The Treadmill & Airplane debate solved & Explained

ZYBORG said:

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This explanation/demonstration made it clear for me.

I was under the premise that the treadmill would equal the speed of the aircraft, thus there would be no forward movement and no air to flow over the wings in order to generate lift (i.e. OP scenario #1).

This demonstration shows that the treadmill will never equal the speed of the aircraft. Therefore, the aircraft will always be able to move forward and generate the lift needed for flight.

I was blind, but now I see LMAO!!!

Outlaw99 said:

read this again, only slower and outloud.

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no offense, but that's what YOU need to do... lol wheel speed is relative, they will always match even with the plane moving forward.

Black Gold 380R said:

This explanation/demonstration made it clear for me.

I was under the premise that the treadmill would equal the speed of the aircraft, thus there would be no forward movement and no air to flow over the wings in order to generate lift (i.e. OP scenario #1).

This demonstration shows that the treadmill will never equal the speed of the aircraft. Therefore, the aircraft will always be able to move forward and generate the lift needed for flight.

I was blind, but now I see LMAO!!!

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Outlaw99 said:

read this again, only slower and outloud.

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Ummmm. Lol

Is there another thread where this argument started? Lol

KilledbyKenne said:

Is there another thread where this argument started? Lol

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You probably remember this from back in the day but just the other day some A-hole posted a pic in the funny pics thread and it spread like wild fire.

You don't get handed a 1/4 mile time slip for a 4th gear 7600 rpm dyno pull, do you?

So, of course the plane takes off.

Outlaw99 said:

read this again, only slower and outloud.

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Bro, the plane takes off. It will not remain stationary on the treadmill no matter how fast the treadmill is moving. The wheels are independent of the plane's motive force. Once you give it thrust it will move forward regardless of the treadmill.

Sinister04L said:

Bro, the plane takes off. It will not remain stationary on the treadmill no matter how fast the treadmill is moving. The wheels are independent of the plane's motive force. Once you give it thrust it will move forward regardless of the treadmill.

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This. I guess technically it wouldn't if the thrust was so miniscule that it could not overcome its static friction resistance, no?

Rb0891 said:

This. I guess technically it wouldn't if the thrust was so miniscule that it could not overcome its static friction resistance, no?

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If the thrust was that miniscule it wouldn't take off if there wasn't a treadmill lol.

FJohnny said:

You don't get handed a 1/4 mile time slip for a 4th gear 7600 rpm dyno pull, do you?

So, of course the plane takes off.

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Ironically i always got s new h pipe gasket instead of a timeslip on the dyno

If the plane was matching the speed of the tarp aka conveyor belt would it have progressed forward as it did? If the plane had remained stationary due to the conveyor would it then have lifted up? All I saw in the video was a plane compensate for the belt to take off. However I know shit about this and that might be apparent.

I was in flight school when this brain teaser came out and it was the first time in my adult life I realized the vast majority of people in the world are absolute idiots. I understand how people got it wrong at the time but it's the number of people that couldn't grasp the correct answers explanation that shocked me.

mysticsvt said:

If the plane was matching the speed of the tarp aka conveyor belt would it have progressed forward as it did? If the plane had remained stationary due to the conveyor would it then have lifted up? All I saw in the video was a plane compensate for the belt to take off. However I know shit about this and that might be apparent.

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Get your desk chair with a box fan strapped on the back and put it on a treadmill. Wait, don't do this. Lol

Where's deceptive?

Sent from my SM-S908U using the svtperformance.com mobile app

FJohnny said:

You don't get handed a 1/4 mile time slip for a 4th gear 7600 rpm dyno pull, do you?

So, of course the plane takes off.

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serious question, could you run a draggy on the dyno and get 1/4 numbers?

The issue is definitely coming from automotive gearheads being unable to separate their experience from the car world. The different ways that "thrust" is provided in a plane vs a car is literally the key here.

Good read regardless though. Lmao

I started to understand this a little better (i think) when I thought about the wheels on the treadmill independently.

People who say there is flight are saying that no matter what the treadmill is doing, the plane creates lift. It still confuses me I guess.

Regardless, the plane in this example should never move on the treadmill no matter how fast the treadmill is moving when the plane isn’t under power correct?

The wheels just spin and spin and spin while the plane remains stationary?

So no matter what the treadmill does, thrust will move the plane forward?

Would airplanes accelerate faster or take off in a shorter distance if they were taking off on a treadmill moving in the same direction? I’m guessing no I think…

Help!

BlckBox04 said:

serious question, could you run a draggy on the dyno and get 1/4 numbers?

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draggy uses gps to measure everything so no