Kyosho Nexus Remote Control Helicopter Tips

For all you lover of the Nexus RC Helicopter we have put together this page packed full of hints and tips for both beginners and experienced pilots. We hope you find it useful. If you do, or know something that you feel the rest of the world should know, then please add it in our Nexus Helicopter Tips section and help spread the knowledge of this fantastic helicopter.

Remember, we all had to start somewhere!

Nexus tips

• Always grease / oil the tail sliding ring / pitch adjuster or it may wear away to nothing. Also use CA or get the replacement part that comes with a screw-on washer as a backup. I've talked to a couple people who have had this plastic piece loose it's threads and then you loose the tail. See part (178) on page 15, step 25.
• Do not, repeat, do not over tighten the frame screws, the ones that screw into the hex nuts will snap those plastic dowels in two with a loud "crack!" Stop screwing the instant the bottom of the screws come in contact with the plastic frame. Don't give it that last bit of a turn you want to.
• Keep those "special type" set screws designed for the tail rotor together (they're the ones with a pointy end), or you may have to look all over that heli for where you screwed them in. See page 15, step 25, part (438).
• When it says "kyosho label on" some particular side, they mean it.
• Make sure the coupler for the tail pitch adjuster rod is on secure and that the set screws are very tight and loctited. More than one person I've talked to has lost the tail when the coupler got loose. See page 21, step 39, part (420).
• You may want to support your landing gear when not in use or they seem to tend to spread out with time which means the tail will sit lower to the ground. I've tied fishing line around the rear of the landing gear keeping them from spreading out to keep the tail up more.
• If your nexus makes a rattling noise when it idles, check to see if there is any play in the starter shaft. There are 1 or 2 set screws that hold the shroud on (384A) which you may need to loosen, take the engine out and push the shaft (390A) up from the bottom and the cone down from the top to take the play out, then re-tighten the set screws onto the flat area of the start shaft. Illustration.
• You CAN remove the entire starter shaft and clutch mechanism without taking the frame apart. 1st remove the engine and then remove the 2 set screws from part 384A. Then pull the shaft out the bottom of the heli and the cone off the top. Next, unscrew the 4 screws holding part 383 to the frame so that you can move it around. After that you'll be able to either unscrew the clutch drum or pull it out the bottom where the engine was, but be careful of the teeth on the main gear, they're tricky to get the bearing in part 383 around. If you just unscrew the drum you wont have to worry about the main gear. Illustration.

Some upgrades to think about while building your Nexus

• Aluminum hex nuts that don't snap if you over tighten by 1/8 of a turn
• The replacement "reverse thread pitch slide" (91) comes with a screw-on washer which will hold the pitch arms (178) in place if the threads give out on it. See page 15, step 25 for illustration. (locking washer not shown)
• You may want to replace the mettle bushings (part 232) with ball bearings. They will cause less ware and tear and you wont need to grease the tail drive shaft as often. See page 15, step 25 for illustration.
• A rubber exhaust extender will help keep your helicopter clean
• Yes, you're going to need a foam blade holder so that your feathering shaft doesn't get bent while sitting on the shelf. Don't let the blades be folded back and not have support or you will stretch out your mixing levers and introduce slop to your cyclic.
• A tube drive will take some of those t/r worries away. I've had the wire-drive guides vibrate to the front of the boom so there was no wire-drive support throughout most of the boom... this lead to very strange vibrations at only specific rmp's. I didn't figure out what the problem was until my tail gear case had vibrated apart. Read about it and how I resolved the issue if you want.

Mistakes in the Nexus Manual

• Page 6-Step 1 in the manual shows you gluing the clutch liner onto the clutch drum, but this is pre-installed also.
• Step 3 in the text supplement talks about using a piece of fuel tube for a bushing on a 10mm screw. I have no idea what they're talking about. The part they mention is not in the manual. I skipped the bushing part and everything seems fine with my bird.
• Page 34 shows 3 shaft guides for the drive shaft; page 14-step 23 shows only 2; there should be 3.
• Page 8-step 7 shows the 2x10 mm screw going into the ball joint of the "elevator arm" and the 2x8 mm screw into the collective arm ball joint, when in fact, it should be the other way around. If you do put the 10 mm screw on the elevator ball it will stick out 2mm the other side and get STUCK on the collective arm!
• Don't use soap to put the stickers on, or they'll fall off before you even start your engine. Make sure to sand / treat that plastic before you expect anything to stick to it too.
• If you think you're missing a part, check to see if it's pre-installed. The manual doesn't show some of the parts pre-installed when in fact they are.
• The 1:1 diagram of the pitch rod on page 16-step 30 is not 43.5mm as it should be. This is one of the reasons you have a supplemental paper with your manual.
• Page 14-step 22 shows the 2x10 mm screw for the ball link, but it should be a 2x18mm screw and use the extender part too. This is also in the supplement.
• The manual says you can use soap when putting the rubber dampeners in on page 13-step 21, I say definitely use soap on them because you won't get them out after they're half way in when you decide you may want them a little more slippery.
• Page 23-step 46 shows you how to put the blade grips on, but they don't tell you the diagram is showing the blades upside down. The kyosho logo on this illustration would be on the bottom, but the text tells you to put the kyosho logo on top of the blades (which in this illustration are the bottom). Remember the blades spin clockwise and the blade grip surfaces when installed should be parallel, not beveled.

If you liked this or want to read the experiences of the rc helicopter community then please read our Your Nexus Tips And Experiences section.