Central IL Rgnl/Bloomington-Normal Airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International BMI → MSY
633 nautical miles (728 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 186°, about 189° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3W). At 120 knots that is 4 h 17 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 28-knot tailwind), arriving about 6:46 am CDT (11:46 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: 5 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 BMI.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- B739 at 35,000 ft, 48 nm northeast, 2:05 am CDT (07:05 UTC): no turbulence. At the departure end, 48 nm northeast of the line.
as filed, and in English
TIP UA /OV RBS010023/TM 0705/FL350/TP B739/TB NEG
- Report
- a routine report filed through TIP
- Where
- 23 nm north (010°) of RBS
- Time
- 07:05 UTC
- Height
- at 35,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B739
- Turbulence
- none
- B38M at 29,000 ft, 35 nm east, 11:52 pm CDT (04:52 UTC): no turbulence from 23,000 ft to 29,000 ft. At the departure end, 35 nm east 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 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 6 forecast points nearest it (SPI, STL, CGI, MEM, JAN, MSY). 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 | 240° at 14 kt | +8 kt | 112 kt | 5 h 39 min | 8:08 am CDT (13:08 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 260° at 14 kt | +4 kt | 16 °C | 116 kt | 5 h 27 min | 7:56 am CDT (12:56 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 270° at 15 kt | +3 kt | 12 °C | 117 kt | 5 h 25 min | 7:54 am CDT (12:54 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 280° at 13 kt | −1 kt | 9 °C | 121 kt | 5 h 14 min | 7:43 am CDT (12:43 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 290° at 12 kt | −4 kt | 5 °C | 124 kt | 5 h 06 min | 7:35 am CDT (12:35 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 290° at 14 kt | −4 kt | 1 °C | 124 kt | 5 h 06 min | 7:35 am CDT (12:35 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 290° at 15 kt | −4 kt | -2 °C | 124 kt | 5 h 06 min | 7:35 am CDT (12:35 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 290° at 17 kt | −4 kt | -5 °C | 124 kt | 5 h 06 min | 7:35 am CDT (12:35 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 290° at 24 kt | −5 kt | -17 °C | 125 kt | 5 h 04 min | 7:33 am CDT (12:33 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 300° at 32 kt | −14 kt | -32 °C | 134 kt | 4 h 43 min | 7:12 am CDT (12:12 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 310° at 41 kt | −20 kt | -41 °C | 140 kt | 4 h 31 min | 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 320° at 45 kt | −28 kt | -52 °C | 148 kt | 4 h 17 min | 6:46 am CDT (11:46 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPI | used from 0 nm out; 35 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° |
| STL | used from 99 nm out; 58 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° |
| CGI | used from 148 nm out; 26 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° |
| MEM | used from 247 nm out; 60 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° |
| JAN | used from 396 nm out; 73 nm from the line | 230/10 | 270/13 18° | 270/11 12° | 310/11 6° | 300/15 -4° | 300/22 -16° | 310/33 -31° | 320/37 -41° | 330/41 -52° |
| MSY | used from 544 nm out; 64 nm from the line | 110/5 | 150/6 19° | L/V 12° | 310/5 7° | 310/13 -4° | 290/20 -16° | 330/36 -31° | 330/37 -41° | 350/43 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMI Bloomington/Normal, IL | departure | no report just now | 871 ft | ||||
| DEC Decatur, IL | 40 nm out, 7 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 681 ft | ||||
| VLA Vandalia, IL | 89 nm out, 2 nm west of the line | no report just now | 537 ft | ||||
| MDH Carbondale/Murphysboro, IL | 158 nm out, 5 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 411 ft | ||||
| CGI Cape Girardeau, MO | 198 nm out, 9 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 341 ft | ||||
| NQA Millington, TN | 307 nm out, 13 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 322 ft | ||||
| OLV Olive Branch, MS | 336 nm out, 7 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 401 ft | ||||
| GWO Greenwood, MS | 425 nm out, 12 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 162 ft | ||||
| JAN Jackson, MS | 494 nm out, 4 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 346 ft | ||||
| MCB Mc Comb, MS | 564 nm out, 18 nm west of the line | no report just now | 413 ft | ||||
| HDC Hammond, LA | 603 nm out, 11 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 46 ft | ||||
| MSY New Orleans, LA | destination | no report just now | 3 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 871 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MSY when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 6:46 am CDT (11:46 UTC)
MSY 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 BMI 6:20 pm CDT (23:20 UTC), at MSY 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:57 pm CDT (23:57 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at MSY 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: Central IL Rgnl/Bloomington-Normal Airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International.