OUCH - that STINGS!

Tragic news. Racer 40 struck our rudder and we are not airworthy. Working options now.

Ok, for those of you who are keeping count this is the second time in just a few days that the Albuquerque area has literally TUGGED on our purple hearts? Fortunately we have some incredible ground folks working on the problem as well as an intrepid trio of pilots who NEVER quit.

Airspace was already tight enough but everybody did fine keeping apart in the sky, it was just on the ramp, Classic #40 did not have enough room and crunched into the Purple Heart's rudder. Everybody is fine of course but the poor ol' bird had enough distressed metal that it needed to be evaluated in a hangar. The bends and dents are less of an issue than the metal fatigue areas where the aluminum was stressed and ripped. Obviously the ladies will ONLY fly the plane once they can confirm that they have all control surfaces operating smoothly and there is no risk of the skin stripping or parts separating in flight. Everybody is trying to find a solution with parts and ideas so all we can do is wait right now. We will keep you informed but for now again... just keep your fingers crossed and have patience.