Can A Plane Take Off On A Treadmill?
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 112,963
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From: Doh!!
you need to specify the problem better.
and the answer is: yes, it can take off from a conveyor belt.
A plane is standing on a runway that can move (some sort of band conveyer). The plane moves in one direction, while the conveyer moves in the opposite direction. This conveyer has a control system that tracks the plane speed and tunes the speed of the conveyer to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction). Can the plane take off?
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 36,017
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From: Queen City, NC
It can take off from anything, so long as it picks up enough air speed for the bernoulli principal. If you just tied the plane to a lead and ran the treadmill, only the wheels would spin. If you tied the plane to a lead and sent an air current over the wings, it would take off while otherwise standing still.
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Sure the plane will gain lift, but wont the plane lose the lift after leaving the generated air source and into the atmosphere?
The plane wont be moving fast enough to take off and fly because it is still stationary in relation to the atmosphere.
The plane wont be moving fast enough to take off and fly because it is still stationary in relation to the atmosphere.
