The president of the "Club Columbia" aircraft owner's group, Chuck Yanke, has sent a messaage to affected parties seeking help in organizing an effort to make sure that their interests are represented in the upcoming Chapter 11 bankruptcy actions involving Columbia Aircraft.

(Disclosure Statement: in which Aero-News is also a creditor... and got burned for a pretty hefty amount of cash... ouch).

Yanke states that, "By now most of you have learned that CAM has declared bankruptcy, Chapter 11, and Cessna has an offer to buy CAM. This is not a done deal, there will be an auction in November were anyone can bid. Currently our members have approximately $10 million dollars of products that they have paid for and not received. This does not include your 3 or 5 year warranty provide by CAM. We as a group are one of the larger unsecured creditors. No one on the bankruptcy court is looking out for the owners interests. Individually we will have no standing in the court but together we have a fighting chance. The club is blessed with excellent members in the legal profession and we believe the club can make a difference and help protect your airplane. The club has spoken with Jack Pelton, CEO of Cessna and he supports our position."

Yanke adds that, "To protect the future value of your plane, your warranty and all the items that you have paid for and not yet received, we need legal representation. The club has no money, we only have your $50/year membership fees. We need to raise $15-20,000 immediately If every member will contribute $300 we can make it happen. This is a small investment to protect your $500,000+ asset."

FMI: http://www.lancairpilots.org/payments.php, Club Columbia Legal Fund, % Richard Page, 1508 Byron Nelson Pkwy, Southlake TX 76092.