Plane on a treadmill

Ancalagon

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But what if there were snakes on this plane?

Snakes on a Plane.... ON A TREADMILL!

Coming soon to a cinema near you.
 

Nuro

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Apr 11, 2007
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I'm not talking about ground speed-

Me neither..

I'm talking about the speed necessary to create enough lift under the wings. If it was going the same speed as the treadmill (but in the opposite direction) the plane would be standing still - and there would be no wind under its wings.

Ok. The treadmill speed does not affect the speed of the air surrounding it. So if the plane is in one place, there is no wind flowing over the wings. The engines are also not generating thurst at this point. They don't need to, there is no force that they have to cancel out. Once they start up, they are creating thrust agiants the still standing air, so the plane will start moving forward, just as it would normally. Eventually, say for arguments sake, 1KM down this long treadmill, the plane would have speed X RELATIVE TO THE AIR, not the ground, and it would be able to take off.
 

oober

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Apr 3, 2005
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If the wheels are free moving, why does the treadmills speed have ANY effect on the plane? The plane does not need to cancel out any force.

Of course it has an effect on the plane. If it does not cancel/equal that force it will move backwards and fall off the treadmill.
 

Rosaudio

First Officer
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Sep 24, 2008
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So if the plane is going 400km/h forwards, and the treadmill 100km/h backwards, its not moving?


No it's moving but I was thinking more along the lines of the treadmill canceling out the speed of the plane
 

xrapidx

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Me neither..



Ok. The treadmill speed does not affect the speed of the air surrounding it. So if the plane is in one place, there is no wind flowing over the wings. The engines are also not generating thurst at this point. They don't need to, there is no force that they have to cancel out. Once they start up, they are creating thrust agiants the still standing air, so the plane will start moving forward, just as it would normally. Eventually, say for arguments sake, 1KM down this long treadmill, the plane would have speed X RELATIVE TO THE AIR, not the ground, and it would be able to take off.

Only if z amount of air was passing under the wings, which would be created by the plane moving at (speed of treadmill) + (required speed for normal take off) = z (speed of plane required to take off on treadmill). Or somewhere near that speed.
 

SlinkyMike

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I see your plane on a treadmill and raise you one sailboat with a fan on the back...
 

Vegeta

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Oct 17, 2007
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Plane on a treadmill? :wtf:
2 pages and no one askes what the OP is smoking? I mean who sits up and think of this crap?
Dude you need a girlfriend with a fat behind and you needed it yesterday!! seriously dude!! :wtf:
 

Mars

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Of course it will take off, because the thrust is generated by the engines on the wings and not the wheels. In fact it would only be on the treadmill for a few seconds before the thrust from the wings pulled it off. The only difference it would make is that the planes wheels would spin twice as fast for the few seconds it was on the treadmill.

Saying that it would not take off is like saying you would not be able to use a rope to pull someone off a treadmill because the treadmill is running faster than you are pulling.
 

SlinkyMike

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Of course it will take off, because the thrust is generated by the engines on the wings and not the wheels. In fact it would only be on the treadmill for a few seconds before the thrust from the wings pulled it off. The only difference it would make is that the planes wheels would spin twice as fast for the few seconds it was on the treadmill.

Saying that it would not take off is like saying you would not be able to use a rope to pull someone off a treadmill because the treadmill is running faster than you are pulling.

Ever heard of 'lift'?? :confused:
 

waynegohl

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Nov 4, 2007
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images
 

Nuro

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Apr 11, 2007
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If there is no (or very little friction) on the wheels, why would they simply not spin in one place? What method converts the energy from the plane wheels into movement for the plane?
 

oober

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Of course it will take off, because the thrust is generated by the engines on the wings and not the wheels. In fact it would only be on the treadmill for a few seconds before the thrust from the wings pulled it off. The only difference it would make is that the planes wheels would spin twice as fast for the few seconds it was on the treadmill.

Saying that it would not take off is like saying you would not be able to use a rope to pull someone off a treadmill because the treadmill is running faster than you are pulling.

LOL You guys must have failed physics 101. I give up.
 

Rosaudio

First Officer
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Sep 24, 2008
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Of course it will take off, because the thrust is generated by the engines on the wings and not the wheels. In fact it would only be on the treadmill for a few seconds before the thrust from the wings pulled it off. The only difference it would make is that the planes wheels would spin twice as fast for the few seconds it was on the treadmill.

Saying that it would not take off is like saying you would not be able to use a rope to pull someone off a treadmill because the treadmill is running faster than you are pulling.

eish.... :erm:

Fail much at school?
 

hammell

Senior Member
Joined
May 8, 2008
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This has been discussed before. The thing to remember here is how the plane gets lift. It gets it from the propeller (or jet) of the plane, which creates forward movement. The wheels and treadmill have no effect whatsoever on the plane (barring minor friction forces). So it is now the propellor, and not the wheels providing forward movement of the plane relative to the air - this forward movement translates into lift. Don't be confused into thinking that the wheels or treadmill have any bearing on this argument, as they have nothing to do with the relative airflow of air over the wings, which is provided by the propeller. This was also proved on Mythbusters - http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-plane-on-a-treadmill.html - also read http://www.airplaneonatreadmill.com/
 
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