Alexandria International to Southwest Florida International AEX → RSW
635 nautical miles (731 statute miles) southeast on a straight line, true course 114°, about 111° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 26 min at the quickest height in today's winds (30,000 ft, a 23-knot tailwind), arriving about 11:55 am EDT (15:55 UTC). Right now AEX is IFR, wind calm; RSW is VFR, wind from the north-northeast (030°) at 6 knots. 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: 1 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
- B738 at 40,000 ft, 23 nm south, 6:03 am CDT (11:03 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: zhu. 139 nm along the route, 23 nm south of the line.
as filed, and in English
MSY UA /OV KHRV067024/TM 1103/FL400/TP B738/TB CONS LGT CHOP/RM ZHU
- Report
- a routine report filed through MSY
- Where
- 24 nm northeast (067°) of KHRV
- Time
- 11:03 UTC
- Height
- at 40,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B738
- Turbulence
- continuous light chop
- Remarks
- zhu
- B738 at 36,000 ft, 23 nm south, 5:58 am CDT (10:58 UTC): no turbulence, remarks: zhu. 139 nm along the route, 23 nm south of the line.
as filed, and in English
MSY UA /OV KHRV339030/TM 1058/FL360/TP B738/TB NEG/RM ZHU
- Report
- a routine report filed through MSY
- Where
- 30 nm north (339°) of KHRV
- Time
- 10:58 UTC
- Height
- at 36,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B738
- Turbulence
- none
- Remarks
- zhu
- B737 at 34,000 ft, 24 nm southwest, 6:04 am CDT (11:04 UTC): light chop turbulence. 377 nm along the route, 24 nm southwest of the line.
as filed, and in English
SRQ UA /OV SRQ290200/TM 1104/FL340/TP B737/TB OCNL LGT CHOP
- Report
- a routine report filed through SRQ
- Where
- 200 nm west (290°) of SRQ
- Time
- 11:04 UTC
- Height
- at 34,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B737
- Turbulence
- occasional light chop
- A20N at 26,000 ft, 7 nm southwest, 5:37 am CDT (10:37 UTC): light chop turbulence. 377 nm along the route, 7 nm southwest of the line.
as filed, and in English
SRQ UA /OV SRQ295200/TM 1037/FL260/TP A20N/TB OCNL LGT CHOP
- Report
- a routine report filed through SRQ
- Where
- 200 nm northwest (295°) of SRQ
- Time
- 10:37 UTC
- Height
- at 26,000 ft
- Aircraft
- A20N
- Turbulence
- occasional light chop
- B789 at 38,000 ft, 44 nm southwest, 4:54 am CDT (09:54 UTC): light to moderate chop turbulence. 417 nm along the route, 44 nm southwest of the line.
as filed, and in English
SRQ UA /OV SRQ281174/TM 0954/FL380/TP B789/TB CONS LGT OCNL MOD CHOP
- Report
- a routine report filed through SRQ
- Where
- 174 nm west (281°) of SRQ
- Time
- 09:54 UTC
- Height
- at 38,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B789
- Turbulence
- continuous light occasional moderate chop
- B38M at 21,000 ft, 20 nm south, 5:51 am CDT (10:51 UTC): no turbulence, remarks: during the descent. At the destination end, 20 nm south of the line.
as filed, and in English
RSW UA /OV RSW180020/TM 1051/FL210/TP B38M/TB NEG/RM DURD
- Report
- a routine report filed through RSW
- Where
- 20 nm south (180°) of RSW
- Time
- 10:51 UTC
- Height
- at 21,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B38M
- Turbulence
- none
- Remarks
- during the descent
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 08:00–15:00 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 5 forecast points nearest it (LCH, MSY, MOB, TLH, PIE). 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 | 360° at 3 kt | −2 kt | 122 kt | 5 h 12 min | 12:41 pm EDT (16:41 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 360° at 4 kt | −2 kt | 122 kt | 5 h 12 min | 12:41 pm EDT (16:41 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 350° at 5 kt | −3 kt | 15 °C | 123 kt | 5 h 10 min | 12:39 pm EDT (16:39 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 340° at 6 kt | −4 kt | 11 °C | 124 kt | 5 h 07 min | 12:36 pm EDT (16:36 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 300° at 5 kt | −5 kt | 8 °C | 125 kt | 5 h 05 min | 12:34 pm EDT (16:34 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 290° at 8 kt | −8 kt | 3 °C | 128 kt | 4 h 58 min | 12:27 pm EDT (16:27 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 300° at 11 kt | −11 kt | -1 °C | 131 kt | 4 h 51 min | 12:20 pm EDT (16:20 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 300° at 14 kt | −14 kt | -5 °C | 134 kt | 4 h 44 min | 12:13 pm EDT (16:13 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 300° at 15 kt | −15 kt | -6 °C | 135 kt | 4 h 42 min | 12:11 pm EDT (16:11 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 310° at 19 kt | −18 kt | -17 °C | 138 kt | 4 h 36 min | 12:05 pm EDT (16:05 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 320° at 25 kt | −23 kt | -32 °C | 143 kt | 4 h 26 min | 11:55 am EDT (15:55 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 330° at 27 kt | −21 kt | -41 °C | 141 kt | 4 h 30 min | 11:59 am EDT (15:59 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 330° at 26 kt | −21 kt | -52 °C | 141 kt | 4 h 30 min | 11:59 am EDT (15:59 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCH | used from 0 nm out; 85 nm from the line | 170/21 | 160/23 18° | 170/13 13° | 170/6 8° | 300/12 -7° | 280/16 -14° | 320/27 -30° | 330/23 -41° | 340/38 -51° |
| MSY | used from 50 nm out; 70 nm from the line | 150/9 | 140/8 18° | L/V 13° | L/V 6° | 320/15 -5° | 310/16 -16° | 320/32 -31° | 340/35 -40° | 350/34 -52° |
| MOB | used from 199 nm out; 61 nm from the line | L/V | L/V 18° | 020/8 11° | L/V 6° | 330/12 -5° | 330/23 -17° | 330/30 -32° | 350/39 -41° | 340/40 -53° |
| TLH | used from 348 nm out; 140 nm from the line | 340/23 | 350/26 17° | 350/21 11° | 300/13 6° | 320/25 -6° | 340/35 -16° | 350/44 -32° | 360/51 -42° | 350/33 -52° |
| PIE | used from 447 nm out; 93 nm from the line | 360/10 | 340/12 18° | 330/9 13° | 290/12 8° | 260/21 -7° | 280/18 -18° | 250/20 -33° | 250/26 -41° | 250/20 -51° |
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 | IFR Weather: mist | calm | 1.75 mi | none | 88 ft | 6:26 am CDT (11:26 UTC) |
| MKV Marksville, LA | 30 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 78 ft | 07:35 UTC |
| HDC Hammond, LA | 119 nm out, 2 nm northeast of the line, tower | low IFR Sky: sky obscured at 500 feet Weather: mist | calm | 0.75 mi | 500 ft | 46 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| NEW New Orleans, LA | 149 nm out, 15 nm south of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 7 ft | 10:53 UTC |
| PGD Punta Gorda, FL | 616 nm out, 14 nm north of the line, tower | VFR | from the north-northeast (020°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 25 ft | 10:53 UTC |
| RSW Fort Myers, FL | destination | VFR Sky: scattered clouds at 1,500 feet | from the north-northeast (030°) at 6 knots | 10+ mi | none | 29 ft | 7:16 am EDT (11:16 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 88 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At RSW when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:55 am EDT (15:55 UTC)
Wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet VFR
The whole forecast for RSW
- From Mon 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
- At times between Mon 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC) and 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): a broken layer at 1,200 feet
- From Mon 3:00 pm EDT (19:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 10:00 pm EDT (02:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for AEX, the departure
- From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 9:00 pm CDT (02:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
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 RSW 7:02 pm EDT (23:02 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:25 pm EDT (23:25 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, Southwest Florida International.