Can an airplane takeoff from a treadmill?

[CottonEyedHorn]

What if the treadmill was moving forward, in the direction of takeoff. Would the plane get airborne any faster?

 

[S197HQQKEM]

uh, wouln't them there two vertical bars rite thar in front rip them wings right off as that lillte aeroplane went by?

make a hell of a mess it would.


now if you too a big *** tread mill and hooked it to a aerocraft carrier catapult and then put the aeroplane on top pf the treadmill and then fired that catapult, that treadmill would shoot right off of the end of the carrier whoooooosh!!!!!!!!!!! but what would happen to the airplan on top?




what if it was an osprey?




why am I not wearing any pants?

 

[Superfan]

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[tx 3 putt]

I post on hornfans, owned by a person with an airplane degree, and i'll say no.

Are they serving Whataburger or In / Out on the plane ? This factor alone would way the heaviest in my yes / no decision.

 

[mantaray]

You just have to know where to look for such answers.

 

[austintexas]

88 miles per hour!!!!

 

[chuychanga]

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[LonghornGirlie]

African or European? It isn't a question of where he grips it. It is a question of weight ratios.

 

[Beau Vine]

Yes, as long as the treadmill is strapped to the top of a very fast train.

 

[kangsta]

I think the more important question here is where the hell are you going to get a treadmill that big? They only come in human size, and maybe dog size. Not DC-10 size

 

[hornimal]

wait. is teddy lehman piloting the plane?

 

[Benson32]

holy ******* ****.

 

[jimmyjazz]

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[Steel Shank]

Say, are they serving drinks on this plane?

 

[LongIslandIceSIP]

Of course not!

Try this experiment... go to the gym, and bring a kite. Try to fly the kite while running on the treadmill. Report back with your findings.

 

[dahobbs]

si, fly.

 

[Not Shinola]

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[tx 3 putt]

MASA (Mexican Aeronáutica y Spacia Administración) could make it happen.

 

[Longhorn_94]

yes it will take off. if you didnt read the link above titled "you just have to know where to look" or something like that, then you need to read it.

the wheels do not matter.

regardless of the treadmill, the jet engines will force air through the engines like a wind rope. the engines grab the wind rope and pull the plane forward and into the air. the wings stabilize the plane and allow it to be turned and controlled but jet planes really do not fly on the wings. so even if the treadmill accelerates in the opposite direction, the engines will be pulling air through the engines faster and faster and thus will create the lift for the plane to fly and take off.

 

[next2naus]

does the international date line have anything to do with this?

 

[mantaray]

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[Hayden_Horn]

sparrow. how the **** could i type sparrow when i've seen that movie probably a thousand times. unforgivable.

i will never live down this shame.

sepukku it is.

 

[grammer_police]

Serious response:

It all depends on two things:

1) If the treadmill's rotation is induced by the treadmill's motor OR by the thrust from the plane.
2) If we're assuming a perfectly frictionless plane/treadmill interface OR real-world.

If 1 is motor and 2 is frictionless, then the plane takes off.
If 1 is motor and 2 is real-world, then yes with sufficient thrust.
If 1 is thrust and 2 is frictionless, this makes no sense.
If 1 is thrust and 2 is real-world, then no.

 

[The Greatest]

amazing how many people are so dead certain of the wrong answer. while i initially made the mistake of thinking of a plane like a car, once you realize those big engines on the plane make it go, not the wheels, it's a pretty obvious yes.

 

[LongIslandIceSIP]

NO NO NO!!!!!

No matter how fast you run on a treadmill, you don't feel the wind through your hair. You are NOT really moving. A plane could not create drag if it's not moving with respect to the ground.

If you ride your bike at 30mph on the road, you encounter wind resistance. If you ride your bike at 30mph on a treadmill, you feel NOTHING.

So how on earth could a plane take off if it is not experiencing any drag or lift!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Motorcycle on a threadmill video

This video pretty much proves my point. No matter how fast the dude goes on the motorcycle, he is NOT moving wrt the ground.

A plane (even if not "driven" by the wheels) is making the treadmill move underneath it, but the plane is not moving wrt to the ground so it has no drag and will NEVER take off. Doesn't matter if the power comes form the wheels or the turbines. If it doesn't move wrt the ground, it's not going anywhere.

 

[burgy28]

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[madscientist]

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[LongIslandIceSIP]

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[Bookman]

The answer is both "yes" and "no."

A plane traveling on a treadmill, relative to the stationary ground, is not moving. Therefore, lift is needed. This lift is provided by the plane traveling on the treadmill relative to the treadmill. Since the speed of light will be calculated the same from both an observer on the treadmill and an observer on the ground, the lift coefficient can be calculated as a differential of the relative distance, squared, between the treadmill and the ground. If the lift coefficient is positive, the plane will take off and fly. If it's negative, then the plane will crash and burn. You cannot have a zero lift coefficient for two reasons: (1) entropy and (2) you cannot divide by zero.

 

[jt09]

I'm so happy that I am right and so many of you are wrong.