Quote:
Originally Posted by Ste
Wheels TK, the plane has wheels...
The engines don't power the wheels and the treadmill doesn't affect the engines.
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The wheels have next to no power in them. They exist purely so the plane doesn't skid along the ground. The plane's thrust is primarily (if not entirely) from its engines.
This "magical" treadmill (which couldn't exist in reality) is the key of the question. It prevents the plane from moving as whatever speed the plane moves at due to the thrust of its engines, it will be counteracted. It'll never accelerate or move off the treadmill as the force pushing AGAINST the plane is exacty equal to the force pushing forward.
The engines don't make it take off. The engines give it enough thrust to push through the air, then direct the air underneath the wings. Without movement from the plane through the air, no air will be directed underneath the wings.