The Myth: As the plane accelerates the conveyer belt accelerates to an equal speed in the opposite direction keeping the plane stationary preventing it from taking off. Is the conveyer capable of keeping the plane stationary?

True/False?

I know the answer to this one, but I figure I'll open it up to debate here as its a good one. Please post before reading the answer. I post this because it generated a huge thread on another forum with all sorts of wild answers. I wanna see if other people think the same way.

What is your point of reference? In the plane or on the conveyer belt or looking from somewhere else?

This being a real world application, assuming we could build a conveyer belt long enough.

The point is the plane starts on the belt at 0, and as it tries to accelerate the belt matches the planes speed in the opposite direction. Will the plane take off?

The premise is based around a jogger on a treadmill.

or like a car on a dyno, kinda, no it wont take off. Unless im missing some way in which lift could be created. But since the delta velocity would be zero i dont see how it could take off

good call, the wings have to have air passing over and under them to have lift. Plane isn't going to take off.

i believe that since the plane uses thrust to propell it instead of wheel spin that the conveyor would have little to no effect on the plane taking off no matter how fast it spins

but if the conveyor spins as fast as the plane moves then there can be no air passing past the plane. If the plane is not moving itself i dont see how it could take off even if the turbines were pushing it a thousand mph if it isnt traveling any distance, no lift can be created

I think the plane would still take off. If it it a prop, the lift is generated by the prop moving air over the wings, if its a jet, thrust would get it airborn. I saw a display at the museum of science and industry where you "fly" a plane that is a static model and wind simulates the prop and it rises up.

ya but the prop doesnt create all the lift. I guess if i knew how much prop speed factored in the take off i could better guess what would happen. But if a plane could create lift from its own props alone we wouldnt have runways

Good point. So it has to be a propellor plane, because we all know that jet planes use thrust and can take off from moving aircraft carriers, and that missles can fly just fine from a horizontal stand still.
So watch Mythbusters tonight and find out.

A plane does not use its wheels for thrust. I dont care what the wheels are doing, if there is thrust from either type of engine prop or jet the plane is going to move forward threw the air and cause lift. I guess what im saying is that a conveyer alone cant keep a plane stationary.

well a jet wouldnt be able to take off either, the big thing is that it is not moving relative to the earth.

How do you explain this though. This plane is generating all of its lift from the single prop.

but the big reason that it gets into the air is because at higher speeds the wings creat lift, here there is not velocity. itd be the same if u picked it up off the ground and held it stationary; saying that it would be able to take off with no velocity is the same as saying that it would be able to hover. No lift no take off

In the video, the plane is stationary and hovering, yet has plenty of lift. So theoretically as long as the motor and prop speed were high enough it would lift off of the conveyor and move forward.