or 14mph. Now imagine if someone came up behind you and shoved you....would you and the skateboard still roll forward? That force of the person pushing you is no differant than the prop or jet of a plane.


Echo, have you slept on it and come to your senses?