Plane on conveyor... Will it ever take off?

[Avatard]

Originally Posted by Adeptus_Minor

Read back a bit.
The movement of the plane has nothing to do with anything touching the conveyor. The thrust from the jet engines will push it forward while the wheels spin free.
We're sort of pre-wired to think only in terms of movement based on pushing against the ground... that's not how planes operate.

There's one other factor [er, two].

Because the plane (due to its being essentially temporarily "immobilized" on a treadmill) is not really moving against the ambient air (well, no more air than the thrusters will provide in airflow); the plane is essentially taking off with a matching tailwind, as the ambient air is not aided in differential movement across the plane by any takeoff-speed-provided airflow.

I agree that beyond this factor (and the minor issue of increased wheel speed, and a corresponding increase in bearing losses) the wheels play essentially no part in this.

The plane will still fly, because its true interaction (primary exchange of thrust) is via the air, not the ground via the tires, as they free-spin (as you pointed out).