I wonder if I may posit a question found on another forum (Nikon Cafe, used by many aviators, both fast jet and airline, plus my little rotary world). There is no further information than that included below. The theory will be tested on 'Mythbusters' in the states on Jan 30th and 31st.
Your opinions and reasoning would be appreciated. If this is in the wrong place please let me know where to post it, and if it has been covered previously again I apologise.
Let's say you have a single engine airplane sitting on a runway that is 3000 feet long, and through some great engineering the runway is actually a giant treadmill. It's engineered so that when the plane starts to move forward the runway moves in the opposite direction at exactly the same speed., i.e. as the airplane's wheels pick up speed the runway matches it.
Will the plane get airborne? 