Sam Jewell's childhood dream affects people worldwide

Sam Jewell has been in the aviation business for nearly 48 years. His father was a paratrooper in World War II and greatly influenced his decision to become an aviation mechanic and later a pilot. "Son, if you go into work as a mechanic, you will never be without work because something will always need to be fixed." With those words in mind, Jewell set out on his journey.

In 1968, Jewell attended Southern Arkansas University in Camden, where he obtained his certification. He then set out to obtain his pilot's license. Not long after that, he gained employment at an airport in St. Louis. He stayed there for a few years before returning to the area to work at Mid Continent in Hayti and began building antique airplanes.

After several years in the field of aviation, Jewell had the chance to buy a business out in Kennett, and he jumped at the opportunity. Jewell Aviation quickly became a family business. "At one point both my son and wife worked here. My son is also a mechanic and has his pilot's license."

Jewell is manager of the Kennett Memorial Airport, but he also runs the only airplane engine overhaul shop within a 500 mile radius.

One of his most interesting accomplishments has been the restoration of a Steerman World War II plane that was featured in a June 30, 1980, article of the Daily Dunklin Democrat. "I've had all kinds of experiences as a pilot. I have had to make emergency landings on highways and in fields, sometimes with engine failures or missing parts on the plane," he said.

"One of the funniest things that happened was a bank robber landed at the airport. He hung around the airport for about a week, and one day he parked his plane at the end of the runway, went and robbed the bank that used to be where Dollar Tree is located, then came back and boarded the plane and left. He was caught about a month later when he pulled the same stunt in another part of the country."

One of his favorite toys that he flies quite frequently is a 1939 J-4 Cub. "These planes were used to fly over the east coast searching for enemy submarines. They were called civil air patrol airplanes," he said. The plane has been restored to mint condition with one modern addition of an iPad, which was installed so that Jewell could chart his flight path.

Along with a full service airplane maintenance and repair shop, Jewell offers rental planes for around $75 per hour. The airport has a training program for those interested in obtaining a pilot license. "We offer a preliminary flight for about $30. We connect the person with an instructor, and they get to go up for a little while. This is just to see if they are still interested once they actually see first hand what it is like."

If a person decides he wants to proceed, then the total cost of obtaining a private pilot license is usually around $3,500 dollars. This price includes the cost of the instructor, plane rental, and books. It usually takes around 40 hours to obtain the license. Twenty hours are spent with an instructor learning such skills as how to use a flight log book, navigate, fly solo, and do three part flights.

About 10 hours into the process, potential pilots must complete a physical that the FAA mandates. The last 20 hours of the flight instruction classes are spent in solo flights. The final hurdle is a written test.

"There are different kinds of flight schools. Some you earn a degree, some are just a ground school," Jewell explained. "This flight instruction school is mainly one on one instruction, and you work at your own pace. Once the program is complete, you have the option to take more hours or go on to participate in an actual flight school."

Jewell has inspired many people to fly, including Bill Timmons -- a commercial airline pilot for United Airlines. Timmons was hanging around the airport at 16 years old. "I ate and breathed airplanes as a kid and was hitching free planes rides anytime that I could," Timmons said.

When Timmons' mother knew that he wanted to be a pilot, Jewell helped her pick out a set of aviation books to help him learn about flying. "Jewell was always really good about just sitting down and explaining things anytime that I had a question," he said.

Timmons obtained his private pilot license while in college. He worked for Jewell Aviation during the summer where he obtained his instructor license and then did some flight instruction. "Sam was really good at calling me anytime that he needed a plane flown."

It takes a lot of hours to obtain a Airline Transport Pilot Certificate, and Jewell was instrumental in helping Timmons get the hours of experience that he needed to continue moving forward in his career.

"It never fails to amaze me that anywhere that I go, when people hear that I am from Kennett, how many people know Jewell because they have either had their plane worked on by him or they have purchased a private plane from him."

Jewell's dream more than 40 years ago of being an airplane mechanic has turned into something that has affected people world wide. He is living proof that when a person has a dream and decides to pursue it, the sky is the limit.