On gas turbines, I feel we ought to be sorting out some rules for their display at rallies. There are legitimate stationary engine applications for them and there are an improbable number about for reasonable money - you can pick up a running Rover fire pump for about the same as an unrestored Amanco or Bradford open crank. The easy path is to ban them like gazebos at Astle Park, but I feel it is unreasonable to do so when sensible measures can be applied to make them safe.
I am fully seized of the dangers inherent in running an engine of unknown provenance that rotates at perhaps 20,000RPM. Blades making a break for freedom through the case are the real danger and even in aircraft applications where the engine case is armoured, they are still known to enter the fuselage on rare occasions. Just imagine the carnage if an unshielded turbine broke up, spraying red hot blades about the place. That said, there is little likelihood of engines on display being run up to maximum RPM, so the actual danger is ameliorated to an extent.
I'd be prepared to correlate advice and suggestions into something for SEM and I'm aware that this forum has a number of contributors who have spent a lot of years around gas turbines. What do you think could be reasonably achieved in order to make these interesting devices safe for public viewing?
Regards,
Kim Siddorn