The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 3:26 am EDT (07:26 UTC)

Westfield-Barnes Regional to William P Hobby Airport BAF → HOU

1,323 nautical miles (1,523 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 243°, about 257° magnetic at the departure end (variation 14W). At 120 knots that is 11 h 18 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 3-knot headwind), arriving about 1:44 pm CDT (18:44 UTC). 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 return flight

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

  • AIRMET SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the first 786 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 21,000 ft to 33,000 ft. Over the first 328 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 10,000 ft. Over the first 0 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 169 to 647 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 5W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 10,000 ft. Near the route, 398 nm along the route.

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 BAF.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

  • C560 at 13,000 ft, 50 nm southeast, 2:38 am EDT (06:38 UTC): moderate turbulence, overcast above 19,000 ft, heavy rain, remarks: during the descent. 179 nm along the route, 50 nm southeast of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    PHL UA /OV 20 NW PHL/TM 0638/FL130 /TP C560/SK OVC190/WX +RA/TB MOD/RM DURD
    Report
    a routine report filed through PHL
    Where
    20 northwest phl
    Time
    06:38 UTC
    Height
    at 13,000 ft
    Aircraft
    C560
    Sky
    overcast from 19,000 ft
    Weather
    heavy rain
    Turbulence
    moderate
    Remarks
    during the descent
  • GA6C descending, 5 nm southeast, 12:32 am EDT (04:32 UTC): overcast above 1,000 ft, remarks: bases OVC010. 80 nm along the route, 5 nm southeast of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    SWF UA /OV SWF 270005/TM 0432/FLDURD/TP GA6C/SK OVC010/RM BASES OVC010
    Report
    a routine report filed through SWF
    Where
    5 nm west (270°) of SWF
    Time
    04:32 UTC
    Height
    during the descent
    Aircraft
    GA6C
    Sky
    overcast from 1,000 ft
    Remarks
    bases OVC010

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 westbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: even thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 15 forecast points nearest it (BDL, JFK, AVP, PSB, EKN, CRW, TRI, TYS, BNA, HSV, MEM, JAN, SHV, LCH, HOU). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft300° at 8 kt+3 kt12 °C117 kt11 h 18 min1:44 pm CDT (18:44 UTC)
6,500 ft310° at 11 kt+3 kt14 °C117 kt11 h 18 min1:44 pm CDT (18:44 UTC)
8,500 ft310° at 14 kt+5 kt11 °C115 kt11 h 30 min1:56 pm CDT (18:56 UTC)
10,500 ft310° at 15 kt+4 kt7 °C116 kt11 h 24 min1:50 pm CDT (18:50 UTC)
12,500 ft310° at 15 kt+3 kt4 °C117 kt11 h 18 min1:44 pm CDT (18:44 UTC)
14,500 ft310° at 17 kt+5 kt0 °C115 kt11 h 30 min1:56 pm CDT (18:56 UTC)
16,500 ft310° at 18 kt+6 kt-4 °C114 kt11 h 36 min2:02 pm CDT (19:02 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180310° at 19 kt+6 kt-7 °C114 kt11 h 36 min2:02 pm CDT (19:02 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240300° at 21 kt+9 kt-18 °C111 kt11 h 55 min2:21 pm CDT (19:21 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300300° at 33 kt+14 kt-33 °C106 kt12 h 29 min2:55 pm CDT (19:55 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340300° at 36 kt+17 kt-40 °C103 kt12 h 51 min3:17 pm CDT (20:17 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390300° at 33 kt+14 kt-50 °C106 kt12 h 29 min2:55 pm CDT (19:55 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
BDLused from 0 nm out; 24 nm from the line120/24290/23 12°280/21 8°250/36 3°250/41 -11°230/48 -21°230/78 -32°230/96 -41°230/86 -52°
JFKused from 50 nm out; 59 nm from the line250/18250/23 14°240/33 9°240/33 4°240/38 -10°240/45 -21°230/86 -32°230/102 -40°230/84 -51°
AVPused from 99 nm out; 27 nm from the line150/5350/13 12°270/20 8°260/17 4°260/25 -11°240/31 -22°240/54 -35°230/61 -41°240/55 -49°
PSBused from 199 nm out; 56 nm from the line360/13 13°330/14 7°300/11 3°290/12 -11°240/23 -23°270/25 -36°250/34 -40°250/45 -48°
EKNused from 298 nm out; 58 nm from the line330/21 12°330/25 7°350/22 2°330/24 -10°310/27 -21°320/33 -35°290/31 -39°290/34 -47°
CRWused from 398 nm out; 43 nm from the line330/20330/23 11°340/25 8°340/21 2°340/33 -9°340/41 -20°330/42 -35°320/44 -39°320/43 -47°
TRIused from 547 nm out; 67 nm from the line330/22 11°330/29 7°330/32 3°330/36 -8°320/34 -19°320/36 -34°320/43 -39°320/46 -47°
TYSused from 597 nm out; 61 nm from the line320/20340/18 11°340/32 9°340/36 4°330/37 -7°330/38 -19°330/50 -34°330/53 -38°330/44 -48°
BNAused from 696 nm out; 41 nm from the line310/20340/20 17°330/24 10°340/22 5°330/26 -6°340/29 -18°330/52 -33°320/62 -41°340/45 -50°
HSVused from 746 nm out; 44 nm from the line310/20330/20 16°320/27 11°340/23 5°320/23 -7°340/30 -17°320/50 -33°330/61 -41°340/41 -50°
MEMused from 895 nm out; 81 nm from the line230/19260/16 15°270/17 12°300/13 6°300/15 -5°300/26 -18°300/34 -32°300/41 -40°310/46 -52°
JANused from 945 nm out; 64 nm from the line230/10270/13 18°270/11 12°310/11 6°300/15 -4°300/22 -16°310/33 -31°320/37 -41°330/41 -52°
SHVused from 1094 nm out; 89 nm from the line200/18230/24 18°230/24 12°240/14 8°260/12 -4°240/11 -15°300/31 -29°300/32 -40°300/36 -52°
LCHused from 1144 nm out; 71 nm from the line160/21160/18 18°180/13 12°230/6 8°280/10 -4°260/13 -14°310/29 -30°320/32 -40°330/33 -53°
HOUused from 1244 nm out; 55 nm from the line160/22150/27 19°180/16 14°250/7 9°270/10 -5°270/16 -13°310/23 -29°310/26 -40°330/20 -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

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
BAF Westfield/Springfield, MA departure no report just now 270 ft
POU Poughkeepsie, NY 60 nm out, 4 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 163 ft
CXY Harrisburg, PA 219 nm out, 13 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 346 ft
HGR Hagerstown, MD 269 nm out, 19 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 703 ft
CRW Charleston, WV 468 nm out, 9 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 947 ft
CPF Hazard, KY 567 nm out, 4 nm north of the line no report just now 1,256 ft
SYI Shelbyville, TN 756 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line no report just now 799 ft
TUP Tupelo, MS 895 nm out, 8 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 346 ft
GWO Greenwood, MS 975 nm out, 11 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 162 ft
AEX Alexandria, LA 1154 nm out, 14 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 88 ft
HPY Baytown, TX 1303 nm out, 5 nm south of the line no report just now 33 ft
HOU Houston, TX destination no report just now 46 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,256 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At HOU when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:44 pm CDT (18:44 UTC)

HOU 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 BAF 6:14 pm EDT (22:14 UTC), at HOU 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:18 pm CDT (00:18 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

Radar now, the Northeast
Radar now, the Northeast · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the central Great Lakes
Radar now, the central Great Lakes · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar, the whole country
Radar, the whole country · loop National Weather Service
Surface analysis now
Surface analysis now Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center

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: Westfield-Barnes Regional, William P Hobby Airport.