ScaredOfHeights

Hi all, Noticed my rope was a little worn so decided to try the suggested Briggs OEM unit. I agreed, it sits about 3-5mm to high. Unfortunately I can't weld for nuts and getting someone to do it would cost more than it's worth. Matt

Best of luck. I tried replacing pretty much everything without luck. Matt

Nope doesn't work... tried extra winds. Went through 4 starters in about 200 hours and since going manual done another 100 with no issues at all. Bungee fixed the problem of kick back and happy happy boy. Matt

Yes absolutely. I have two both now using Thor 100 starter. matt

Not sure if it's like the Thor 100. For that you need to remove the spacers between the engine and the starter, ie alloy spacers approx 10mm thick. You can either put them on the outside or replace the bolts. Hope that helps, mine is still coming. Matt

Yep the non flash bolts in, you need to use the spacers on the outside.. this will make sense when you see it. I've seen the main spring break when people "yank" the starter rather than using it as a flash, ie a moderate pull (or two) yes you can actually do two short pulls. The other killer is if you over prime the engine has a bitchen kick back. Hope that helps Matt

AWESOME..! Thanks for sharing. Bit more expensive to get here in Australia, just wanted to double check this is definitely the right part number before I order one. Matt

It now works as per "normal" ie you pull hard and fast. I believe many of the issues I see with the flash breaking are caused by people "yanking" them. It's really not hard to pull over with the manual start, but I find the bungee really works well particularly for in flight starting as you can hook your thumbs in. Fitting it peoples mileage varies. I found that I had to put the billet spacers on the outside like a washer (will make sense when you look at it or I can take a photo). Also you may need to put a washer or two on the center part of the housing that the wheel sits on to space it out, again mileage varies. Matt

Oh so kick back is normal? I didn't know that hmmm Matt

Ok, so I have about a 100 hours on my Thor 130 converted back to a manual start so far all good..! I resolved the kick back issue by replacing the pull start handle with 8mm bungee cord. Easy to start and if it does kick back them it doesn't rip out of my hand. I also found that the the kick back seems to happen when it's overly primed, so am now very careful to just prime a little and use the choke to finish off. Only remaining issue now is the oil leak... basically from the block to the exhaust. Copper max works for awhile but it then leaks again. Oh and a buddy of mine has fixed he idle issue by filing the carby butterfly with a little notch near the low jet.. I can leave it idle for 20 minutes now without fouling up..! Matt

Clearly no one flying a Hadron then..? Matt

Hi Tony, I'm still pretty new to PPG but seriously addicted to XC, coming up to my second year and about 250 hours with 500 hours inland paragliding before to give you context. My "thing" is flying large FAI triangles ie 100km+ and 3 hours, this is very different to people flying the coast or wanting to throw the wing around for an hour etc. I really enjoy trying different wings so have flown a few with most of my hours on the WRC and recently purchased the Kougar 2. Anyoo, the WRC. In short I love it..! Large speed range, from slow to very fast. Size for size haven't found a wing faster on all out trimmers. Very well behaved in nasty air. No wings are ever totally bomb proof, but I've been caught out in some nasty air and it's trucked on through so pretty hairy turbulence. Agile. It's surprisingly agile on the main brakes which aren't heavy and good on the tip steering. I love the riser construction, they are complex initially, but lots of nice features like torq steer compensation, numbered trimmer adjustment, nice tip steering toggles etc Good to launch, though you need to get into it..! Two steps back and go go go. It's pretty tolerant of stoping and tends to hang in the air with slack lines waiting for you to get going. Certainly not a beginner wing, but well behaved. The only negative is efficiency, it does require a fair amount of RPM when you let the trimmers out. I've dropped at least 10% RPM on the Kougar. I bought the Kougar 2 for more efficiency but definitely keeping the WRC for speed and fun. Personally if you are looking for more of a throw around wing I'd be more looking at the Dudek Snake or new GTR Matt PS I've also flown the Speedster, BGD, Sun Razor and hmmm couple of others but not the GTX

I love my WRC and now going to also own a Kougar 2. Test flew it, liked it, less RPM.. give it a go. I'm confident that the Ozone Viper 3 would have better performance but not able to demo here in Australia. And I hear rumours of a new Hadron... But enjoyed the flight on the Kougar so that will do. Matt

Badger you are not alone.. I'm 500 hours of thermal flying and 250 hours on the paramotor in 18 months and the description still puts the wind up me.. Matt

Thanks Morgy, I really appreciate your advice, I know you hold back giving it Matt PS Yes, I did wonder about the slalom comment...?

My friend flys the same paramotor with 12L of fuel. With a free flying wing and gets nearly 4 hours and another pilot gets over 3 hours on the Speedster. Having said that the WRC is fast and near bullet proof when conditions get lumpy, so there is a trade off. I get my 120km triangle in 2.5 hours and my buddy needs all 4 to make it around. Matt

Oh and GTX does look good, but now getting a little older design and the issues with manufacturing at paramania so I had ruled it out. But yep, I know pilots who fly and love it. Matt

Hmmm really? The Hadron holds pretty much every long distance record as well as most of the top spots on xcontest Viper description from Ozone. "The Viper 3 is the world champion paramotor wing for expert pilots who fly in high level competitions and make advanced XC flights". And recently won the economy tasks, definitely a XC wing. Kougar 2 - Was design for fuel efficient XC..? Slalom wings I'd say Paramania GT Dudek Snake Ozone Slalom etc I've flown the Speedster and wasn't a fan, but totally accept that is more a chocolate, vanilla thing.. besides the Viper 3 looks like a significantly better performing wing for XC. Looks like I just need to try and get my hands on them all to fly.. doh Matt

I love my WRC With 250 hours in 18 months it's been a full on relationship.. lol It has great launch characteristics, though you need to "get into it". Great thing is it tends to sit nicely once up, in fact I've abused the relationship by regularly pausing during launching and watching it "sit" this doesn't go so well on other wings.. lol It has a huge range on the trimmers, from slow through to very fast. Brakes are light and dynamic, lots of fun to throw around. Love the little things like torque compensation on the trimmers. Negatives; It's not very efficient, I get 2.5 hours on 11L of fuel (Thor 130) Matt

Hi all, I've narrowed down to; Hadron Kougar 2 Viper 3 I know it's unlikely to find anyone who has flown them all, but would appreciate peoples views. I'm 95kg naked and my all up XC weight is typically around 145kg. I love flying large triangles so I need a balance of speed and economy in order to optimise the distance. Morgy I know you are a dealer and "afraid" of being biased, but would really love to hear your thoughts. Matt

Ok, so first decent test flight and the manual starter doesn't unwind..!!!! Yes. But the "kick back" is a shocker. Does anyone have any hints, I've tried a few things without luck. Every know and then it really really kicks back hard. Matt

As a hint you don't need a long single pull on the flash starter. You can do two or three shorter ones. Don't yank it like a manual start, instead firm and moderate speed, pull approx one foot and then release tension and go again. Repeat until the flash has enough tension to release. As for the pressure to pull over manually is easy, not much more than the flash. The only issue is there seems to be a technique required to stop kick back. You need to slowly pull over until it reaches a hard spot then a short sharp pull. If you don't the cord is sometimes yanked from your hand which is unpleasant. Warning I'm a mechanical numpty I've learnt from trial and error. Matt

Yep, I hear ya, thanks for the reply, I have switched it over to the Thor 100 manual start and testing on the ground so far no problem. Slight issue mounting it as I only bought the 928.530.001 and 928.550.001 parts. But solved it buy putting the spaces on the outside of the starter. Hope that helps someone else. Oh and the 130 is very easy to pull over, seems to be some technique I need to learn otherwise occasionally get a bit of kick back. Matt

Dang, this is happening to me as well on the Thor 130. First time at about 70 hours and again now at 130 hours. First time I tried, cleaning it out and new grease, then new spring, fibre washer trick and gave in and just bought a complete flash starter. But none of those seemed to work for me. Anyone else got a fix..? Matt

Just measured and it's "approx" 500mm.. so you are gonna be VERY close. I can't really get an accurate measure because the back plate and exhaust are different heights so hard to pick the highest point. Matt