FTO AUSTRALIA

I'm afraid I'd have to go with Ben on this one... If it were the other answer, how come countries pay big money to build runways when all they need is conveyors, same could be applied to aircraft carriers. They use a sling to propel the plane to a fast enough speed to get the air velocity right for take off.

if there was forward movement, would it be enough to create lift?

i admit, once the plane is off the ground then that's fair, it will move forward. but with 0 momentum, 0 acceleration, 0 relative speed, there is no way the baby will take off.

or, does lift get created by the actual jet / propeller? i thought these were just there for forward thrust (hehehe..) movement.

kazbah wrote:I'm afraid I'd have to go with Ben on this one... If it were the other answer, how come countries pay big money to build runways when all they need is conveyors, same could be applied to aircraft carriers. They use a sling to propel the plane to a fast enough speed to get the air velocity right for take off.

Because even under those 'other answers', the plane would still need a full length conveyer belt runway to take off anyway As Ben mentions, it's all about airspeed over the wings, and the plane still needs to get that up to a set speed before it can lift off, no matter what's happening to the wheels.

Not to mention the physical contraints of building something that large

Edit: Woohoo I'm at the top of the 'Online Now' list - first time ever!

Yes I was agreeing that it is all to do with air over the wing that allows the plane to take off... Maybe I just confused myself and everyone with my post

BTW Congrats on being No 1

FTOs are cool.

Benny, come on, your not paying enough attention. The plane does move forward! Exactly the same as it would on a normal runway, it does not simply stay in one place on the conveyor, it powers along it propelled by it's turbine engines. The plane would move forward, air would rush across its wings, it would take off.

The conveyors movement in the opposite direction of the planes forward momentum only spins the planes wheels, it does nothing to negate the momentum of the planes body!

That would depend of the inertia of the 'cool' & velocity of the FTO

does cool have friction? will an FTO create forward thrust from it's occupant?

this is an ambiguous statement that i have made... let's consult Dr. Karl.

ahew wrote:does cool have friction? will an FTO create forward thrust from it's occupant?

Only if they fart in it!

Guilty as charged

Sounds good on leather thou

hahaha...
sound is expended energy. that's why silent is more deadly.

The plane will not take off. The engine is producing force in one direction, the treadmill is working in an equal and opposite direction, therefore the forces cancel each other out. The engines, no matter if jet or propeller have nothing to do with airflow over the wings. As a few people have mentioned, to create lift you need to pass air over a wing. If a plane was stood still and a big wind came towards it, it would lift of the ground (it would have to be a large wind mind) but in this case the plane would just be in the same spot on the run way. If you are on a treadmill at the gym and are running at 20 kms/h you do not get a breeze in your face. Try that outside and you can feel and hear wind in your face. You need air to flow over the wing to create lift. This does not happen on a treadmill.

yes! i now have 3 people that agree with me.

ahew wrote:FTOs are cool.

DAMNIT! ahew got the question right

Oh my god.

How do you people manage to dress yourselves in the morning?

scarecrow wrote:Oh my f**king god.

How do you people manage to dress yourselves in the morning?

With a chop stick & an intricate web of rubber bands

Haha It would actually be very cool if someone did ring up Karl and have an ask of the question. Only because I now need closure, hehe, stupid internet.

Our mums dresses us. She turns our socks inside out and tucks a bit in so we can put them on in one go.

scarecrow wrote:Oh my god.

How do you people manage to dress yourselves in the morning?

PFFFT they don't dress themselves

That's what they pay the trainee nurses at the "special" hospital to do.

My nurse has a cold spoon

Oh ho....