Tail Drive Belt tension?

[Motomikey]

Hey troops,

I'm in the middle of my E4 build (going together like a dream) and I was just wondering how tight (or slack) I should be making the Tail Drive Belt tension?

Unless I missed it, I don't see anything in the build manual about it.

I've preliminary tightened it to a level 'I think' seems about right, but it's just a complete guess, and for all I know it's maybe meant to feel tight... or slack...

Thanks,
Mike

Sorry if the question has been asked already, but I had a quick search and couldn't see anything.

[divad68]

Hi Mike

I've just completed that part of the build myself. I tried to judge the tension based on the 'Finless' Bob build videos. The one below includes quite a lot on fitting and tensioning the belt. I found it very helpful.

http://video.helifreak.com/?subpath=...e=tailboom.wmv

Btw, ignore the bit where he talks about which way around to fit the boom...he contradicts the manual and it looks like he actually got it wrong. Good luck with the rest of the build

[jiberjaber]

The common concensus is that the tail belt should be tighter than you think it should be (relative to the tightness you would have it for the Trex)., this is thought to prevent the the tail belt fuzz that can be seen on the tail gearbox.

I usualy slacken the tail bolts in the main frame, hold the heli by the tail and gently pull the frame downwards, then nip up the boom clamp bolts (dont over tighten!).

A couple of mm deflection seems fine.

[Motomikey]

Cheers for the answers chaps.

My tail boom is very tight in the boom clamps, so it's actually quite easy to adjust the tension of the belt, as the clamps hold the tension firm before I even tighten the bolts.

Cheers,
Mike

[divad68]

Cheers for the answers chaps.

My tail boom is very tight in the boom clamps, so it's actually quite easy to adjust the tension of the belt, as the clamps hold the tension firm before I even tighten the bolts.

Cheers,
Mike

Yes, my boom was tight in the clamps, too. Made making small adjustments difficult, as I ended up having to twist it to move it and it tended to jump from being too slack to being too tight. Eventually it ended up in a position that seemed pretty much in-line what Bob describes in his video, so I was happy to leave it there.

[Motomikey]

Yes, my boom was tight in the clamps, too. Made making small adjustments difficult, as I ended up having to twist it to move it and it tended to jump from being too slack to being too tight. Eventually it ended up in a position that seemed pretty much in-line what Bob describes in his video, so I was happy to leave it there.

I've found everything about my E4 build to be very tight. At times it's made it tricky to assemble, but on the other hand it makes for a very rigid air frame and therefore less likely to fall apart... and I can only imagine that is a good thing