When the airplane is released and accelerates down the track, is the tension in

Question

When the airplane is released and accelerates down the track, is the tension in the rope less, the same or more than when it is locked in place?

4 3 8 2 7 The Wright brothers used a falling mass attached to their airplane by ropes and pulleys to accelerate their plane down a rail (as shown). According to notes from Wilbur Wright for their initial test flight "A 600 lb. weight dropped 16-1/2 feet, pulled the aeroplane forward at a good clip" (http://www.thewrightbrothers.org/1904.html). The airplane (plus pilot) had a weight of 745 pounds. For this analysis you can neglect any effects from the mass of the pulleys and rope.

Explanation / Answer

Tension will be less than locked place tension

in order to accelerate plane the weight should accelerate downward

so

tension should be less than weight

where as in locked position tension is equal to the hanging weight

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