The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 1:46 am EDT (05:46 UTC)

Columbia Metro Airport to Shreveport Regional CAE → SHV

644 nautical miles (741 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 266°, about 273° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7W). At 120 knots that is 5 h 58 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 12-knot headwind), arriving about 6:44 am CDT (11:44 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now CAE is VFR, wind from the west-southwest (240°) at 5 knots; SHV is VFR, wind from the south-southwest (200°) at 7 knots. 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: 14 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 TANGO 5W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 10,000 ft. Over the route from 69 to 149 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 CAE.

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

No pilot reports within 50 nautical miles of the line in the last three hours.

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 (CAE, GSP, ATL, BHM, JAN, SHV). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft300° at 16 kt+12 kt108 kt5 h 58 min6:44 am CDT (11:44 UTC)
6,500 ft310° at 18 kt+12 kt16 °C108 kt5 h 58 min6:44 am CDT (11:44 UTC)
8,500 ft310° at 20 kt+13 kt12 °C107 kt6 h 01 min6:47 am CDT (11:47 UTC)
10,500 ft320° at 20 kt+12 kt9 °C108 kt5 h 58 min6:44 am CDT (11:44 UTC)
12,500 ft320° at 19 kt+12 kt5 °C108 kt5 h 58 min6:44 am CDT (11:44 UTC)
14,500 ft310° at 20 kt+14 kt2 °C106 kt6 h 05 min6:51 am CDT (11:51 UTC)
16,500 ft300° at 21 kt+16 kt-3 °C104 kt6 h 12 min6:58 am CDT (11:58 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180300° at 22 kt+18 kt-6 °C102 kt6 h 19 min7:05 am CDT (12:05 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240300° at 27 kt+21 kt-17 °C99 kt6 h 30 min7:16 am CDT (12:16 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300320° at 40 kt+24 kt-32 °C96 kt6 h 42 min7:28 am CDT (12:28 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340320° at 40 kt+23 kt-40 °C97 kt6 h 38 min7:24 am CDT (12:24 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390320° at 37 kt+20 kt-50 °C100 kt6 h 26 min7:12 am CDT (12:12 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
CAEused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line330/15330/13 12°330/22 9°300/26 6°280/33 -7°270/38 -18°250/45 -33°240/46 -40°270/38 -49°
GSPused from 50 nm out; 67 nm from the line320/22340/19 13°320/18 8°310/24 5°300/34 -7°300/36 -18°290/30 -33°300/32 -39°320/42 -49°
ATLused from 99 nm out; 42 nm from the line320/30330/37 16°340/44 11°330/35 7°310/33 -6°300/38 -18°330/58 -33°330/48 -40°320/34 -49°
BHMused from 248 nm out; 12 nm from the line310/19330/20 17°320/28 11°340/21 6°310/22 -7°330/33 -17°330/50 -32°330/57 -41°330/41 -50°
JANused from 396 nm out; 57 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 545 nm out; 74 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°

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
CAE Columbia, SC departure VFR from the west-southwest (240°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 235 ft 12:56 am EDT (04:56 UTC)
AIK Aiken, SC 30 nm out, 15 nm south of the line VFR from the west-southwest (250°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 528 ft 05:35 UTC
AHN Athens, GA 109 nm out, 10 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the west (260°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 812 ft 04:51 UTC
ATL Atlanta, GA 168 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line, tower VFR from the west-northwest (300°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 1,026 ft 04:52 UTC
ASN Talladega, AL 248 nm out, 3 nm north of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 528 ft 05:35 UTC
BHM Birmingham, AL 278 nm out, 8 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 650 ft 04:53 UTC
TCL Tuscaloosa, AL 327 nm out, 7 nm south of the line, tower marginal VFR Weather: mist from the north-northeast (030°) at 3 knots 5 mi none 169 ft 05:03 UTC
OSX Kosciusko, MS 426 nm out, 2 nm east of the line no report just now 494 ft
MLU Monroe, LA 555 nm out, 13 nm south of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 78 ft 04:53 UTC
MNE Minden, LA 615 nm out, 7 nm north of the line VFR from the south (170°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 278 ft 05:35 UTC
SHV Shreveport, LA destination VFR from the south-southwest (200°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 257 ft 11:56 pm CDT (04:56 UTC)

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 SHV when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 6:44 am CDT (11:44 UTC)

Wind from the south-southwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for SHV
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC): wind from the south at 12 knots, gusting to 19, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
The forecast for CAE, the departure
  • From Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the northwest at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies

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 CAE 6:54 pm EDT (22:54 UTC), at SHV 6:46 pm CDT (23:46 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:11 pm CDT (00:11 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at SHV is before sunrise there (7:16 am CDT (12:16 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 Southeast
Radar now, the Southeast · 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: Columbia Metro Airport, Shreveport Regional.