Would the plane take off?

[beam]

THIS JUST IN!!!!

I have no idea why it didn't dawn on me before!!!

Float planes, lacking wheels, quite often land on MOVING RIVERS. The plane...WITHOUT WHEELS AND AGAINST THE CURRENT....still flies.

I kid you not...I came on here to post that very thing!!

Good call Army.

[slateman]

yup

Oh and I asked my uncle, who is a pilot in the Air Force and has a Masters degree in aerodynamics, and he said

No. The plane will not take off. Only the wheels are moving. No airflow (other than the wind) is going over the wings to generate lift. Without airflow over the wings, lift cannot be generated and thusly the plane cannot take off. If I understand the question correctly, the wheels of the 747 will rotate as the treadmilling runway moves underneath the jet but now airflow is going over the wings.

[Target Practice]

Oh and I asked my uncle, who is a pilot in the Air Force and has a Masters degree in aerodynamics, and he said

You are not explaining the quesiton correctly.

I'll have to draw a picture.

[Warewolf50]

did anyone actually read the link on like the 2nd page a guy put a toy plane on a treadmill and it took off wiht the treadmill running ad full spead.

[Army]

IT'S A TRICK QUESTION! IT WAS MEANT TO CONFUSE YOU ABOUT THE WHEELS AND CONVEYOR. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FORWARD MOTION OF AN EXTERNALLY POWERED AIRCRAFT. THE 747 HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO ACCELERATE TO FLIGHT SPEED, REGARDLESS OF HOW FAST THE CONVEYOR OR WHEELS ARE TURNING!!!

[Target Practice]

IT'S A TRICK QUESTION! IT WAS MEANT TO CONFUSE YOU ABOUT THE WHEELS AND CONVEYOR. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FORWARD MOTION OF AN EXTERNALLY POWERED AIRCRAFT. THE 747 HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO ACCELERATE TO FLIGHT SPEED, REGARDLESS OF HOW FAST THE CONVEYOR OR WHEELS ARE TURNING!!!

quotin' dis

[Army]

Oops...did I shout that?

[SuiciDal Sn Y p ER]

does anyone feel somewhat smarter by understanding the physics of this? or am i just learning useless information?

[Kai]

Oh and I asked my uncle, who is a pilot in the Air Force and has a Masters degree in aerodynamics, and he said

[billybob_81067]

I'll have to draw a picture.

Will this one suffice?

[Vex]

Oh and I asked my uncle, who is a pilot in the Air Force and has a Masters degree in aerodynamics, and he said

Well, my best friend happens to also be a pilot in the Air Force (F-16s, C-130s) and I work on C-130 simulators, and we both disagree with your uncle. It is obvious that he did not understand the question.

If you've never been on an airplane, it's difficult to imagine the amount of thrust that they put out. Even for a turbo-prop like a C-130.

Instead of a 747 in the example, picture a C-5 Galaxy. If you've ever seen one of those bad boys take off, I guarantee that you were amazed at how in the hell it even made it off the ground.

[zaqwert6]

Hmmm...

5 pages and the complete explaination and obvious, unneccessary (so it would seem) answer was given in the link on Page 2.

And AO is supposed to be the 'smarter' Forum.

Why does anyone think that free spinning wheels, with no mechanical connection to an airplane will slow down it's forward excelleration? The plane simply fires the engines and moves forward at normal take off speed...assuming the brakes aren't on of course. The conveyor has no impact on it's forward speed what so ever.

[Lohman446]

Hmmm...

5 pages and the complete explaination and obvious, unneccessary (so it would seem) answer was given in the link on Page 2.

And AO is supposed to be the 'smarter' Forum.

Why does anyone think that free spinning wheels, with no mechanical connection to an airplane will slow down it's forward excelleration? The plane simply fires the engines and moves forward at normal take off speed...assuming the brakes aren't on of course. The conveyor has no impact on it's forward speed what so ever.

It was a pretty hard answer to grasp, even when explained and it took several examples for me to fully "get" it.

/Then again, I could be slow.

[jdev]

army,

I re-read after I posted it and debated it a bit with rob. I understand the explanation that you and miscue both gave, but I guess I am having a hard time seeing it in my head. I guess the only reasonable explanation is to call the myth busters and let them hash it out.

I would love to see a giant conveyor belt with the 747 on it. the potential for disaster just makes me tingle inside.

[bleachit]

It was a pretty hard answer to grasp, even when explained and it took several examples for me to fully "get" it.

be that as it may, there was a link 3 pages ago as to why it would fly, and folk still argued that it wouldnt. I believe that was the of zaqwert6