The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 8:50 pm EDT (00:50 UTC)

General Edward Lawrence Logan International to Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl Airport BOS → DCA

346 nautical miles (399 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 235°, about 250° magnetic at the departure end (variation 15W). At 120 knots that is 3 h 14 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 13-knot headwind), arriving about 12:04 am EDT (04:04 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: 17,477 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

  • SIGMET E16E: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 32,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 25 knots, until 9:55 pm EDT (01:55 UTC). Over the route from 168 to 307 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS31 KKCI 112355
    MKCE WST 112355
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 16E
    VALID UNTIL 0155Z
    NY NJ PA DE MD VA DC WV AND NJ NY CSTL WTRS
    FROM SAX-30SE JFK-10N DCA-60ENE EKN-SAX
    AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 22025KT. TOPS TO FL320.
  • 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 whole route.
  • AIRMET ZULU 1C: moderate icing up to 24,000 ft. Over the first 59 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 21,000 ft to 33,000 ft. Over the first 40 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the first 297 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 2W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20 knots or more below 2,000 ft above the ground). Near the route, 188 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 BOS.

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 20:00–03:00 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 4 forecast points nearest it (BOS, BDL, JFK, ACY). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft180° at 22 kt+13 kt107 kt3 h 14 min12:04 am EDT (04:04 UTC)
6,500 ft200° at 24 kt+20 kt12 °C100 kt3 h 28 min12:18 am EDT (04:18 UTC)
8,500 ft230° at 25 kt+25 kt10 °C95 kt3 h 39 min12:29 am EDT (04:29 UTC)
10,500 ft240° at 26 kt+26 kt7 °C94 kt3 h 41 min12:31 am EDT (04:31 UTC)
12,500 ft240° at 28 kt+28 kt4 °C92 kt3 h 46 min12:36 am EDT (04:36 UTC)
14,500 ft240° at 33 kt+32 kt0 °C88 kt3 h 56 min12:46 am EDT (04:46 UTC)
16,500 ft240° at 37 kt+37 kt-4 °C83 kt4 h 10 min1:00 am EDT (05:00 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180240° at 41 kt+41 kt-7 °C79 kt4 h 23 min1:13 am EDT (05:13 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240230° at 51 kt+51 kt-17 °C69 kt5 h 01 min1:51 am EDT (05:51 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300230° at 68 kt+68 kt-31 °C52 kt6 h 39 min3:29 am EDT (07:29 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340230° at 79 kt+79 kt-41 °C41 kt8 h 26 min5:16 am EDT (09:16 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390230° at 87 kt+88 kt-54 °C32 kt10 h 49 min7:39 am EDT (11:39 UTC)

Based on data from the 11th at 18:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 00:00 UTC for use 20:00 to 03:00 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
BOSused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line160/27190/23 9°260/20 7°260/32 1°250/48 -7°240/56 -17°240/59 -33°250/75 -43°250/94 -55°
BDLused from 49 nm out; 23 nm from the line140/28180/29 10°220/38 8°250/30 3°250/40 -8°240/46 -18°240/58 -32°240/80 -41°240/89 -55°
JFKused from 99 nm out; 39 nm from the line140/43170/35 13°230/18 9°250/25 5°240/40 -7°230/50 -17°230/75 -31°230/78 -41°230/88 -53°
ACYused from 198 nm out; 45 nm from the line230/15230/22 15°230/31 11°230/27 6°230/40 -7°230/51 -17°230/71 -31°230/81 -41°230/86 -53°

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
BOS Boston, MA departure no report just now 19 ft
ORH Worcester, MA 40 nm out, 19 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 1,009 ft
HFD Hartford, CT 79 nm out, 13 nm northwest of the line, tower no report just now 18 ft
BDR Bridgeport, CT 119 nm out, 2 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 8 ft
LGA New York, NY 158 nm out, 2 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 20 ft
TTN Trenton, NJ 208 nm out, 5 nm west of the line, tower no report just now 212 ft
PNE Philadelphia, PA 228 nm out, 1 nm east of the line, tower no report just now 119 ft
ILG Wilmington, DE 267 nm out, 5 nm east of the line, tower no report just now 79 ft
MTN Baltimore, MD 307 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line, tower no report just now 22 ft
DCA Washington, DC destination no report just now 14 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,009 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At DCA when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 12:04 am EDT (04:04 UTC)

DCA 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 6 nm from the route, 20 nm along the route · drones kept away from a public gathering · starts Saturday 17 October · ZBW
  • 6/7153 North Sicuate, RI, Saturday, October 10, 2026 through Monday, October 12, 2026 UTC 7 nm from the route, 40 nm along the route · drones kept away from a public gathering · until 12 October · ZBW
  • 5/2811 NEW YORK, NY, Monday, October 20, 2025 through Tuesday, October 20, 2026 Local 3 nm from the route, 168 nm along the route · security · until 20 October · ZNY
  • 6/8800 Baltimore, MD, Saturday, October 17, 2026 through Sunday, October 18, 2026 UTC 7 nm from the route, 317 nm along the route · drones kept away from a public gathering · starts Saturday 17 October · ZDC
  • 4/9383 WASHINGTON, DC., USA on the route, at the destination end · security · ZDC
  • 6/8600 Sterling, VA, Monday, October 12, 2026 through Monday, October 12, 2026 Local 13 nm from the route, at the destination end · a VIP movement · today · ZDC

Daylight

Sunset at BOS 6:07 pm EDT (22:07 UTC), at DCA 6:34 pm EDT (22:34 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:01 pm EDT (23:01 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at DCA is before sunrise there (7:14 am EDT (11:14 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, 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: General Edward Lawrence Logan International, Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl Airport.