87iroc&amullet

The belt, no matter how fast it's going, will not be able to keep the engines from producing forward movement. The engines and air are completely independent of the belt. Wheels have nothing to do with propelling an airplane to takeoff speed.

leardriver

[QUOTE=Planespotta;274204]This is the name of the next Mythbusters series starting around December 12th. Either Jamie or Adam will sit behind the controls of a 747 and, without any prior training, try to land it (the series will also feature a 747 trying to take off on a conveyor belt that is moving at the same speed the 747 would be going forwards to prove that it wouldn't take off).

. . . are they seriously kidding? They must have to do this in a simulator, and this had better not be one of those lame projects where a real captain is occupying the adjacent seat adjusting throttles, flaps, gear, giving tips, etc. The fact is, nobody, without prior flight training (we're talking never behind the controls of a plane before/never having gone through ground school) could ever land a 747, and even with flight training, let's see them do it in a gusting 20-kt x-wind.

What do you professional pilots out there think? Do you view this as a personally demeaning episode? Do you think that Jamie or Adam could actually land a 747?[/QUOTE



I don't find it demeaning. I wish I was running the sim for this experiment! It would be entertaining.

Planespotta

Just a reminder that for all those interested, this show starts tomorrow on the Discovery Channel at 2100 EST, I think.

animals

watching mythbusters right now.. hilarious...

mcartier713

for those of us that missed it, it's on again at 0100 EST.

Planespotta

I won't ruin it for ya', but it's hilarious

mcartier713

haha what the heck...

a. that wasn't a 747, it was an A330 i think?
b. im really surprised they did as well as they did. jamie would have gotten it on the ground if he would have gotten the gear down. and they both actually landed it on the runway w/ help.

kinda makes me feel not very special anymore haha

despite all the commercials it was actually a really entertaining episode

ToiletDuck

Perhaps you can elaborate on the "riddle" then? I've only seen it argued on 4 different aviation forums by hundreds of people. It's been all over APC, FI, PPRUNE, and avitaionforums and all have come to the same conclusion. It's been ongoing for years. Please then lay it out as there seems to be no other way to view this question.

ToiletDuck

Mike this doesn't make sense. Unless you accurately explain the setup of the experiment than there is no use in talking about it. Before you denounce what I've said I'd take a little time to read my post over. If you care to rebuttal then by all means but state your reasons. Wheel speed doesn't enter into the equation, unless we start breaking out coefficients of friction, as they are not the driving/lagging force.

Planespotta

So much for no spoilers. Spoilers follow!!!

a: It was really awkward. The flight deck was of a 757/767, but the aircraft they showed was an A321 from FSX -- the device they were using (I could regocnize it by the graphics).

b: The first time they did it without help, it was hilarious. One guy hit the ground going 300 kts without the gear or flaps down -- because nobody was there to help him -- and the other pulled up to around 90 degrees nose up when he heard the "pull up" warning, stalled, and hit the ground. When they had help, the guy in the control center had all the pilot's instruments so he could micromanage and tell him to correct whatever, and it was also much easier to give commands -- a facility a pilot in a control tower trying to direct down a commercial flight wouldn't really have. Either way, they started with the autopilot in the flights where the tower helped them, and on the first one, I'm pretty sure they set up an autoland. The second one flared above the runway for a few thousand feet and touched down on the very left side, but still landed. Oh, and if you were wondering, the winds were calm and the skies were clear.