Taxiing to 5 Murray KY

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Upon landing at Murray, KY I kept giving more throttle and the pressure on my right rudder pedal kept getting stronger to get up the taxiway.  Then I felt that thump, thump, thump of a flat tire.  "I sure hope this is a friendly, helpful place", as I watched a man walk out of the FBO office towards another large building.

I got out to pull her off the taxiway into the grass as a pickup truck pulled out of the same building heading towards me.  It was the airport manager, Johnny Parker with a portable air tank.  As he got out of the truck I smiled and stated, "I think I pinched a tube when I landed".  Pulling the air tank from the rear of the truck he said, "I saw that.  Your other tire looks a little low as well."  It suddenly occurred to me that I had lowered the air pressure in the tires to help absorb the shock of my bumpy grass runway.  Landing on blacktop spun the tire on the rim and pinched the tube.  Sure enough, the air hissed out as quickly as Johnny put it in.  I dragged her into the grass as Johnny went for a jack, blocks and tools.  I discovered the first tool I didn't bring was the proper size wrench to take the tire off.  Johnny came to the rescue, we removed the tire and went into the shop for damage assessment and repairs.   As suspected the tube was pinched pretty bad and I was concerned a patch wouldn't hold.

Then I discovered the second thing I didn't bring, a tube patch kit.  Johnny came to the rescue again and we jumped into the truck for the local auto parts store.   I bought a patch kit and a new tube just in case.  An hour and 30 minutes later I was taking off for the Posey Patch.  Flying out of Murray I thanked the Lord and asked that Johnny have His blessings.  Murray, KY is a very good place to stop over.

dsc00102

Copyright © 2000 Updated: Saturday, June 16, 2001 07:10