Glow in the dark Viper

I have had some involvement (nearly said “exposure”) with displaying a Viper. Unofficial advice from the experts was that one would have to sleep on the engine for many years to get any negative effect. In any case, the relevant environmental authority was happy for the engine to be on public display provided it was contained in a perspex enclosure.

Which maker?

I served on Jet Provosts at Syerston 63-67 as an airframe mechanic on first line servicing. When checking the engine bay on turnrounds you noticed the different makers plates i.e Armstrong Siddely and Bristol Siddely. I wonder if they were all radioactive? The engine originally had been designed for one trip use, so when they were put into aircraft did they add the radiation source to increase life?

I don’t want to get too Scientisty on you but there is some evidence that consistent exposure to low levels of normally harmful radiation may actually be good for you, much in the same way vaccines work.

Probably not a good idea to go eating your dinner off those engines though.

Strange the way things go regarding the paint used on dials.
My Gran who is 88 used to work for smiths during and after the war
in the paint shop doing dials etc.
she is still going strong may i add, or did smiths use a different paint. ?
her friend Gladys also worked the same job and still going well at blind 90 at the bingo at the day center.

christ I’ve been working with those things for going on 4 years now!:eek: perhaps that explains the strange glow my wife complains about in bed each night…or was that just the curry I had:D

All these radiation problems have come as quite a shock to me! I was away from preservation of statics for a long time, and so all this is new news to me. Its also slightly worrying since I worked on these engines during RAF training and EASA pt66 training…. (Got 2 kids, so it can’t be that bad). I have always been aware of the dangers of smashed instruments and GTLS bulbs, but provided they were still sealed behind glass, all was well. Apologies for my lack of knowledge on this subject… it certainly makes for interesting reading.

Thanks for the info

In the days when atoms for peace was at the height of it popularity, mildly radio active Thorium was added to the Magnesium castings to prevent corrosion. It worked but the radiation by today standards is unacceptable. In practical terms the only a real problem if you ingest dust from say using a wire brush.

Nuts.

Thanks anyway! 😀

Yep – thats about it!

Fit it to an aeroplane, and keep the public a good distance away!

Bruce

and to remove the problem?…….:confused:

Other than put it in safe storage out the publics way not alot really 🙁 Bex

and to remove the problem?…….:confused:

Yes, its a known Viper problem (which reminds me; I havent done ours!). Its the casing that causes it.

Bruce