Airplane on a treadmill

[mudmagnet63]

Since airplanes were brought up. I heard this on the radio today, just a question to ponder.

If you put an airplane on a treadmil, ( the treadmill can be any length let's say 5000' )When you throttle up the plane you start the treadmil in the opposite direction. Will the airplane get air borne ?

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

NO. What the wheels do makes no differance. Moving the wings across air does.

 

[mudmagnet63]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Hmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

 

[QC]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

We actually did this one here a year ago or so. What's the head wind?

Actually the answer is yes, as fairlaneman said, the wheels make no difference, so assuming that it has decent wheel bearings it will accelerate along the treadmill until it gets airborne.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Oh no, not again.....​

 

[mudmagnet63]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

My first thought was also NO, but as you stated the wheels have nothing to do with the foreward movement of the plane. If the treadmill was moving at 200 mph the wheels would just spin at 200 mph the plane would still move foreward. as the prop pulls it foreward the wheels will spin faster than the TM.
Until the plane is airborne.

 

[JB]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

What happens to the air is independent of what happens to the wheels. The treadmill cannot prevent the prop from moving the air, so the plane will take off.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

What happens to the air is independent of what happens to the wheels. The treadmill cannot prevent the prop from moving the air, so the plane will take off.

Ayuh,......

The Only Thing that'll Change is,......

The Wheels will be spinning Twice as Fast............

 

[QC]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

The Wheels will be spinning Twice as Fast............

And that is why I believe we need to assume it has decent wheel bearings . . .

 

[tommays]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

No matter how fast i run on my treadmill i cannot go fast enough to get a kite to FLY


So i am still confused as to HOW the air would move past the wings to create lift if the plane cant make any ground speed


Tommays

 

[Dave Abrahamson]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Do ya mean like if the runway was a big moving sidewalk type deal?

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

The airplane itself is not moving. The wheels only are moving. Therefore, no "wind" is flowing over the wings and the airplane will not fly because it is stationary. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.!!!!

 

[mudmagnet63]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Do ya mean like if the runway was a big moving sidewalk type deal?

Yes the TM can move at any speed as the plane is throttled up the treadmill starts to move in the oppisite direction.

 

[JB]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Again, what the prop is doing is moving the plane through the air. What the wheels or the treadmill are doing is of no importance to that fact. When the plane is moving through the air fast enough it will fly.

The plane is an air vehicle, not a ground vehicle. All the wheels are for is to raise the plane body off the ground so it gets better access to air.

For example, if there was a tailwind equal to the speed of the air propelled by the prop the plane could not take off. That is why all takeoffs are upwind, not downwind.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Yes, the airplane would fly. The confusion here is that people are relating the propulsion to that of a car, which is driven by either its front or rear wheels. Airplanes are moved forward by thrust, either from a propellor or a jet engine. So, as long as the wheels were free to spin and the aircraft was not tied down, it would move forward until it reached "flying speed."

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Here's some more trivia fun ...

An airplane flies because of a characteristic of airflow that is the same one that makes a carburetor work. Anyone know what that is? Name the principal if you know it.

 

[chris4x4]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

What if the treadmill was suddenly turned off?




I know the answer, just playing along.

 

[mudmagnet63]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

This

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Wouldn't make any difference.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: Airplane on a treadmill

Here's some more trivia fun ...

An airplane flies because of a characteristic of airflow that is the same one that makes a carburetor work. Anyone know what that is? Name the principal if you know it.

Its called the venturi effect. Now what did I win?