The "Plane on a Treadmill" Question

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

The plane will move forward but not enough to gain enough lift. The wheels on the ground fight the force of gravity, until the plane has enough forward momentum for the wings to produce lift. Now the wheels are not fighting the force of gravity as hard so the engines have to fight it harder. That's my story and I'm stickin to it, until someone posts something that makes it look bad.

The friction of the wheels in this question and, even in the real world, is pretty much of no consequence. The engines, being as powerful as they are, should easily be able to overcome it.

Hearing people explain this question and their answer has made me drop this into my "interview pool", alongside the "explain why manhole covers are round" question. I love it.