This thread has been a hoot to read!.

Quote:
Imagine a plane is sat on the beginning of a massive conveyor belt/travelator type arrangement, as wide and as long as a runway, and intends to take off. The conveyor belt is designed to exactly match the speed of the wheels at any given time, moving in the opposite direction of rotation.
There is no wind.
Can the plane take off?


The question "Can the plane take off?" implies that an attempt to take off should be presumed.

Working from that we go on to the consturct of a runway sized conveyor that is "designed to exactly match the speed of the wheels at any time, moving in the opposite direction of rotation".

An aircraft does not depend on it's wheels to get it moving. Nor does it care if the ground(conveyor) under it decides to start moving forward or backward.

If the conveyor is moving forward, at the same speed as the wheels then, while the wheels are not turning, they are indeed moving forward, same as the aircraft.

If the conveyor is moving backward, the wheels still move forward with the aircraft, they just spin faster. Either way the aircraft still moves forward, the wings move through the air and lift is generated. The airplane takes off.

The rest, is just barffelgabb.
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Glenn