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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.
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