Detroit Metro Wayne County to Pensacola International DTW → PNS
729 nautical miles (838 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 196°, about 203° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7W). At 120 knots that is 4 h 28 min at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 43-knot tailwind), arriving about 3:07 am CDT (08:07 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: 146 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
- 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 first 479 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 DTW.
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 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 10 forecast points nearest it (CLE, FWA, CMH, CVG, LOU, BNA, HSV, BHM, MGM, MOB). 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 | 330° at 19 kt | −13 kt | 133 kt | 5 h 29 min | 4:08 am CDT (09:08 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 340° at 23 kt | −19 kt | 15 °C | 139 kt | 5 h 15 min | 3:54 am CDT (08:54 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 340° at 25 kt | −20 kt | 11 °C | 140 kt | 5 h 12 min | 3:51 am CDT (08:51 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 340° at 24 kt | −19 kt | 7 °C | 139 kt | 5 h 15 min | 3:54 am CDT (08:54 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 340° at 22 kt | −18 kt | 4 °C | 138 kt | 5 h 17 min | 3:56 am CDT (08:56 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 330° at 23 kt | −17 kt | 0 °C | 137 kt | 5 h 19 min | 3:58 am CDT (08:58 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 330° at 24 kt | −17 kt | -4 °C | 137 kt | 5 h 19 min | 3:58 am CDT (08:58 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 320° at 25 kt | −16 kt | -7 °C | 136 kt | 5 h 22 min | 4:01 am CDT (09:01 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 330° at 36 kt | −27 kt | -18 °C | 147 kt | 4 h 58 min | 3:37 am CDT (08:37 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 330° at 52 kt | −39 kt | -34 °C | 159 kt | 4 h 35 min | 3:14 am CDT (08:14 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 330° at 62 kt | −43 kt | -42 °C | 163 kt | 4 h 28 min | 3:07 am CDT (08:07 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 330° at 45 kt | −34 kt | -50 °C | 154 kt | 4 h 44 min | 3:23 am CDT (08:23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | used from 0 nm out; 78 nm from the line | 340/7 | 010/16 13° | 350/18 8° | 350/20 3° | 340/31 -10° | 340/46 -21° | 340/54 -37° | 330/62 -44° | 340/65 -49° |
| FWA | used from 50 nm out; 63 nm from the line | 300/17 | 320/20 16° | 330/20 10° | 340/15 3° | 310/27 -8° | 320/37 -20° | 330/52 -36° | 330/65 -43° | 330/60 -50° |
| CMH | used from 100 nm out; 57 nm from the line | 330/15 | 340/22 14° | 340/24 9° | 340/23 4° | 340/35 -9° | 340/49 -20° | 340/58 -37° | 330/70 -42° | 340/55 -47° |
| CVG | used from 150 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 320/18 | 350/32 16° | 350/35 10° | 350/30 3° | 330/30 -7° | 340/44 -20° | 340/58 -35° | 330/72 -41° | 320/36 -49° |
| LOU | used from 250 nm out; 43 nm from the line | 310/18 | 340/28 16° | 340/29 10° | 350/27 3° | 330/27 -7° | 340/39 -19° | 330/58 -33° | 330/67 -41° | 330/40 -49° |
| BNA | used from 349 nm out; 59 nm from the line | 310/20 | 340/20 17° | 330/24 10° | 340/22 5° | 330/26 -6° | 340/29 -18° | 330/52 -33° | 320/62 -41° | 340/45 -50° |
| HSV | used from 449 nm out; 40 nm from the line | 310/20 | 330/20 16° | 320/27 11° | 340/23 5° | 320/23 -7° | 340/30 -17° | 320/50 -33° | 330/61 -41° | 340/41 -50° |
| BHM | used from 499 nm out; 30 nm from the line | 310/19 | 330/20 17° | 320/28 11° | 340/21 6° | 310/22 -7° | 330/33 -17° | 330/50 -32° | 330/57 -41° | 330/41 -50° |
| MGM | used from 599 nm out; 17 nm from the line | 310/19 | 340/24 17° | 340/28 11° | 330/16 7° | 300/23 -7° | 320/32 -16° | 330/46 -33° | 330/55 -42° | 330/41 -50° |
| MOB | used from 699 nm out; 58 nm from the line | 330/5 | 330/6 19° | 340/6 11° | 330/10 7° | 320/16 -5° | 310/26 -16° | 340/40 -32° | 340/47 -42° | 350/51 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTW Detroit, MI | departure | no report just now | 645 ft | ||||
| TOL Toledo, OH | 40 nm out, 10 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 683 ft | ||||
| DAY Dayton, OH | 140 nm out, 4 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,009 ft | ||||
| LUK Cincinnati, OH | 190 nm out, 5 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 481 ft | ||||
| LEX Lexington, KY | 259 nm out, 12 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 979 ft | ||||
| AAS Campbellsville, KY | 309 nm out, 11 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 921 ft | ||||
| SRB Sparta, TN | 379 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 1,025 ft | ||||
| GAD Gadsden, AL | 509 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 569 ft | ||||
| BHM Birmingham, AL | 539 nm out, 23 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 650 ft | ||||
| MGM Montgomery, AL | 609 nm out, 14 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 221 ft | ||||
| GZH Evergreen, AL | 669 nm out, 7 nm west of the line | no report just now | 259 ft | ||||
| PNS Pensacola, FL | destination | no report just now | 120 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,025 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At PNS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 3:07 am CDT (08:07 UTC)
PNS has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8029 Cincinnati, OH, Friday, October 9, 2026 through Monday, October 12, 2026 Local 2 nm from the route, 200 nm along the route · a VIP movement · until 12 October · ZID
Daylight
Sunset at DTW 6:56 pm EDT (22:56 UTC), at PNS 6:21 pm CDT (23:21 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:45 pm CDT (23:45 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at PNS is before sunrise there (6:48 am CDT (11:48 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: Detroit Metro Wayne County, Pensacola International.