Passion for Flight

"Big Tree" Alligator Juniper At sunrise, we have taken off from Aero Country Airport north of Dallas toward Deming, NM, 600 nm away to the west. The AOPA radar has shown intense thunderstorms north of the center portion of the route near Abilene, TX, and we have changed the refueling stop from the originally selected Andrews, TX, which is covered by thunderstorms, to Odessa, TX, south of Andrews. We expect to be in that portion of the route in another 3½ hours. But 10 minutes after liftoff, an unexpected thunderstorm pops up northwest of us, with heavy rain and dark clouds illuminated by lightning flashes. The thunderstorm does not move toward us due to the high pressure system to the south of us. So we just maneuver around the thunderstorm and continue westward. Approaching Abilene, the cluster of thunderstorms seen four hours earlier on AOPA radar is still active. We contact Flight Watch to get an assessment of the coverage of the storms. The

Terminal of Marianna, FL airport The dramatic reduction of personal flying has caused many small airports to scale back services. Often refueling can only be accomplished with self-service equipment that relies on those blasted hard-to-read LCD displays, and there is just one person, or even no one, manning the FBO.  We refuel, say “hi” to the attendant if there is one, use the facilities for input and output of liquids (i.e., water cooler and restroom), and then take off again. But there are still old-style airports. “Old-style” here means that the airport is well-equipped and that there are plenty of people around. It is a pleasure to land there. Such is the airport in Marianna, FL. We had visited a few years ago, when the airport was undergoing a major renovation process. On a recent visit we saw the impressive results.  The entire airport building has been remodeled, and the facilities — reception area, lounge, snack area, restrooms — are first-rate. And then there are