real plane?
or model and treadmill?

results?
spoiler tag it for those who dont understand science and are still wondering about the result

 

I hope they go all out with this...and not use some model plane on a small treadmill :uhhok:

 

Both? :x


Wait till it airs :hs:

 

the question implies that the plane remains stationary. if the plane is stationary there is no air speed. if there is no air speed there is no lift. unless it's a harrier or a JSF that fucker ain't flying.

 

no, the question says that the treadmill will reverse at the same speed that the plane is moving forward. this has absolutely nothing to do with what the engine is doing, which is what will actually pull the plane forward. once the place starts pulling forward, that is when the wings/lift come into play. freely spinning wheels affect this in no way whatsoever.

in other words, the only way that plane isn't going to fly is if it's clamped down to the ground.

 

the question does not imply that, that is an assumption made by a lot of people at first, including me. but i've since changed my answer to it will move forward, thus it will fly.

 

I think the question is flawed because it wont be possible to have a treadmill that can reverse the forward speed of the plane.

 

in order to match the speed of the plane the conveyor will have to create enough drag on the wheels to counteract the thrust.

 

well, yeah, there will always be even a split second lag, but the plane can wirelessly transmit its speed to the treadmill controller and then that controller can make the speed match at the treadmill.

or, for proof of concept, you can program the treadmill to match the pre-measured speed and acceleration on a plane under controlled identical conditions.

but the outcome will be that the plane will take off as usual, as if it were on a normal runway. the speed of the wheels will be the sum of the speed of the treadmill and the speed of the plane, until it lifts off.

 

here's the teaser clip to the mythbusters epi:

http://dsc.discovery.com/video/?play...eId=1344511100