The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 12:16 am CDT (05:16 UTC)

Robert Gray Army Airfield to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International GRK → MSY

397 nautical miles (456 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 097°, about 093° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4E). At 120 knots that is 2 h 45 min at the quickest height in today's winds (30,000 ft, a 24-knot tailwind), arriving about 3:01 am CDT (08:01 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: 2 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

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 GRK.

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 eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd 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 (CLL, HOU, LCH, MSY). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft160° at 17 kt+8 kt112 kt3 h 33 min3:49 am CDT (08:49 UTC)
5,500 ft160° at 19 kt+8 kt112 kt3 h 33 min3:49 am CDT (08:49 UTC)
7,500 ft170° at 14 kt+4 kt16 °C116 kt3 h 25 min3:41 am CDT (08:41 UTC)
9,500 ft200° at 10 kt−1 kt12 °C121 kt3 h 17 min3:33 am CDT (08:33 UTC)
11,500 ft240° at 8 kt−6 kt9 °C126 kt3 h 09 min3:25 am CDT (08:25 UTC)
13,500 ft250° at 8 kt−8 kt5 °C128 kt3 h 06 min3:22 am CDT (08:22 UTC)
15,500 ft260° at 10 kt−9 kt1 °C129 kt3 h 05 min3:21 am CDT (08:21 UTC)
17,500 ft270° at 11 kt−11 kt-3 °C131 kt3 h 02 min3:18 am CDT (08:18 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180270° at 11 kt−11 kt-4 °C131 kt3 h 02 min3:18 am CDT (08:18 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240270° at 16 kt−16 kt-14 °C136 kt2 h 55 min3:11 am CDT (08:11 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300310° at 28 kt−24 kt-30 °C144 kt2 h 45 min3:01 am CDT (08:01 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340310° at 28 kt−23 kt-40 °C143 kt2 h 47 min3:03 am CDT (08:03 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390330° at 32 kt−19 kt-52 °C139 kt2 h 51 min3:07 am CDT (08:07 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
CLLused from 0 nm out; 57 nm from the line170/22170/26 18°200/15 14°240/13 8°240/15 -5°260/17 -13°290/27 -29°290/22 -40°320/30 -51°
HOUused from 149 nm out; 73 nm from the line160/22150/27 19°180/16 14°250/7 9°270/10 -5°270/16 -13°310/23 -29°310/26 -40°330/20 -52°
LCHused from 198 nm out; 29 nm from the line160/21160/18 18°180/13 12°230/6 8°280/10 -4°260/13 -14°310/29 -30°320/32 -40°330/33 -53°
MSYused from 298 nm out; 74 nm from the line110/5150/6 19°L/V 12°310/5 7°310/13 -4°290/20 -16°330/36 -31°330/37 -41°350/43 -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
GRK Fort Hood (Killeen), TX departure no report just now 1,015 ft
TPL Temple, TX 20 nm out, 8 nm north of the line no report just now 682 ft
CLL College Station, TX 79 nm out, 18 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 320 ft
UTS Huntsville, TX 119 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line no report just now 362 ft
JAS Jasper, TX 198 nm out, 18 nm north of the line no report just now 212 ft
CWF Lake Charles, LA 248 nm out, 15 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 16 ft
LFT Lafayette, LA 307 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 40 ft
ARA New Iberia, LA 317 nm out, 14 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 24 ft
APS Reserve, LA 377 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line no report just now 6 ft
MSY New Orleans, LA destination no report just now 3 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,015 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At MSY when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 3:01 am CDT (08:01 UTC)

MSY has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.

Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it

  • 6/0543 MCGREGOR, TX 22 nm from the route, 20 nm along the route · security · ZFW

Daylight

Sunset at GRK 7:02 pm CDT (00:02 UTC), at MSY 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:57 pm CDT (23:57 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at MSY is before sunrise there (7:00 am CDT (12:00 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 southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · 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: Robert Gray Army Airfield, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International.