Hell Yeah The Plane Takes Off

I would have never believed it!

MythBusters Episode 97: “Airplane on a Conveyor Belt”

Myth: An airplane cannot take off from a runway which is moving backwards (like a treadmill) at a speed equal to its normal ground speed during takeoff.

Busted: First some small-scale tests were performed with a model airplane on a treadmill and the plane was able to take off. For the large-scale test, the MythBusters used a 400 pound ultralight aircraft with a 2000 foot tarp under it. The tarp was pulled backwards to simulate a moving runway. The ultralight pilot had no trouble taking off. This is because the thrust of the airplane engines acts on the air, not on the ground.