Just because it's coming from a pilot, doesn't mean it's right. I'm an air traffic controller, I tell pilots what to do all day, but that doesn't mean a damn. Go ahead and try the balsa-plane-with-a-rubber-band-powered-prop trick on the treadmill at your local gym. See if it works, then try to figure it out.

Of course, it's been done.
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It was an interesting argument, but as things progressed, more rational heads prevailed, pointing out that the airplanes do not apply their thrust via their wheels, so the conveyor belt is irrelevant to whether the airplane will takeoff. One guy even got one of those rubber band powered wood and plastic airplane that sell for about a buck, put it on the treadmill someone foolishly donated to the Lounge years ago, thinking that pilots might actually exercise. He wound up the rubber band, set the treadmill to be level, and at its highest speed. Then he simultaneously set the airplane on the treadmill and let the prop start to turn. It took off without moving the slightest bit backwards.
You've read the whole thread, right?