kiwippg

Hi all. I have a Thor 130 and have had the usual flash starter issues with the broken starter springs, but not I have just experienced the starter cord coming loose and getting caught in the flywheel mid flight, sending the starter handle into orbit. Has anyone found a miracle fix for the flash starter to prevent this from happening. I have a standard modified Briggs starter on standby to keep me going, but the flash starter is a neat option and would be good to keep in place. Cheers

Hi fuzzy. From a previous post you mentioned you were in New Zealand. Finding it hard to imagine your struggling with free flying options here in NZ. Within 2 hours from home in any direction opens up a huge variety of different free flying options, coastal, thermal and in a variety of directions and strengths. It all depends where and what your looking for? A planned trip ridge soaring at the coast may end up flying some low dunes due to wind but still awesome fun and airtime. The motor sure does open up a whole lot of different opportunities, especially in light wind, and is my preferred method of flight. But the free flying option is still very good here. Have a look around. Cheers

Hey Matt That's a shame you can't get it modified economically to suit, cause they seem to be a sturdy unit and the parts for them are in stock at nearly all lawn mower repair shops. If I was a bit closer I would mod it for you but I think the air freight would kill it also! Cheers Adam

Yes this is correct, it fits perfect.

Hi I also decided to repair my flash starter by replacing the main starter spring again ( the thick spring) the one Polini sent to me is there latest edition, it appears to have been modified slightly and has screws to retain the spring in the housing. It working fine so far, no broken bits, so havnt had to use the manual starter for a while. But I always got it on standby. Here's a couple of pics of the Briggs and Stratton starter housing and a pic of the mounting lugs that I cut down 6mm and welded back on. Best parts about the Briggs mod is now I can get the manual starter parts from any lawnmower shop if I need to.

Hi I started out motoring on a home built setup I made using a water cooled Rotax 125. The experiences and lessons I learnt from building and flying my own machine were pretty satisfying. BUT after I got to version number 3 and still had a issue of being able to keep the frame strong enough to handle the stresses from the engine and be light enough to man handle on my back, I decided this project was now absorbing good airtime. So I swallowed my pride and purchased a factory built machine and have never looked back. These companies invest a lot of time and money into the R&D of our machines, and it's not until you have a go at building one you realise they are not as simple as they look! Biggest issues encountered were torque management and strength vs weight. Cheers Adam

I have had to shorten the lugs 6mm on Briggs recoil starter to get mine to engage. Now it fits and engages fine. Strange!

I put the alloy spacers on the outside of recoil unit so it was as close as it could be and its still needs to be 6mm closer. Nothing a cut and weld won't fix, but it doesn't just bolt on. Does a genuine Thor 100 standard starter fit directly onto the Thor 130?

I brought a genuine Briggs and Stratton recoil starter as quoted above part number 497830 and have found that I does not have enough offset to engage with the gear on the flywheel. It going on a Thor 130, has anyone else had this issue with this Briggs part? I am looking to cut off the mounting lugs and reposition them its out by 6mm. Cheers

Hi James Sound like your narrowing it down. I'm in Putaruru. Where about are you located? Cheers Adam

Hi Have you replaced the spark plug as these can have a tendency to break down under load, also have you checked the condition of the reed valves? I'm a hour or so away from you and are more than happy to help out if I can. Cheers Adam

The last two times I found a broken spring were after landing and preparing to launch again, when I went to pull the cord no resistance was there. But it managed to start it the first time. Very disappointing in prime flying weather! Have got a couple of new springs on the way in which have some improvements. Will be great to sort the pull starter issues out as I think Thor 130 so far has been a awesome engine.

Hi All, I have two Thor 130 and love the flash start setup, haven't had any trouble with the rope coming out, but one issue is am experiencing is I keep breaking the main starting spring, seem to get around 30-40 hrs out of a spring,have gone through 3 so far. Has anyone else had this issue? Have got a bit of excessive wear on one engines flash starter pawls and support plate but I think this is due to being a bit heavy on the pull cord, have found it take a bit to get the brain re programmed to use the flash starter gently as it not like a conventional pull starter all the pull cord is doing is winding up a spring, until it overcomes the compression of the engine. If I could sort the spring breaking issue out I will be happy.

Hey. I'm in the South Waikato in Putaruru. Only an hour away. Have done a little bit of flying in your area. Will have to catch up one day.

Good one! I live in the central north island. Plenty of good flying here inland and coastal. Just spent 3 weeks touring whole South Island on holiday, with flying gear of course, awesome experience! When are planning to head to NZ, time of year??