Tail rotor drive: V belt vs cog belt.

[royden]

I've been thinking about this for a while and thought I'd see if anyone has ideas or info about this. I've got a Rotorway Scorpion project and was wondering if changing the V belt tail rotor drive to synchronous/cog belts like they did with the Lonestar helicopter. It seem to be the closest to a shaft and gearbox drive without actually changing to a shaft drive. Any input from the forum? Is it a good or bad idea?

[Vance]

Hello Royden,

My experience with toothed belts would suggest that the twist would be outside the design guidelines.

As a separate issue; I have been told by Gates engineers that in order for a toothed belt to work correctly it needs to be very tight so the teeth on the belt don’t climb the sprocket. When the teeth do climb the sprocket it works the belt in a way it was not designed for. You may find it difficult to keep the belts tight over such a long run.

I feel you would also lose the cushioning effect of the v belt slip.

What do you hope to gain from this conversion?

Thank you, Vance

[tyc]

Originally Posted by Vance

... in order for a toothed belt to work correctly it needs to be very tight so the teeth on the belt don’t climb the sprocket. ... You may find it difficult to keep the belts tight over such a long run. ...I feel you would also lose the cushioning effect of the v belt slip.

Vance;

Was thinking about that myself, only the reverse, with regard to employment on a Mosquito Air or XE.

tyc