Mythbusters: Airplane on a Conveyor Belt

[RIP - VTEnviro]

It took off normally, but then this happened in mid-air!

 

[nufb52]

I'm so pissed that I missed this! I had it on my calendar too. I still have absolutely no idea how it works. I need to see a re-run.

 

[C-Dog]

Thrust + Drag + Lift + Gravity = Flight

The treadmill has only to do with ground speed, planes, inorder to fly are dependent on air speed over the wings. The thrust is provided by a prop, fan, or jet, not through the wheels, so the treadmill does not even factor into the reference frame.

 

[roadwreck]

I'm so pissed that I missed this! I had it on my calendar too. I still have absolutely no idea how it works. I need to see a re-run.

Don't worry, if there is one thing that the discovery channel can do it's re-run episodes of it's highly rated shows over and over and over and over and over....

...then just for good measure they will throw in an all day mythbusters/dirty jobs/deadliest catch/etc. marathon! And for some reason I can't help but watch? Go figure. :dunno:

 

[Dark Knight]

Mistery solved. The darn thing flies so now...please....Send this fudging thread to the abyss. :smileyballs:

 

[Wolverine]

I would think the way planes take off on aircraft carriers would also be a good comparison? I dont think they use the wheels to take off from the carriers either?

Except when Chuck Norris takes off from an aircraft carrier, he doesn't get launched by the steam catapult; he actually pushes the aircraft carrier backwards.

 

[cement]

would he be able to if he were on a treadmill?

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Mistery solved. The darn thing flies so now...please....Send this fudging thread to the abyss. :smileyballs:

Agreed. I'd give it a day or two for people to talk about the show but the I'm locking all the treadmill threads other than the one in the HOF.

 

[roadwreck]

For anyone that missed it, here is the moneyshot (uh, that just doesn't sound right)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbRcg3ji_Pc

 

[FLBuff PE]

I don't believe it...it was BAOG! I saw his hand lift the plane ever so slightly off the treadmill (that may have been the wine last night talking)!

 

[IlPadrino]

Here's another way to look at it. Think about a plane in the arctic that has skis instead of wheels. That's about as frictionless as you can get.

You think the sliding resistance of skids on arctic snow is less than the rolling resistance and axle friction of airplane wheels?

From my perspective, the only interesting things about this has STILL not been addressed. What is the quantitative retarding force of the conveyor (rolling resistance and axle friction)? As the conveyor increases in speed, what happens to this retarding force (i.e. is it linear?) At what rotational speed will the heat generated by the friction seize the axle? Can an airplane take of if the wheels axle is seized?

Nope... I'm not happy with the myth simply being busted.

 

[kevo_55]

For anyone that missed it, here is the moneyshot

:signs051:

 

[Slugger926]

You think the sliding resistance of skids on arctic snow is less than the rolling resistance and axle friction of airplane wheels?
From my perspective, the only interesting things about this has STILL not been addressed. What is the quantitative retarding force of the conveyor (rolling resistance and axle friction)? As the conveyor increases in speed, what happens to this retarding force (i.e. is it linear?) At what rotational speed will the heat generated by the friction seize the axle? Can an airplane take of if the wheels axle is seized?

Nope... I'm not happy with the myth simply being busted.

Did everyone forget to draw their free body diagrams, and then do the calculations?

 

[C-Dog]

Who cares about the plane, what about the Segway? That is some good camratry...

 

[frazil]

What was the question?

 

[roadwreck]

What is the quantitative retarding force of the conveyor?

Tee hee hee...

...you said retarding.

 

[IlPadrino]

Did everyone forget to draw their free body diagrams, and then do the calculations?

How is a FBD going to help calculate rolling resistance and axle friction? I thought about asking some Boy Scouts (them pine car derbys are hard!) but would feel a little embarrassed.

 

[roadwreck]

How is a FBD going to help calculate rolling resistance and axle friction? I thought about asking some Boy Scouts (them pine car derbys are hard!) but would feel a little embarrassed.

Sorry, I don't think we ever calculated the rolling resistance or axle friction of our pinewood derby cars. It's cub scouts who do that anyway, not boy scouts. All I ever did was make mine as heavy as I was allowed to make it and covered every inch of the axles and wheels with powdered graphite. What great fun, and a huge mess.

 

[Road Guy]

by the way, my kid got 1st place in the pinewood derby this year! It was an ugly ass car, but I put all the weights above the rear axle and man that thing flew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[roadwreck]

by the way, my kid got 1st place in the pinewood derby this year! It was an ugly ass car, but I put all the weights above the rear axle and man that thing flew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:huh:

So who made the car? You or your son?