tail drive vs belt drive

[rana2010]

Hi,
does any one knows which is the best, Tail drive or belt drive and why?
Thx

[spiderspid]

i asked this question to 2 well know comp piolts a couple of years ago the reply was a tail drive is better amongst the reasons were smoother , less friction and there for more responsive and stable due to to the higher gyro gain etc etc but that only applies to better pilots who are realy pushing harder 3d moves, because of the expence of striping tube gears on harder " landings"(and as you've posted this in the bigginer section I presume you still have a few)you would be better of with a belt drive,as I said earlier you will not be able to tell the differance untill you realy progress, long winded reply but hope this helps

[Geek]

For me I had a 450 which had a tail belt but it used to let go all the time
I change every thing and still could make the tail fail.
So when the torque tube conversion came out I had one
Yes I have stripped gears but in long grass on the ground so no crashing
thats my experance
cheers Paul

[coptermanic]

Whilst I understand the theory and advantages of a TT cf a belt drive, and when I get better [hopefully] I will convert back to the TT on my 600, I can't help wondering why the new Hirobo Turbulence D3 is belt driven?

[Geek]

From what I know of Hirobo is that for years they have used belt drive.
I would trust they because of years of using it.
Cheers Paul

[moyesboy]

My 3D sklls are not as honed as some but I can't tell the difference between my belt drive 600sport and torque drive 600pro. The auto hang time seems the same, not noticable difference with inverted autos anf the like.
Tail hgold seems similar even though the sport only has a 9254 and the pro has a bls251 both with the CSM720.
There is a much bigger difference by changing from plastic to carbon tail blades for example!

The belt drive is more robust for sure. Even with the plastic tail case.

The aling has a system of gears that makes it simple to have either belt or torque tube setup with mpost of the same parts. If the design is dedicated belt drive then the belt runs round the main shaft with idle pulleys into the boom like the beam, outrage, raptor, hirobo etc etc. Then there is less drag.

The align TT setup isn't the optimum either the optimum is with single stage bevel gears like the synegy, but more expensive to engineer correctly. The align is always spinning that extra lay shaft at the back!

The 600n sport isn't miuch cheaper than a pro and the all in outfit NSP is the best value so you end up with the TT anyway. you can fit a belt drive back end for under £30 though so you can do that and keep the torque tube for later.

Bending the boom in the normal crash means an extra tenner for the TT plus some gears while the belt will normally survive.


On the 450 I put some K&B tail blades on and I can't make it let go anymore. I also have some pro tail blades still to try but the new tail blade design might be making as much difference as the torque tube!

[coptermanic]

..and if are looking for a bit more tail blade protection, fit the 700 cf fin.

[scallybert]

[...] If the design is dedicated belt drive then the belt runs round the main shaft with idle pulleys into the boom like the beam, outrage, raptor, hirobo etc etc. Then there is less drag.

The Outrage G5 has an idler shaft with a pulley driving the belt. (I'm sure you're right that the 550 & V50 have no idler.)

Personally, I like this, as it makes some maintenance easier.

I'd like to see a comparison between power loss on idler shaft & no idler shaft belt systems. Intuitively you'd expect the idler shaft to waste power, but the guide pulleys and bigger pulley on the other system may also be inefficient.

[moyesboy]

The knight 50 and raptor50 I owned has less belt friction than the 600n sport I have now.