[Dark_Knight7096]

This argument would make sense if this experiment were being done in a wind tunnel, otherwise it does not. It is the force of the air acting upon the wings of the plane that causes it to fly. Without air actively moving over the wings it won't lift off. Typically the plane is moving across the ground at 100mph (using a number just for arguments sake, it's purely arbitrary), the air is not moving therefore when the plane moves it is going through the air, the air passing over the wings causes it to take off. You could do this inversely, the plane could be totally stationary and not moving but there would have to be a 100mph wind in order to get it to lift off. The plane could lift off the ground and fly not moving, not generating any thrust provided that the air was moving fast enough around it to generate lift. When you are moving the plane forward and at the same time counteracting that forward motion with rearward motion you are cancelling out any motion of the plane, and since the air will not be moving over the surface of the wing fast enough to create the sufficent amount of lift it will not take off. Another example: I'm sure everyone here has seen a car at high speed catch a little too much air underneath it and go airborne. It's creating lift under the car. Now take that same car and strap it on a dyno, or rollers or whatever you want. Take that car up to 180, 200mph, and then introduce air to the bottom of the car. Will it lift up off the dyno or the rollers? No because it is not moving FORWARD through the air, if the air was blown at the car at that 180 or 200mph wile it was stationary it would though. Seriously, i'm not just blowing smoke at you guys, i used to be really, REALLY into planes when i was younger.