Two Airport Gems of the East Coast: Florala, AL (0J4) and Marianna, FL (MAI)
We are on a two-day trip from Dallas to the Tampa, FL area. For day 1, we have planned to reach Marianna, FL. Starting at the Aero Country airport at 8 am, the first leg brings us to Vicksburg, MS around noon. We refuel, take off, climb to our cruising altitude of 5,500 ft, open the Garmin Pilot on the iPad to look at the weather ahead, and are in for a surprise. Minor thunderstorms northeast of Marianna have begun to blossom and start to form a thunderstorm cluster. The intense lightning and heavy rain is moving southwest and will engulf the airport before we get there. We use the Garmin Pilot to check out alternate airports along our route: We go to the airport page, bring up the airports one by one and look for runway conditions, available fuel, and NOTAMS (Notices to Airmen), which tell about special facts and conditions affecting landing and takeoff. The autopilot takes over navigation during that checking process, and the ADS-B system informs us about any airplanes near u...