Airplane: Does it take off?

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

The speedometer of the plane will only read what is would on regular ground.

Airplanes have a speedometer? (Wheel speed indicator) New on on me. I always thought they had air speed indicators since that's what makes the plane fly.

[zff]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

The speedometer of the plane will only read what it would on regular ground.

Airplanes don't have wheel-driven speedometers like cars do. They use pitot tubes, which measures airspeed. So if the conveyor belt matches the airplane's speed, it's matching the airplane's airspeed.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

Ummmmm.........couple points..... if the wheels on the plane were friction free, then the wheels wouldn't rotate at all.

I think they are referring to the wheel bearings being friction-free.

But it all comes down to how do you define the "speed" of the airplane and the belt. Depending on how you solve that, you may find that there isn't enough data to come up with a conclusion.

[Pomai]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

I can't beleive we're still arguing about this.

The answer is so obvious....The plane overheats, the pilot gives us all the finger, and the plane blows up.

Best answer yet. Hilarious!

Craig, I think the plane would blend, because the RPMs of the blender blade on PUREE mode is fast enough to do it. But it might also depend on the H.P. of the electric motor driving it.

[acousticlady]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

Okay, The wheels on an airplane are ideally friction-free when the brakes aren't applied. This is a question of Newton's laws (Action/reaction).

So if the airplane is moving forward at 10mph, the conveyor belt would be moving backward at 10mph. If the airplane had a wheel-driven speedometer (like a car), it would read 20mph.

I was referring back to these statements.

[zff]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

The conveyor belt isn't trying to match the speed of the airplane's speedometer (if it had one), it's only trying to match the plane's speed as it moves through the air and down the runway. So in effect, the faster the treadmill is going, the faster the airplane is zooming down the runway.

Yeah, we'll need a really long conveyor belt.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

But it's not moving THRU the air. It's stationary in relation to the mass of air surrounding it. Air speed is a big fat ZERO while ground speed is whatever the conveyor belt is achieving. But in flying lifting bodies, air speed is the essential value to be looking at becaus if air speed is zero, then the plane's glide ratio becomes apparent. Hmmm 32ft/sec/sec at a glide ratio of 1:1 with air speed at zero, well there is accumulating air speed as you make your vertical dive at the fall rate indicated. Technically you're flying...straight into China. Impact in five, four, three, two, one...terminal velocity has been achieved. Thank you for flying Mahalo Airlines

[zff]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

But it's not moving THRU the air.

It IS moving through the air. The aircraft will accelerate and zoom down the mile-long conveyor belt as if it were a normal runway. It would even have very close to the same rate of acceleration. It will generate airflow over and under its wings the same way it would if there were no conveyor belt.... by taxiing very rapidly down the runway. The only difference is the airplane's speedometer* would be indicating twice the speed of its airspeed indicator.

The conveyor belt does not try to match the speed shown on the speedometer, it only matches the aircraft's airspeed. If the conveyor belt could magically hold the aircraft stationary at the beginning of the runway, I agree it will not take off. But the question is not trying to test your knowledge of how wings generate lift, it's trying to see if you understand how airplanes generate forward motion.

Many people may make the mistake of equating an airplane on a treadmill to a car on a treadmill.... or a person on a treadmill. They think that because a car can't move forward on a treadmill that's matching its speed, an airplane won't be able to either. You obviously believe this conveyor belt is somehow able to negate the airplane's forward thrust. Please explain to me how that is possible.... without using a blender.



* That's assuming this airplane has a wheel-driven speedometer like a car... which airplanes normally don't.

[94VTEC13]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

NO! It never takes off, lift is created by the wind going over & under the wings

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

NO! It never takes off, lift is created by the wind going over & under the wings

Okay, okay - no need shout.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

No matter how fast the conveyor belt is moving it takes air flow to create lift. That's why you don't see conveyor belts on aircraft carriers but catapults instead.

And how you know one blender no can make one fly...

[zff]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

No matter how fast the conveyor belt is moving it takes air flow to create lift. That's why you don't see conveyor belts on aircraft carriers but catapults instead.

And how you know one blender no can make one fly...

Aieeeya... you gotta quit messing with me like that. I thought you were serious in thinking the plane won't fly. I was about to look for a brick wall to bang my head against!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

Aieeeya... you gotta quit messing with me like that. I thought you were serious in thinking the plane won't fly. I was about to look for a brick wall to bang my head against!

We sell bricks at Home Depot...around 93-cents apiece

[pzarquon]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

If you're not watching the pop-up video version of the "LOST" Season 3 finale, don't forget to catch Mythbusters tonight. Or, you can spoil the ending and watch something else.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Airplane: Does it take off?

If you're not watching the pop-up video version of the "LOST" Season 3 finale, don't forget to catch Mythbusters tonight. Or, you can spoil the ending and watch something else.

I don't get it what's with the wind blowing the tarp? IF there's wind then of course it's gonna fly. I gotta watch this tonight I just hope the weather won't block DishNetwork's satellite reception as it usually does. I'm not convinced...yet.