[homer bell]

The answers to those questions can be and have been debated for several years. I’m sure you already know some of them . It doesn’t take s rocket scientist to know that the driveshaft costs more, is heavier, is more complex with 2 gearboxes plus a short belt.
Is it safer? That’s debatable. Properly tensioned and operated, the belt system has worked very well for over 50 years now. It’s very inexpensive to maintain, it’s light, and with the right carbon fiber belt, it requires VERY LITTLE maintenance.

The question you didn’t ask is, which system is more efficient? That of course is the DS. How much , I have no idea, I’m not an engineer. But for the cost and simplicity of the belt system, I’ll take it any day.

BJ’s desire from the beginning was to supply a inexpensive machine to the little guy who wanted in get into helicopters. The belt drive tail was one very important thing that allowed him to do that. Anyone that’s looked closely at Igor’s VS300, will notice belts in the tail rotor drive system.
RW went to DS because of the many ignorant people who have only believed we needed those because of all the production machines have them. This has helped raise the cost of the kit to the point that sales nearly stopped. Cost of the kit is still and will always be an extremely important part of the company’s SUCCESSES OR FAILURE to stay in business.

This machine was meant to be a first step to bigger and better things, that will cost more , but can be used for real work and pay for itself. A few have been able to use it for more than it was designed for. That’s great if you can do it, but keep in mind , everyone can’t do that.