DB8 has a point, but we all know that those forces will not affect the plane enough to take off. How much thrust would it take to get the plane moving? To overcome the static friction of the wheels...I believe it will take little more than that to counter the action of the treadmill.


Remember: Have you ever taken a Physics class? Every problem starts with, "In a frictionless environment", or "In a vacuum".

 

 

haha, just saw the preview for tonite. they are using one crappy plane.

 

You guys are insane. One of the first posters had it right. If this was even possible to implement, the speed of the conveyor/treadmill would simply deduct from the plane's speed, once past the speed of the conveyor, the plane would accelerate and then if it reaches min takeoff speed relative to the wind, it will take off.

Regardless of ninjas and luggage brand

 

Plane on a treadmill is like ice in cup of water. Turning cup doesn't move ice efficiently.

PLANE WILL TAKE OFF (with a long enough treadmill).

 

Did you happen to notice what they said?


All of DB8's variables are part of the equation, so he wasn't being silly. I am really curious to see how this ends.

Edit: The plane will still take off though - Forgot to put that!

 

This tread mill would have to be HUGE!!! Now lets look at in reverse. What if this huge treadmill was going in the same direction?

Provided enough speed was generated then the plane would take off and have to provide its own thrust from that point on.

This is the concept of the launch catapults of an aircraft carrier.

 

I vaguely remember this topic being asked a few years ago???

 

I think you're still confused. The speed of the conveyor doesn't matter. The plane will move backwards due to slight friction but over all the speed of the conveyor doesn't really play a role. In a perfect frictionless world, the treadmill could move as fast as it wanted to but the plane will no move backwards becuase the wheels will spin freely.

Think of it this way. A car must overcome the negative speed of the treadmill because it can only move forward once the difference in speed is >0. A plane on the otherhand, with its free spining wheels and propulsion only needs a minor amout of thrust to overcome the friction of the wheels. I can't wait to see.

This is one of the most entertaining thread ever. It's been fun to read.

 

Here's a good video Plane on treadmill