Visiting Houston has been a fun adventure and relaxing getaway for years for Dallas, Texas, resident Mitch Kuhn.
He’s a friend of me and my wife, Wendy, and enjoys averaging more than one visit per year to the Ozarks. For reasons that need little or no explanation, he loves getting out of the massive Dallas Metroplex and spending time in the slower-paced lifestyle in Texas County while surrounded by the unique natural beauty of south-central Missouri.
We like doing the whole Ozarks thing when he visits, including float trips, exploring springs, attending outdoor festivals and all the other fun stuff there often is to choose from. It’s always great sharing this great place.
When Mitch travels from Texas to Texas County, he flies in a four-seat Cirrus SR22 and utilizes Houston Memorial Airport. He’s always impressed by how nice the facility and its 3,500-foot runway are, considering the relatively remote location.
I can vouch for the fact that flying in an SR22 is (by small plane standards) similar to riding in a luxury car. It’s also about as reliable as an airplane can be. In fact, the SR22 has been the best-selling general aviation craft every year since 2002, and is often called one of the most reliable ever made.
But alas, SR22s are built by humans, and ain’t one of them perfect.
Last Sunday, Mitch was ready to end his latest weekend foray to Missouri. At about 4 p.m., me, Wendy and a couple of friends took him to the airport for what was to be a routine departure in virtually ideal weather.
We teamed up to get the canvas cover off the SR22, put away the “bird plugs” that protect the engine compartment and do all the other little things that precede take off. Mitch checked his fuel, flaps and instruments, and made contact with aviation authorities.
Then it was hugs and smiles and he was ready to go. Strapped in the cockpit, with headset in place, Mitch turned the key.
Cue unexpected and undesirable buzzing sound.
He turned it again.
Cue sound again.
The naturally aspirated, 315-horsepower, six-cylinder Continental IO-550-N engine wasn’t firing up and the three-blade propeller wasn’t turning.
Mitch got out and we got the upper and lower sections of the engine cowling disconnected.
Then he began trying what he could to rectify the situation (just like someone does with a car).
But nothing helped, so he placed a call to his airplane mechanic back home. The determination was made that the problem was a faulty starter drive adapter, and Mitch became resigned to having a replacement unit overnighted to Houston and tending to his dilemma the next day.
I walked over to the adjacent hangar row and asked a man who was there if he knew of a mechanic in the area who might be available the following day. He gave me Cody Ice’s phone number, and Mitch gave him a call and spoke to him about meeting up when the new adapter was in hand.
But before we had left the tarmac and while we were still putting things back together to head back to the house, Mr. Ice drove up in his Ford pickup.
After a short conversation, he basically said, “I think we can get it started.” He suggested it be done the old-fashioned way, by manually spinning the propeller.
Mitch got ready to go again, and climbed aboard the grounded bird. Ice gave the prop a few pulls without success, but then instructed Mitch to turn on the “mags” (short for magnetos) to create a spark in the cylinders.
That was the ticket. Two more spins and the sound of the engine’s roar rose above that of nearby tweeting birds.
The small gathering of spectators applauded, and the smile on the pilot’s face was virtually ear-to-ear.
What a blessing it was for Mitch to be able to leave on schedule, and get back to his busy financial consulting business in the big city.
You never know when a “good Samaritan” is going to show up and save the day, so to speak. But when it happens, it’s a refreshing example of human nature’s good side.
“Cody was a lifesaver!” Mitch said Monday. “He saved us a lot of money and time.”
How cool is that? From all of us who were there: Thank you sir.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. His columns are posted online at www.houstonherald.com. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.