PAW!

Question: if you were going to be marooned on a desert island for the rest of your life, what model engine would you take with you ? Well, I don't know about you, but I would be packing a PAW 2.49 or 19 into my bag. With the sad passing of Gig Eifflaender in England late last year, the modelling world lost a largely unsung hero - the man who designed the engine, that in my opinion at least, comes closest to the tag of "the definitive model diesel engine". Think about it for a moment - if nobody had yet designed a diesel model aero engine, and the brief given was to come up with a design that was powerful, tough and reliable yet light in weight, easy to handle and lasted forever - well, you would probably draw a picture of a PAW.

Probably only one other model engine in history can compare with the PAW design, and thats the FOX 35 Stunt. Both designs were nigh on perfect right from the very beginning, and throughout their engineering life remained very close to the original concept, only receiving minor internal improvements and changes over the years. Some idea of the basic excellence of the PAW design can be gleaned from the fact that in 49 years of continuous production, the biggest single visual change was the venturi was made removable instead of cast-in!

As a collector, the biggest problem I have with my PAW's is telling the blasted things apart, so alike are the various models in the 2.49 and 19 size! Gig did, at one stage, stamp BR on the mount lugs to signify a ball race was fitted, but mostly its impossible to tell by just eyeballing the engine whether its a plain bearing or ball race job. Progress Aero Works can be truly proud of the legacy left by Gig Eifflaender to the World's aeromodellers, and one which is still carried on today.