[AtomicLabMonkey]

Originally Posted by sperry

Okay, JC actually called my cell phone to "discuss" this with me. He raises a good point, that due to the constraints of the problem and the use of "wheel speed" instead of "ground speed" in the problem definition, the plane can't take off, simply because the problem says so.

IMO, that's a bit of a cop out... I realize the question is poorly written, but that's because I copied it verbatim from the original NASIOC thread. I think the intent of the question is obvious, "what happens if a plane trys to take off on a conveyor belt that attempt to counteract the plane's forward speed".

So, if you want to argue symatics about the wording of the question, then the plane can't take off because the words in the question prevent it. If you'd rather use the laws of physics, as I think the original author of the question intended, the plane will take off because there's no force to counteract the thrust of the engines.

If the question wording is correct, then it sounds like it was written by a grad student with too much time on his hands that wanted to trip people up.