Will it land?

[Kenneth Brown]

A Cessna 150 is on short final for a 3000 foot runway. There is a magic fan blowing a headwind up the runway at 100 MPH.

The question is:

Will it land?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Will it land?

send it to myth busters.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Will it land?

Sure it will, not sure if it will be in one piece or not. The old saying of what goes up must come down comes to mind.. That is why I didn't go into the sub/nuke field in the Navy. I told the recruiter that what goes down doesn't mean that it is going to come back up. That is why I went into the aviation field...

 

[Bass Man Bruce]

Re: Will it land?

Piece of cake.
Plane just flies at 100 mph and lands at a standstill.
Or fly 90 mph and land while going backwards,
Research planes flying into the eyes of hurricanes fly backwards this way with regularity.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Will it land?

Yes......​

 

[JB]

Re: Will it land?

What Bro. Haut said.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Will it land?

In this case, the term "land" is somewhat imprecise. Yes, you could plant the wheels on the ground but you would not be able to hold the airplane in position unless it was immediately tied down by a ground crew. My answer to the question is no, you could not land the airplane because you would not be able to control it. In any traditional sense of the word, such a scenario really isn't a landing.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Will it land?

A better question is, will it reach the runway. 100mph is at the upper limit of the 150's capability. The good news is the runway is probably about 2,950 feet longer than it needs to be.

 

[QC]

Re: Will it land?

you would not be able to hold the airplane in position

Sure you could. Shove the wheel forward as soon as you're on the ground and she'll make a nice little anchor all by herself . . .

A better question is, will it reach the runway. 100mph is at the upper limit of the 150's capability.

Imagine she is going 99 MPH airspeed and start your "approach" from the other end of the runway drifting backwards at 1 MPH, that'd work . . .

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Will it land?

Unless the laws of gravity are somehow reversed, it will definately land one way or another, sooner or later, somewhere.

The real question is, will the pilot survive? And the answer is... yes, because he bailed out about 10 seconds ago, taking the only parachute with him, it's the rest of us up here that are screwed.

SgtMaj

 

[chris4x4]

Re: Will it land?

That is why I didn't go into the sub/nuke field in the Navy. I told the recruiter that what goes down doesn't mean that it is going to come back up. That is why I went into the aviation field...

Same here! Seems the "default setting" on a sub would be the bottom of the water.

 

[Nandy]

Re: Will it land?

Yes it would, but not in a safe manner. If the question is land in a safe manner then the answer is no.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Will it land?

At a cruiseing speed of 130 it should as long as the fan is behind it when landing

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Will it land?

At a cruiseing speed of 130 it should as long as the fan is behind it when landing

Doesn't matter what speed it cruises at, once it runs out of fuel, it's guaranteed to come down like a rock...

 

[dolluper]

Re: Will it land?

Not quite like a rock they are quite light and gluide quite easly

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Will it land?

Not quite like a rock they are quite light and gluide quite easly

Well...

You do make a good point there.

SgtMaj

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Will it land?

Any airplane will glide - even the space shuttle, once it has returned to atmospheric flight, is little more than an powerless airplane witha really lousy glide ratio.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Will it land?

Any airplane will glide - even the space shuttle, once it has returned to atmospheric flight, is little more than an powerless airplane witha really lousy glide ratio.

Unless a piece of foam hits it...

SgtMaj

 

[Turin]

Re: Will it land?

It will land but it will be a v-tol aircraft i would selll the van to the navy

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Will it land?

Someone turn off the damn fan so the plane can land normally.

Next question.