Torque Tube Time frame

[cd5]

has anyone heard any rumours about when the TT will be available and whether or not it will have a metal tail case . Also what price would be expected for this.
Regards
Simon

[Big Fil]

Yes, and Yes. I believe they are both in production now and should be making their way to dealers within the next few weeks.

[WiscHeli]

around new years Align said a month for the TT with metal tail ,,, so 1-2 weeks at most ... i am not getting the belt metal tail waiting for the TT

[kwj48]

Sorry to hijack, what are the pluses and minuses of a torque tube vs. a belt besides the static I've been reading about?

[p00rboi]

Less drag (resistance). More efficiency.

[autopilot]

Are torque tubes a pain to fix after a crash compared to the belt?

[Justin911]

probably about the same... your most likely going to be replacing gears for the TT, and when you break or take a couple teeth off the belt, you have to take the tail case out, so its about the same IMO

[Big Fil]

TT pros: No belt tensioning issues, a bit more precise, more efficient and free running system which translates into slightly longer hang times on autos.

TT cons: more fragile than belts in tail strikes meaning your stripping bevel gears, heavier, cost more to install and fix.

I'm kinda wondering how durable they will be on a 500 size machine.

[magicmalik19]

doesnt a tt also get rid of the van de graaff issues?

[Trex mad1]

Ive gone for the belt tail box, the TT tend to cost more in a crash as bent boom also means bent TT, and the gears do strip really easy.
Although i wouldnt rule it completely out for the future, il see how the belt fares for now, im still in the learning stage no 3D, so may put it on as my skills improve.

[famus]

Stange that the Heli comunity say that a gear drive is more efficient than a belt. The fact is that within the common engineering world it is widely accepted that a belt reduction is much more efficient than a gear arrangement. The only limitation with a belt is the power limit it can transfer. But this is not a problem for the tail rotor, especially with today's belt technology.

[p00rboi]

Originally Posted by magicmalik19

doesnt a tt also get rid of the van de graaff issues?

Yes it would.

[cd5]

I think efficiency might be gained over the belt, as the belt can be over tensioned or when it is undertensioned rub inside the boom. This wont happen with a TT.

[RobertAbles]

We are talking about an unpowered spin down efficiency doing auto's not the drive efficiency.

Performance pick up is at the bottom of an auto only...

[spdntckt]

FWIW the belt on my 500 broke after 30 flights.. I check the tension before every flight; it wasnt that. Luckily i was upright when it happened so the only real damage was some tail blades and a few scuffs on the bottom of the tail fin.. I have broken many belts over the last year on other helis (450 comes to mind). When first built the 600 i didnt even bother with the belts and went to a TT day one.. I have had zero problems with the torque tube on the 600.. and as soon as a TT is available for the 500 i will go to that.. I just find them lower maintenance overall and more reliable. Most other higher end helis come with TT standard (synergy, stratus, etc)...

of course, everyone will have their own opinions on this...

[OICU812]

For those who think you are going to see huge gains on autos, and flight time and efficiency, I really think you have to forget that. I may be wrong but in smaller helis the gains are just not there, or near as evident. I think what will be the interesting thing about the TT for the 500 will be the weight, they have a big challenge there since this heli is so tail heavy allready, if it makes it even more tail heavy than it is than that is not so cool, we'll see as they say.

BTW on 450 sized I never broke belts, never used lube on em either.