It does, but in the Osprey the transmission rotates with the engine and prop, so the cross shaft has to be right on the pivot point.
With the Valor, the engine and transmission remain fixed on the wingtip, which simplifies the connection of the cross shaft to the transmission. The cross shaft connection can be placed at the optimal location along the transmission for most efficient introduction of power into the drive train, not forced to be at the nacelle pivot point.
As someone who understands drive shafts and flexible drive shaft angles and weaknesses very well isn’t this just trading one problem and weak point for another?
I have been into racing and offroading all my life and flexible drive shaft connection U-joints and CV joints are a huge huge problem with angles, balance, and weak points in the transfer of power from engine to drive output load. And there is no cure for this arrangement. To have a flexible drive shaft that changes angles you have to include flex joints and they are always a very weak point in power transmission to load. And the more angle required the weaker the system will be.
A static inline system with no weak joints between output and load is extremely more reliable no matter what else the engine/engines drive aside from the main power to load connection.
An example would be the early auto enclosed static inline drive line systems. While they were phased out for weight and cost reasons, they were actually much stronger and much more reliable for power transmission than the later flexible drive lines are because they had no “flexible joints” between engine, transmission, and output drive. They were direct static inline drive.
You can pull over to the shoulder in a car if a U-joint breaks, you cannot pull over to the shoulder if a joint breaks on an aircraft. So the difference I see here between the Osprey and this one is that the Osprey can still turn both rotors with one engine if needed, but if a U-joint/CV joint breaks on this shaft output you will be flying with only one rotor. Correct?
If so how would you counter the pulling torque of one huge rotor like that without the other to counter it? I would think it would immediately start to spin 360s in the air? What are the glide characteristics like I wonder?
Or do they have a variable angle gear to gear drive box to handle these angle variations from inline to 90 degrees rather than joints? That is the only way I could see it being safe and reliable... I keep thinking about the “Jesus Nut” situation with this and the rotor output. While it won’t fall off it could completely detach rotor output and possibly produce some horrific vibration issues.