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Old February 4th 06, 06:24 AM posted to rec.aviation.student,rec.aviation.piloting
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Default Can a Plane on a Treadmill Take Off?

"jesse" wrote:

when you walk on a treadmill, do you have any significant
airspeed(minus wind and fans)? you are moving forward relative to the
treadmill belt only, your airspeed is zero, sure your legs are moving
at say three miles per hour, and the treadmill belt is moving three
miles per hour the opposite way, but without airspeed you have no
lift(assuming your arms were airfoils). its not that complicated
people. the thrust of the airplane is only used in most cases, to
provide a movement of air over the wings to cause lift. if the supposed
airplane is stationary to the air, regardless how much thrust is being
used to "keep up" with the treadmill, no lift will be created, try it
with an rc plane on a real treadmill if you dont believe me. Im not
calling anyone stupid, but didnt everybody learn in PP ground school
that ground speed has nothing to do with airspeed and the associated
lift? thats one of the first things, the most basic of things that i
was taught. im done with this topic. enjoy, let the roasting begin!
Jester
PP-ASEL
A&P


some people apparently have a hard time reading.

"a conveyer belt that moves in the
opposite direction at exactly the speed that the airplane is moving
forward."

When the conveyor belt is moving backwards at 80mph, how fast is the
plane moving? Hint: there is no mention of how fast the plane is
moving relative to the conveyor belt. If the plane is moving forward
at 80mph, is it likely to have enough airspeed to fly?

If you are still confused, when the plane is moving forward at 80mph,
the conveyor will be moving backwards at 80mph, and a speedometer that
measures off of tire rotation would indicate the plane's speed (before
getting airborne) as 160mph, the speed relative to the conveyor.
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