Quote:
Originally posted by RiNkY:
]The plane is pulling air through it's engines - Yes, which is making the wheels touching the ground rotate, which is being counteracted by the moving runway...
A plane pulling air through its engines in no way causes its wheels to start rotating. Let's say the pilot decides he needs lots of thrust (such as to take off on a short runway). He first sets the wheel brakes (so the plane can't move). Groundspeed=0. Conveyor speed=0. He then throttles up the engines to max power. The brakes keep the plane from moving, but the engines are just about ready to rip themselves from the wings, and woe to anyone or anything standing right behind the engine!

The pilot then releases the brakes, and the wheels start turning. The conveyor starts moving to counteract the wheelspeed. Let's call the conveyor a "groundspeed force equalizer." However, those engines are still straining against the air! (Again, woe to anyone standing behind the engine!)

Because there's nothing to counteract the force of air through the engines, the plane starts to move forward. The conveyor speeds up some more to equalize the groundspeed. But the plane keeps moving forward, since there's no "airspeed equalizer".

Eventually, the air moving through the engines would accelerate the plane enough through the air, and it would have enough lift to take off.
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