Laurence G Hanscom Field to Chicago Midway International BED → MDW
733 nautical miles (844 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 272°, about 288° magnetic at the departure end (variation 16W). At 120 knots that is 6 h 33 min at the quickest height in today's winds (6,500 ft, a 8-knot headwind), arriving about 1:09 pm CDT (18:09 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: 4 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
- 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 614 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 24,000 ft to 33,000 ft. Over the first 347 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, mist). Over the route from 69 to 297 nm out.
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 BED.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
Not fetched just now.
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 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 9 forecast points nearest it (BOS, BDL, ALB, SYR, BUF, CLE, FWA, MKG, JOT). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 ft | 320° at 13 kt | +9 kt | 111 kt | 6 h 36 min | 1:12 pm CDT (18:12 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 330° at 15 kt | +8 kt | 11 °C | 112 kt | 6 h 33 min | 1:09 pm CDT (18:09 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 330° at 15 kt | +8 kt | 9 °C | 112 kt | 6 h 33 min | 1:09 pm CDT (18:09 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 320° at 17 kt | +11 kt | 5 °C | 109 kt | 6 h 43 min | 1:19 pm CDT (18:19 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 310° at 20 kt | +14 kt | 2 °C | 106 kt | 6 h 55 min | 1:31 pm CDT (18:31 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 310° at 22 kt | +15 kt | -2 °C | 105 kt | 6 h 59 min | 1:35 pm CDT (18:35 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 310° at 24 kt | +17 kt | -6 °C | 103 kt | 7 h 07 min | 1:43 pm CDT (18:43 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 310° at 25 kt | +18 kt | -9 °C | 102 kt | 7 h 11 min | 1:47 pm CDT (18:47 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 310° at 26 kt | +19 kt | -21 °C | 101 kt | 7 h 15 min | 1:51 pm CDT (18:51 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 310° at 35 kt | +25 kt | -37 °C | 95 kt | 7 h 43 min | 2:19 pm CDT (19:19 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 300° at 45 kt | +35 kt | -45 °C | 85 kt | 8 h 37 min | 3:13 pm CDT (20:13 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 310° at 53 kt | +40 kt | -52 °C | 80 kt | 9 h 10 min | 3:46 pm CDT (20:46 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | used from 0 nm out; 38 nm from the line | 020/10 | 360/20 10° | 340/19 7° | 290/21 2° | 270/35 -9° | 260/42 -22° | 250/55 -38° | 240/75 -43° | 250/72 -51° |
| BDL | used from 50 nm out; 36 nm from the line | 020/15 | 010/19 10° | 340/10 7° | 300/17 3° | 280/23 -10° | 250/35 -22° | 250/44 -38° | 250/55 -42° | 250/57 -51° |
| ALB | used from 99 nm out; 19 nm from the line | 340/22 | 340/19 9° | 320/16 7° | 330/16 2° | 330/19 -11° | 320/21 -23° | 320/25 -39° | 280/30 -44° | 270/41 -51° |
| SYR | used from 149 nm out; 53 nm from the line | 330/17 | 320/14 9° | 350/18 8° | 350/26 2° | 340/25 -11° | 360/34 -22° | 350/43 -39° | 330/50 -46° | 350/50 -54° |
| BUF | used from 248 nm out; 63 nm from the line | 300/11 | 330/15 11° | 340/26 8° | 330/28 2° | 340/31 -10° | 340/32 -21° | 340/52 -37° | 340/59 -46° | 330/66 -53° |
| CLE | used from 396 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 310/7 | 350/20 14° | 340/16 9° | 320/21 2° | 320/32 -8° | 330/34 -20° | 330/45 -36° | 320/60 -45° | 320/64 -51° |
| FWA | used from 545 nm out; 85 nm from the line | 270/20 | 300/16 15° | 290/14 10° | 280/17 3° | 290/25 -7° | 280/30 -19° | 280/34 -35° | 290/48 -44° | 300/64 -52° |
| MKG | used from 644 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 260/28 | 260/18 15° | 250/16 9° | 260/22 4° | 280/31 -9° | 270/35 -21° | 270/44 -35° | 270/42 -45° | 290/61 -51° |
| JOT | used from 693 nm out; 43 nm from the line | 250/25 | 260/22 14° | 250/17 9° | 270/21 5° | 280/28 -8° | 280/36 -20° | 270/41 -35° | 280/57 -42° | 290/65 -50° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BED Bedford, MA | departure | no report just now | 132 ft | ||||
| ORH Worcester, MA | 30 nm out, 14 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,009 ft | ||||
| ALB Albany, NY | 109 nm out, 14 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 284 ft | ||||
| BGM Binghamton, NY | 208 nm out, 19 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,635 ft | ||||
| ITH Ithaca, NY | 228 nm out, 2 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,099 ft | ||||
| DKK Dunkirk, NY | 357 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 692 ft | ||||
| ERI Erie, PA | 396 nm out, 19 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 732 ft | ||||
| DTW Detroit, MI | 535 nm out, 1 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 645 ft | ||||
| AZO Kalamazoo, MI | 634 nm out, 13 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 873 ft | ||||
| SBN South Bend, IN | 674 nm out, 14 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 798 ft | ||||
| MDW Chicago, IL | destination | no report just now | 619 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,635 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MDW when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:09 pm CDT (18:09 UTC)
MDW has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8802 Foxborough, MA, Saturday, October 17, 2026 through Sunday, October 18, 2026 UTC 22 nm from the route, at the departure end · drones kept away from a public gathering · starts Saturday 17 October · ZBW
Daylight
Sunset at BED 6:08 pm EDT (22:08 UTC), at MDW 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:42 pm CDT (23:42 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: Laurence G Hanscom Field, Chicago Midway International.