Comments on: Will it take off? A scientific breakdown

By: motterbe

motterbe — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:53:09 +0000

I run on my treadmill at 1,000,000 mph but I do not put my toy airplanes on it that fast. No way.

By: bytehead

bytehead — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:08:31 +0000

1,000,000 MPH would be enough to get a scramjet off the ground. Literally. Just start the engine.

FWIW that’s Mach 1351.35 (sea level)

OK. The plane would definitely be blown apart before anything to to that air speed

By: The Lawnmower

The Lawnmower — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:41:57 +0000

If the treadmill was moving fast enough that the friction in the wheels was enough to match the thrust from the engine moving forward, the heat would probably cause the plane to melt.

By: fatkidsay

fatkidsay — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:14:58 +0000

Forces? What the f@#k does that mater? The ONLY thing that matters is airspeed. If the plane is traveling forward fast enough relative to the wind it will take off regardless of what the ground is doing. Sweet chocolate Christ let this thing die.

By: lostspyder

lostspyder — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:16:33 +0000

The plane in the first one would take off even if it wasn’t an airplane…

The real question is if the force being applied to the wheels is strong enough to pull the plane backwards – pretend the engine is off – if the plane is pulled back, it ought to be possible to make it such that the engine is not strong enough to overcome the backwards pull. At 1,000,000 mph, it probably is, thought the wheels would probably fall off first.

By: Namelis1

Namelis1 — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:05:09 +0000

At a 100,000,0 (hahah) miles an hour the plane will be ripped to shreds by the wind. it will take off though. or be torn off.

By: Sticky

Sticky — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:16:34 +0000

Wow! A million miles an hour? I think that’d start to rip apart things.