[2:43AM]

I'm bringing this post back because the episode of Mythbusters left me pissed off, and it's been nagging me since I saw the rerun of the episode about a month ago.

I think the episode was wrong. They said the myth was busted because their 1) model plane took off no problem, and 2) their real plane took off no problem. However, I think their experiment was flawed. The slow motion footage showed the real plane passing the orange cones on the runway. If I'm not mistaken, the plane should not move relative to the cones because the acceleration and speed of the plane should be matched to the treadmill, or giant tarp as in their experiment. So if the plane's acceleration and speed are 1:1 to the treadmill EXACTLY, then there is no airflow over the wings, therefore the plane should not take off.

I'd have to see the episode again to be sure, but I remember seeing the plane move forward relative to the cones. So the plane took off. That means the treadmill/tarp speed was NOT matched perfectly. Myth busted? What a bunch of idiots. Out of all the experiments they have done over the years, that one was the worst and basically they screwed up the results.