General Torque Tube Vs Belt

[liquid1]

Any preference with either a Torque tube or Belt for longevity flights. The good bad or ugly flight characteristics

 

[Tony]

If you are only talking flight time, then it really doesn't matter. Belt is more forgiving but TT has less resistance. I guess if you are looking for every little thing, then TT is it, all the way. Look at my Goblin 380 vs my Align 450. The 380 doesn't spin free for very long at all. The Align is as free as it can get!

 

[liquid1]

Is there any lubricate best for torque tube, figured it was more of a direct drive with no flex.
The belt seems more forgiving in a crash or bump. Thanks for the info. I’ll probably go with belt for cost savings.

 

[Smoggie]

As Tony said, the 'selling point' of the toque tube was that it was supposed to be more efficient and in theory give slightly longer flights. In practice I honestly dont think this is true, or if there is any difference it is s so small as to be insignificant. FWIW the official FAI world record for the longest flight by an electric RC heli (2 hours 58 minutes) was done with a Mikado Logo which used a belt drive tail.

End of the day both torque tube and belt if well designed work great. On small helis torque tube drives do tend to be very fragile though, the gears strip easily.

 

[liquid1]

Thanks smoggie and Tony, The fragile and stripping gears is enough for me as a new pilot to stay with a belt setup . Good info

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate if you want to lubricate any thing use drylub you paint it on let it dry and your ready to go nothing sticks to it so you will not get grit stuck on it ,I use it on my goblin 630 main gear it also keep the gear cool as there is less friction

 

[liquid1]

Holtneil, Thanks for the info I went with the belt version Dominator there’s plenty of moving parts to lube for sure.

 

[Tony]

Hey @holtneil isn't that paint on stuff just graphite?

 

[holtneil]

Hi Tony not sure it's white in colour once dry it sticks well and don't fly off when main gear is spinning at high speed , they use it a lot on mud pluggers

 

[Smoggie]

I believe that it's PTFE based.

 

[Rowdy]

ill usually run a belt drive on 500 and smaller helis. that way you dont break those pesky torque tube gears. I also appreciate the way a torque tube heli performs an auto compared to a belt. just some pros and cons.

 

[jacobcreek]

you get better performance with the belt and not as noisy as a TT

 

[Smoggie]

I've got helis with belt primary drive, gear primary, belt tail , torque tube tail... you name it (I have way too many helis). I honestly dont notice any difference in performance, efficiency or flight time between the different types of drive. The 'all gear' drives perhaps freewheel for longer after landing but if that means the drive is more efficient under power is very hard to say, for sure if it is then it's a very small amount.

For me it's not a big factor, each system can work great if it's designed right.

 

[Admiral]

I agree with Smoggie if setup properly the difference is so small you would not notice, however in the last 5 years I have broken 1 belt and a countless number of TT gears & the odd torque tube. I have replaced a couple of belts during maintenance that were getting a bit worn, just because I could.

 

[Cyclone 7]

Being a scale style flyer and therefore less accident prone, I am with TT all the way - I like the mechanics and precise interface of a TT drive.

Were I into 3D however, I think I might be more inclined toward belt drive as it does seem to be more forgiving in terms of tail strikes.

 

[Geena]

I don`t mind either one. I have flown both, and they both perform well. I do like torque tube for ease of maintenance though. But as far as tail strikes and crashing, it`s a toss up for me. When I put one in, it`s usually a near rekit anyway.... LOL

 

[Tony]

Geena does it correctly lmao.

 

[Geena]

Geena does it correctly lmao.

I can wad a 700 up just as good as anyone can. Hahaha

 

[Tony]

When Geena crashes, she tries to turn a 700 into a 450... lmao.

 

[Geena]

When Geena crashes, she tries to turn a 700 into a 450... lmao.

Back in 2015, I re-kitted two 700s within a week. LMBO. The second one, I even bent the motor shaft on a Scorpion HK4525-520.