The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 9:00 pm EDT (01:00 UTC)

Charlotte/Douglas International to MC Ghee Tyson Airport CLT → TYS

153 nautical miles (176 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 284°, about 291° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7W). At 120 knots that is 1 h 32 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 20-knot headwind), arriving about 10:32 pm EDT (02:32 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now CLT is VFR, wind from the southwest (220°) at 9 knots; TYS is marginal VFR, wind from the south-southwest (210°) 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: 5,440 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 7,000 ft. Over the route from 19 to 115 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the last 76 nm of 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 CLT.

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

  • SF50 at 7,000 ft, 35 nm north, 6:37 pm EDT (22:37 UTC): no turbulence, no icing, imc, remarks: ZTLFD-45. 19 nm along the route, 35 nm north of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    HKY UA /OV BZM/TM 2237/FL070/TP SF50/SK IMC/TB NEG/IC NEG/RM ZTLFD-45
    Report
    a routine report filed through HKY
    Where
    over BZM
    Time
    22:37 UTC
    Height
    at 7,000 ft
    Aircraft
    SF50
    Sky
    instrument conditions
    Turbulence
    none
    Icing
    none
    Remarks
    ZTLFD-45
  • CRJ9 at 30,000 ft, 18 nm northeast, 6:46 pm EDT (22:46 UTC): light to moderate turbulence above 30,000 ft, remarks: ZTLFD-42. 115 nm along the route, 18 nm northeast of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    TYS UA /OV VXV090040/TM 2246/FL300/TP CRJ9/TB CONS LGT OCNL MOD 300/RM ZTLFD-42
    Report
    a routine report filed through TYS
    Where
    40 nm east (090°) of VXV
    Time
    22:46 UTC
    Height
    at 30,000 ft
    Aircraft
    CRJ9
    Turbulence
    continuous light occasional moderate at 30,000 ft
    Remarks
    ZTLFD-42
  • E170 at 33,000 ft, 21 nm west, 6:22 pm EDT (22:22 UTC): light to moderate chop turbulence above 33,000 ft, remarks: ZTLFD-03. At the destination end, 21 nm west of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    TYS UA /OV VXV270025/TM 2222/FL330/TP E170/TB CONS LGT OCNL MOD CHOP 330/RM ZTLFD-03
    Report
    a routine report filed through TYS
    Where
    25 nm west (270°) of VXV
    Time
    22:22 UTC
    Height
    at 33,000 ft
    Aircraft
    E170
    Turbulence
    continuous light occasional moderate chop at 33,000 ft
    Remarks
    ZTLFD-03
  • E75S at 29,000 ft, 7 nm northeast, 6:21 pm EDT (22:21 UTC): light to moderate turbulence, remarks: ZTLFD-39. At the destination end, 7 nm northeast of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    TYS UA /OV VXV/TM 2221/FL290/TP E75S/TB CONS LGT OCNL MOD/RM ZTLFD-39
    Report
    a routine report filed through TYS
    Where
    over VXV
    Time
    22:21 UTC
    Height
    at 29,000 ft
    Aircraft
    E75S
    Turbulence
    continuous light occasional moderate
    Remarks
    ZTLFD-39

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 2 forecast points nearest it (GSP, TYS). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft300° at 21 kt+20 kt100 kt1 h 32 min10:32 pm EDT (02:32 UTC)
6,500 ft310° at 22 kt+20 kt10 °C100 kt1 h 32 min10:32 pm EDT (02:32 UTC)
8,500 ft310° at 22 kt+20 kt8 °C100 kt1 h 32 min10:32 pm EDT (02:32 UTC)
10,500 ft310° at 25 kt+23 kt6 °C97 kt1 h 35 min10:35 pm EDT (02:35 UTC)
12,500 ft310° at 29 kt+27 kt3 °C93 kt1 h 39 min10:39 pm EDT (02:39 UTC)
14,500 ft300° at 30 kt+29 kt0 °C91 kt1 h 41 min10:41 pm EDT (02:41 UTC)
16,500 ft290° at 32 kt+31 kt-3 °C89 kt1 h 43 min10:43 pm EDT (02:43 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180290° at 33 kt+33 kt-6 °C87 kt1 h 46 min10:46 pm EDT (02:46 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240270° at 37 kt+35 kt-18 °C85 kt1 h 48 min10:48 pm EDT (02:48 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300250° at 41 kt+33 kt-32 °C87 kt1 h 46 min10:46 pm EDT (02:46 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340240° at 45 kt+32 kt-40 °C88 kt1 h 44 min10:44 pm EDT (02:44 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390240° at 49 kt+34 kt-49 °C86 kt1 h 47 min10:47 pm EDT (02:47 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
GSPused from 0 nm out; 46 nm from the line300/22310/22 11°300/22 7°290/28 5°270/36 -5°250/42 -18°230/54 -31°230/59 -40°230/65 -50°
TYSused from 96 nm out; 33 nm from the line290/19310/22 11°330/25 7°330/34 3°320/37 -7°300/37 -18°300/37 -34°280/29 -39°270/29 -48°

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
CLT Charlotte, NC departure VFR Sky: a few clouds at 3,700 feet, a few clouds at 6,000 feet from the southwest (220°) at 9 knots 10+ mi none 747 ft 8:52 pm EDT (00:52 UTC)
FQD Rutherfordton, NC 48 nm out, 2 nm northwest of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 1,077 ft 00:35 UTC
AVL Asheville, NC 76 nm out, 6 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR from the north-northwest (330°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 2,163 ft 00:54 UTC
GKT Sevierville, TN 134 nm out, 8 nm northeast of the line marginal VFR Sky: a broken layer at 1,300 feet, overcast at 1,800 feet from the west-southwest (240°) at 5 knots, gusting to 13 10+ mi 1,300 ft 1,013 ft 00:36 UTC
TYS Knoxville, TN destination marginal VFR Sky: overcast at 1,600 feet from the south-southwest (210°) at 7 knots 10+ mi 1,600 ft 986 ft 8:53 pm EDT (00:53 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 2,163 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At TYS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 10:32 pm EDT (02:32 UTC)

Wind from the west-southwest at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 1,000 feet, a broken layer at 1,500 feet marginal VFR

The whole forecast for TYS
  • From Sun 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 1,000 feet, a broken layer at 1,500 feet
  • From Mon 3:00 am EDT (07:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 2,500 feet
  • From Mon 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 3,500 feet, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
The forecast for CLT, the departure
  • From Sun 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 4,500 feet, a broken layer at 8,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the northwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 3:00 pm EDT (19:00 UTC): wind from the north-northwest at 10 knots, gusting to 17, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 23,000 feet
  • From Mon 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the north at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet

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 CLT 6:52 pm EDT (22:52 UTC), at TYS 7:04 pm EDT (23:04 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:30 pm EDT (23:30 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at TYS is after sunset there (7:05 pm EDT (23:05 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: Charlotte/Douglas International, MC Ghee Tyson Airport.