Alexandria International to University Of Illinois/Willard Airport AEX → CMI
563 nautical miles (648 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 020°, about 017° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 07 min at the quickest height in today's winds (3,500 ft, a 17-knot tailwind), arriving about 6:52 am CDT (11:52 UTC), after sunset at the destination. For planning, not a briefing: the legal preflight briefing comes from Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF) or the FAA's own tools. Airlines fly this pair: 3 flights in the DOT's last twelve reported months, the route's page.
The route the straight line, the warnings crossed, restrictions, pilot reports and the airports along the way · click a mark for its words
Green, blue, red and purple airport dots are the flying conditions reported there now (VFR, marginal VFR, IFR, low IFR); grey means no report. Red areas are SIGMETs, orange areas AIRMETs, hatched red areas temporary flight restrictions. Map tiles: OpenFreeMap, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Warnings the route crosses SIGMETs and AIRMETs whose area the line passes through or comes within 25 nm of
No SIGMET or AIRMET covers any part of this route right now.
A SIGMET warns of weather hazardous to all aircraft; an AIRMET of weather that matters to small aircraft and to flying without instruments. "From 60 to 180 nm out" is measured along the route from AEX.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- B38M at 29,000 ft, 33 nm north, 11:52 pm CDT (04:52 UTC): no turbulence from 23,000 ft to 29,000 ft. At the destination end, 33 nm north of the line.
as filed, and in English
TIP UA /OV RBS/TM 0452/FL290/TP B38M/TB NEG 230-290
- Report
- a routine report filed through TIP
- Where
- over RBS
- Time
- 04:52 UTC
- Height
- at 29,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B38M
- Turbulence
- no from 23,000 ft to 29,000 ft
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 02:00–09:00 UTC · at 120 knots true airspeed
The eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 6 forecast points nearest it (SHV, LIT, MEM, CGI, STL, SPI). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,500 ft | 230° at 19 kt | −17 kt | 137 kt | 4 h 07 min | 6:52 am CDT (11:52 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 240° at 18 kt | −13 kt | 133 kt | 4 h 14 min | 6:59 am CDT (11:59 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 250° at 19 kt | −12 kt | 13 °C | 132 kt | 4 h 16 min | 7:01 am CDT (12:01 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 260° at 19 kt | −10 kt | 10 °C | 130 kt | 4 h 20 min | 7:05 am CDT (12:05 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 270° at 14 kt | −5 kt | 7 °C | 125 kt | 4 h 30 min | 7:15 am CDT (12:15 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 280° at 14 kt | −4 kt | 4 °C | 124 kt | 4 h 32 min | 7:17 am CDT (12:17 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 280° at 15 kt | −4 kt | 0 °C | 124 kt | 4 h 32 min | 7:17 am CDT (12:17 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 280° at 16 kt | −4 kt | -4 °C | 124 kt | 4 h 32 min | 7:17 am CDT (12:17 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 280° at 17 kt | −4 kt | -5 °C | 124 kt | 4 h 32 min | 7:17 am CDT (12:17 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 280° at 23 kt | −5 kt | -17 °C | 125 kt | 4 h 30 min | 7:15 am CDT (12:15 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 290° at 32 kt | +1 kt | -31 °C | 119 kt | 4 h 44 min | 7:29 am CDT (12:29 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 300° at 43 kt | +4 kt | -41 °C | 116 kt | 4 h 51 min | 7:36 am CDT (12:36 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 300° at 45 kt | +9 kt | -52 °C | 111 kt | 5 h 04 min | 7:49 am CDT (12:49 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 00:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 06:00 UTC for use 02:00 to 09:00 UTC; temperatures above 24,000 ft are below zero. Heights are above sea level; a height is left out when the forecast has no wind for it over most of the line (the ground is higher). Ground speed is the airspeed less the headwind; the time en route is for the straight line and ignores climb, descent and routing around weather.
The forecast points as issued
| Point | From | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHV | used from 0 nm out; 86 nm from the line | 200/18 | 230/24 18° | 230/24 12° | 240/14 8° | 260/12 -4° | 240/11 -15° | 300/31 -29° | 300/32 -40° | 300/36 -52° |
| LIT | used from 99 nm out; 93 nm from the line | 220/21 | 230/17 16° | 250/24 12° | 260/15 7° | 260/13 -5° | 280/25 -16° | 290/35 -30° | 300/42 -40° | 300/40 -52° |
| MEM | used from 197 nm out; 51 nm from the line | 230/19 | 260/16 15° | 270/17 12° | 300/13 6° | 300/15 -5° | 300/26 -18° | 300/34 -32° | 300/41 -40° | 310/46 -52° |
| CGI | used from 296 nm out; 63 nm from the line | 240/20 | 270/15 15° | 280/15 11° | 300/13 6° | 290/20 -6° | 280/24 -18° | 300/34 -32° | 300/47 -41° | 310/49 -51° |
| STL | used from 444 nm out; 62 nm from the line | 250/24 | 250/24 16° | 260/23 9° | 270/16 6° | 260/25 -6° | 270/29 -19° | 290/34 -33° | 290/48 -41° | 290/54 -51° |
| SPI | used from 494 nm out; 56 nm from the line | 220/21 | 250/23 16° | 260/27 9° | 270/14 6° | 270/23 -7° | 270/31 -19° | 270/28 -33° | 290/48 -42° | 300/55 -52° |
The weather now: both ends and the airports along the way public airports with a weather report within 25 nm of the line, one for each stretch
| Airport | Where | Conditions | Wind | Visibility | Ceiling | Elevation | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEX Alexandria, LA | departure | no report just now | 88 ft | ||||
| MLU Monroe, LA | 79 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 78 ft | ||||
| CRT Crossett, AR | 118 nm out, 8 nm west of the line | no report just now | 183 ft | ||||
| HEE Helena/West Helena, AR | 217 nm out, 18 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 241 ft | ||||
| DRP Colt, AR | 247 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 238 ft | ||||
| JBR Jonesboro, AR | 286 nm out, 8 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 262 ft | ||||
| CGI Cape Girardeau, MO | 385 nm out, 9 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 341 ft | ||||
| MDH Carbondale/Murphysboro, IL | 425 nm out, 11 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 411 ft | ||||
| ENL Centralia, IL | 464 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 534 ft | ||||
| DEC Decatur, IL | 543 nm out, 20 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 681 ft | ||||
| CMI Champaign/Urbana, IL | destination | no report just now | 754 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 754 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At CMI when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 6:52 am CDT (11:52 UTC)
CMI has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
No temporary flight restriction on or near this route right now.
Daylight
Sunset at AEX 6:42 pm CDT (23:42 UTC), at CMI 6:18 pm CDT (23:18 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:45 pm CDT (23:45 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at CMI is before sunrise there (7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC)).
Each restriction opens the FAA's own page with the exact area, heights and times. Ordinary notices to air missions (closed runways, lights out) are not shown: the FAA's notice search is not open to sites like this one at this time.
Radar and forecast charts for the regions crossed government pictures, the latest each time the page loads
Sources: the Aviation Weather Center's data service (SIGMETs, AIRMETs, graphical AIRMETs, pilot reports, winds and temperatures aloft, observations and terminal forecasts), the National Weather Service radar, the Weather Prediction Center's charts, the FAA's temporary flight restriction list and shapes, and the FAA's airport file for the positions, elevations and magnetic variation. Fetched when the page is viewed and kept a few minutes. Each leg is the straight line between its two airports; airways, terrain and airspace are not considered. The airports in detail: Alexandria International, University Of Illinois/Willard Airport.