Columbia Metro Airport to Waco Regional CAE → ACT
824 nautical miles (949 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 265°, about 272° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7W). At 120 knots that is 7 h 18 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 7-knot headwind), arriving about 5:11 pm CDT (22:11 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 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 CAE.
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 14:00–21:00 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 7 forecast points nearest it (CAE, GSP, ATL, BHM, JAN, SHV, DAL). 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 | 260° at 7 kt | +7 kt | 113 kt | 7 h 18 min | 5:11 pm CDT (22:11 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 250° at 7 kt | +8 kt | 16 °C | 112 kt | 7 h 21 min | 5:14 pm CDT (22:14 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 280° at 8 kt | +8 kt | 13 °C | 112 kt | 7 h 21 min | 5:14 pm CDT (22:14 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 290° at 10 kt | +9 kt | 9 °C | 111 kt | 7 h 25 min | 5:18 pm CDT (22:18 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 290° at 13 kt | +11 kt | 6 °C | 109 kt | 7 h 34 min | 5:27 pm CDT (22:27 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 290° at 15 kt | +14 kt | 1 °C | 106 kt | 7 h 46 min | 5:39 pm CDT (22:39 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 280° at 17 kt | +16 kt | -2 °C | 104 kt | 7 h 55 min | 5:48 pm CDT (22:48 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 280° at 18 kt | +17 kt | -5 °C | 103 kt | 8 h | 5:53 pm CDT (22:53 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 290° at 18 kt | +16 kt | -16 °C | 104 kt | 7 h 55 min | 5:48 pm CDT (22:48 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 310° at 29 kt | +19 kt | -30 °C | 101 kt | 8 h 10 min | 6:03 pm CDT (23:03 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 320° at 37 kt | +20 kt | -40 °C | 100 kt | 8 h 14 min | 6:07 pm CDT (23:07 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 340° at 31 kt | +8 kt | -51 °C | 112 kt | 7 h 21 min | 5:14 pm CDT (22:14 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 12:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 18:00 UTC for use 14:00 to 21:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAE | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 340/11 | 330/13 14° | 350/24 11° | 350/26 8° | 340/26 -5° | 350/33 -18° | 340/31 -32° | 340/30 -41° | 330/32 -52° |
| GSP | used from 50 nm out; 68 nm from the line | 330/14 | 360/26 17° | 360/22 11° | 330/20 6° | 310/27 -5° | 320/24 -18° | 310/28 -33° | 320/38 -40° | 330/30 -51° |
| ATL | used from 99 nm out; 42 nm from the line | 340/24 | 350/18 17° | 330/15 11° | 320/20 6° | 310/16 -4° | 300/18 -18° | 320/28 -32° | 330/43 -40° | 340/35 -51° |
| BHM | used from 248 nm out; 14 nm from the line | 310/11 | 310/13 16° | 310/18 11° | 300/17 6° | 300/14 -5° | 300/20 -17° | 320/35 -30° | 320/43 -40° | 340/38 -50° |
| JAN | used from 397 nm out; 52 nm from the line | 210/8 | 230/13 18° | 240/10 11° | 260/11 6° | 280/16 -5° | 260/12 -15° | 330/34 -30° | 320/39 -40° | 340/34 -51° |
| SHV | used from 546 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 200/17 | 190/28 18° | 200/15 13° | 250/12 7° | 260/28 -7° | 280/22 -14° | 290/29 -29° | 310/33 -39° | 340/27 -50° |
| DAL | used from 745 nm out; 70 nm from the line | 200/15 | 210/22 19° | 210/17 13° | 230/12 8° | 250/26 -5° | 250/25 -14° | 260/34 -28° | 290/32 -38° | 310/23 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAE Columbia, SC | departure | no report just now | 235 ft | ||||
| AIK Aiken, SC | 30 nm out, 15 nm south of the line | no report just now | 528 ft | ||||
| AHN Athens, GA | 109 nm out, 12 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 812 ft | ||||
| ATL Atlanta, GA | 169 nm out, 3 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,026 ft | ||||
| TCL Tuscaloosa, AL | 328 nm out, 3 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 169 ft | ||||
| GTR Columbus/W Point/Starkville, MS | 377 nm out, 19 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 264 ft | ||||
| OSX Kosciusko, MS | 427 nm out, 6 nm north of the line | no report just now | 494 ft | ||||
| MLU Monroe, LA | 556 nm out, 6 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 78 ft | ||||
| SHV Shreveport, LA | 646 nm out, 9 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 257 ft | ||||
| GGG Longview, TX | 685 nm out, 16 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 365 ft | ||||
| LXY Mexia, TX | 785 nm out, 8 nm south of the line | no report just now | 544 ft | ||||
| ACT Waco, TX | destination | no report just now | 516 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,026 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At ACT when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 5:11 pm CDT (22:11 UTC)
ACT has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8928 Atlanta, GA, Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Local on the route, 169 nm along the route · a VIP movement · starts Wednesday 14 October · ZTL
- 6/8926 Tyler, TX, Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Local 16 nm from the route, 725 nm along the route · a VIP movement · starts tomorrow · ZFW
- 6/0543 MCGREGOR, TX 16 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at CAE 6:54 pm EDT (22:54 UTC), at ACT 6:59 pm CDT (23:59 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:23 pm CDT (00:23 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: Columbia Metro Airport, Waco Regional.