Poll: Mythbusters - Will the plane take off?

Duck_Twacy said:
I got it, I got it...so, what if they put wings on that dog they showed on the treadmill?
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You would get a dog with wings running on a treadmill. He wouldn't fly.


There are a bunch of people on the Mythbusters forum saying that the test was obviously invalid, since the Mythbusters allowed the plane to move forward. If they had done it properly, the airplane would have been held stationary. These are the hopeless ones.
 
GatorFC said:
Dude, there are numerous pilots here on JC that didn't think it would take off. Not just in this thread, either. ;)
http://forums.jetcareers.com/general-topics/34216-can-the-plane-fly-if.html
http://forums.jetcareers.com/general-topics/22291-airplane-riddle-taken-from-another-board.html
http://forums.jetcareers.com/general-topics/38345-stupid-plane-on-a-treadmill-question.html
http://forums.jetcareers.com/general-topics/56281-can-an-airplane-take-off-on-a-treadmill.html
http://forums.jetcareers.com/general-topics/54120-mythbusters-to-take-on-plane-on-a-treadmill.html
http://forums.jetcareers.com/genera...-mythbusters-plane-on-a-treadmill-thread.html

So, the fact that the experiment pilot didn't think he would be able to take off doesn't surprise me. Also, the initial reaction of almost everyone I've discussed this riddle with, including pilots, is NO (until I make them see the light :D).

Edit: Forgot to add, DO NOT POST to any of the threads I linked above if they aren't already locked!!! The Wrath of Amber will be visited upon you! ;)
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I love your edit. :D

I guess what I found so weird was that the pilot knew full well exactly what the plan was. He couldn't argue that he "didn't understand the question." Maybe he's a new pilot and/or didn't take physics or was mixed up. Whatever the reason I don't care... He's cool because he got to be in Mythbusters! :p
 
TheAlchemist said:
If the plane is in a static environment I don't see how it could take off. Now if the plane is gonna move forward in the treadmill than that's another story.
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Originally Posted by PCL_128
The assumption is that there's a really long treadmill, so the plane has room to move forward.


TheAlchemist said:
Well then, that changes everything. If the plane has room to move forward what's the point of putting it in a treadmill?.
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I voted NO and I am a licensed pilot. No shame here. I also stopped arguing about this once I found out the plane would have room to move forward in the treadmill. At this point the whole experiment, in my opinion, is pointless. It's pointless because it's obvious. Read the above quotes.
 
TheAlchemist said:
Originally Posted by PCL_128
The assumption is that there's a really long treadmill, so the plane has room to move forward.


Well then, that changes everything. If the plane has room to move forward what's the point of putting it in a treadmill?.


I voted NO and I am a licensed pilot. No shame in here. I also stopped arguing about this once I found out the plane would have room to move forward in the treadmill. At this point the whole experiment, in my opinion, is pointless. It's pointless because it's obvious. Read the above quotes.
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So what you are saying is the problem is not that pilots don't know what causes an airplane to move forward, but that pilots don't know what a treadmill is. :)
 
caliginousface said:
Hasn't been aired on the Best Coast yet ;).
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I know. Do you think the plane is going to take off here on the West coast too??? OMG I can't wait! :sarcasm:

Now what really sucks is that I (think) I have pink eye and I got a doctor's appointment at 08:40P tonight. I dunno how I'm going to leave without knowing the results of the "experiment" :sarcasm: (again)

Seriously I really (think) have pink eye. And that sucks monkey b@lls.

Time to go see the Doc.
 
darrenf said:
So what you are saying is the problem is not that pilots don't know what causes an airplane to move forward, but that pilots don't know what a treadmill is. :)
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Is that male or female?

What I think is a lot of pilots didn't know the plane would have room to move forward in the treadmill. Once again if the "experiment" allow the plane to move forward what's the point???? The whole thing is pointless.

And in the West coast the plane did not take off yet. :crazy:
 
TheAlchemist said:
Is that male or female?

What I think is a lot of pilots didn't know the plane would have room to move forward in the treadmill. Once again if the "experiment" allow the plane to move forward what's the point???? The whole thing is pointless.

And in the West coast the plane did not take off yet. :crazy:
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So, I take it, you do not know what a treadmill is, since from the limited knowledge I have of these devices, the best I can tell is an Airplane would always ride on, not in, one. :drool:
 
This myth had me completely backwards and the results really surprised me. After reading different boards and watching the show, unless I'm still misunderstanding the whole thing, I think it would have helped people understand the whole concept better by showing the full scale airplane/treadmill experiment at the airport by pulling the treadmill with the engine shut down.
 
triplec76 said:
This myth had me completely backwards and the results really surprised me. After reading different boards and watching the show, unless I'm still misunderstanding the whole thing, I think it would have helped people understand the whole concept better by showing the full scale airplane/treadmill experiment at the airport by pulling the treadmill with the engine shut down.
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Yeah, because on most Airplanes the last three items on the Takeoff checklist are Mixture, Mags, Master. :banghead:
 
aerospacepilot said:
If anyone can show me any math that shows the plane will take off, I would gladly take a look.


But this is such a simple topic, and I cannot understand why this topic comes up, and many people actually believe the treadmill will help in some way.
With the treadmill moving backwards at 60kts (relative to the air), and a C-172 moving forward at 60kts (relative to the treadmill), the velocity of the C-172 is 0kts relative to the wind. No air over the wings, and lift = Cl*.5*rho*v^2*s, when V=0, lift = 0, the plane does not fly.

Simple. End of story. Plane on a treadmill does no good. Plane will not fly. Period.
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Nothing more needs to be said.:rolleyes:

ps yes
 
triplec76 said:
I think it would have helped people understand the whole concept better by showing the full scale airplane/treadmill experiment at the airport by pulling the treadmill with the engine shut down.
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The truck would have been dragging the airplane around backwards. In what way do you feel that this would have better explained the concept?
 
TheAlchemist said:
Is that male or female?

What I think is a lot of pilots didn't know the plane would have room to move forward in the treadmill. Once again if the "experiment" allow the plane to move forward what's the point???? The whole thing is pointless.

And in the West coast the plane did not take off yet. :crazy:
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They have no option but to let the plane move forward. There is NO way to have an airplane with full throttle remain stationary on a moving treadmill.
 
I really think you guys that are scolding the non-believing pilots should take a moment to realize that no one is misunderstanding the concept of generating lift. We all know that it takes air moving over and airfoil to create a pressure differential. The misunderstanding comes from the free-spinning wheels that allow the treadmill to move at any random speed and have zero groundspeed.
 
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