The Great Airplane On A Treadmill Debate

The infamous treadmill plane problem - breaking friendships and ruining family dinners since 2005! Here's the deal: planes don't take off because their wheels spin faster. They take off because their engines push air backward, creating forward thrust. The wheels just roll along for the ride.

It's like trying to stop Superman by making him run on a treadmill. Good luck with that! The conveyor belt would just make the wheels spin twice as fast while the plane's position relative to the air remains unchanged.

So yes, the plane absolutely would take off. The bottom image showing an airplane taking off from a moving truck is actually demonstrating this exact principle. The poor Star Wars kid's reaction is what happens when you try explaining this at parties.