Been a while since I have seen the airplane on a conveyor belt topic.
- Thread starter sloinker
- Start date
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Because it's been beaten to death.
We need another Cessna / SR-71 tower speed check post too.
The Mythbusters retired this subject 15 years ago. The plane took off from the conveyor belt in the same distance as without it. The reason is that the prop still provides the same amount of thrust to propel the plane whether it's on a conveyor belt or not.
Some are unable to understand that it's not the wheels that propel the plane.
Those who think an airplane can't take off from a conveyer belt moving in the opposite direction, probably also think a sailor can propel his sailboat forward in calm winds, by standing aft of the sail and blowing forward into it.
Some do not have an understanding of all the details of physics, and or electronics.
Back in 1981 I worked in the engineering section of an industrial electronics company that specialized in high reliability remote control industrial equipment such as locomotives, bulldozers, and over-head cranes. We hired a new man to be in charge of the drafting department. One day he asked out loud in front of several other electronic engineers and myself, "Why cant you connect enough 9 Volt batteries together to make a higher voltage and then use that higher voltage to run an electric motor for a car?" He did not have a clue that simply connecting enough batteries in series to make high voltage, would not provide a total battery capable of providing the needed current, or the needed Amper-hours. After that, that same person edited a circuit board lay-out once and drastically reduced the width of a line on the board that carried a lot of current for the output transistors that drove 8 transistor push pull circuits that each drove a good size coil for a contactor that had multiple contacts. Fortunately I spotted that revision before it was ever sent out to have boards made.
And once a young man who was a distant relative and actually in some things such as world history was a very smart person, asked, "Why can't we connect enough batteries made from lemons together to provide power to run electric motors for cars and trucks?" In my mind, I got a picture of a full size (mack size) dumptruck with the back of the truck loaded with lemons all with strips of metal stuck in them, and barely able to move while going up a highway with a slight grade.
Back in 1981 I worked in the engineering section of an industrial electronics company that specialized in high reliability remote control industrial equipment such as locomotives, bulldozers, and over-head cranes. We hired a new man to be in charge of the drafting department. One day he asked out loud in front of several other electronic engineers and myself, "Why cant you connect enough 9 Volt batteries together to make a higher voltage and then use that higher voltage to run an electric motor for a car?" He did not have a clue that simply connecting enough batteries in series to make high voltage, would not provide a total battery capable of providing the needed current, or the needed Amper-hours. After that, that same person edited a circuit board lay-out once and drastically reduced the width of a line on the board that carried a lot of current for the output transistors that drove 8 transistor push pull circuits that each drove a good size coil for a contactor that had multiple contacts. Fortunately I spotted that revision before it was ever sent out to have boards made.
And once a young man who was a distant relative and actually in some things such as world history was a very smart person, asked, "Why can't we connect enough batteries made from lemons together to provide power to run electric motors for cars and trucks?" In my mind, I got a picture of a full size (mack size) dumptruck with the back of the truck loaded with lemons all with strips of metal stuck in them, and barely able to move while going up a highway with a slight grade.
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With the right conveyor the pilot could hold the wheel brakes on during the entire takeoff and be rapidly accelerated to (nearly) takeoff airspeed like from an aircraft carrier. But I don't think you mean that sort of conveyor.
(When the wings start to develop lift, the weight of the plane would decrease on the conveyor belt, causing the tires to lose traction. That is one reason why aircraft carriers use a different system.)
(When the wings start to develop lift, the weight of the plane would decrease on the conveyor belt, causing the tires to lose traction. That is one reason why aircraft carriers use a different system.)
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