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Originally Posted by Tomkat
The entire theory is completely hypothetical and wouldn't ever work in reality. The treadmill would need to be able to attain an infinite speed, as would the engines. We'd be more likely to see the wheels on the plane pop before anything.
But in answer to the question "would it take off" (ignoring friction issues and speed issues), the answer is simply "no", because there is no air flow over the wings.
PS I deleted that post you quoted because it kind of ruins the thread
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Imagine you have a toy plane that you are holding onto a conveyor. The wheels are moving but the plane is not. If you push the plane forwards it will move. In this case your hands are forward force that in reality would be the engines.
It doesn't matter how fast the conveyor is going - it doesn't affect the plane. Just the wheels.
If the plane is moving forward there is air moving over the wings. Hence it is possible to fly.