Plan a flight · Sun 9:06 pm CDT (02:06 UTC)

Golden Triangle Regional to Chicago/Rockford International GTR → RFD

526 nautical miles (605 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 358°, about 360° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2W). At 120 knots that is 4 h 23 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, no wind along the track), arriving about 1:29 am CDT (06:29 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now GTR is VFR, wind calm; RFD is VFR, wind calm. 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 GTR.

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

BE40 at 29,000 ft, 23 nm east, 6:22 pm CDT (23:22 UTC): moderate chop turbulence from 26,000 ft to 29,000 ft, remarks: zme. 79 nm along the route, 23 nm east of the line.
as filed, and in English
```
TUP UA /OV TUP045041/TM 2322/FL290/TP BE40/TB OCNL MOD CHOP 290-260/RM ZME
```
Report
a routine report filed through TUP
Where
41 nm northeast (045°) of TUP
Time
23:22 UTC
Height
at 29,000 ft
Aircraft
BE40
Turbulence
occasional moderate chop from 29,000 ft to 26,000 ft
Remarks
zme
BCS3 at 35,000 ft, 29 nm west, 7:13 pm CDT (00:13 UTC): no turbulence, remarks: ZME33. 159 nm along the route, 29 nm west of the line.
as filed, and in English
```
DYR UA /OV DYR/TM 0013/FL350/TP BCS3/TB NEG/RM ZME33
```
Report
a routine report filed through DYR
Where
over DYR
Time
00:13 UTC
Height
at 35,000 ft
Aircraft
BCS3
Turbulence
none
Remarks
ZME33
B38M at 25,000 ft, 16 nm east, 7:12 pm CDT (00:12 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: ZME26. 159 nm along the route, 16 nm east of the line.
as filed, and in English
```
MKL UA /OV MKL045035/TM 0012/FL250/TP B38M/TB OCNL LGT CHOP/RM ZME26
```
Report
a routine report filed through MKL
Where
35 nm northeast (045°) of MKL
Time
00:12 UTC
Height
at 25,000 ft
Aircraft
B38M
Turbulence
occasional light chop
Remarks
ZME26
B737 at 31,000 ft, 1 nm northwest, 7:13 pm CDT (00:13 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: ZME25. 228 nm along the route, 1 nm northwest of the line.
as filed, and in English
```
PAH UA /OV CNG360015/TM 0013/FL310/TP B737/TB OCNL LGT CHOP/RM ZME25
```
Report
a routine report filed through PAH
Where
15 nm north (360°) of CNG
Time
00:13 UTC
Height
at 31,000 ft
Aircraft
B737
Turbulence
occasional light chop
Remarks
ZME25
A321 at 32,000 ft, 20 nm west, 8:56 pm CDT (01:56 UTC): light turbulence, remarks: pocket continuous light turbulence. At the destination end, 20 nm west of the line.
as filed, and in English
```
RPJ UA /OV PLL/TM 0156/FL320/TP A321/TB CONS LGT/RM POCKET CONS LGT TB
```
Report
a routine report filed through RPJ
Where
over PLL
Time
01:56 UTC
Height
at 32,000 ft
Aircraft
A321
Turbulence
continuous light
Remarks
pocket continuous light turbulence

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 6 forecast points nearest it (BHM, MEM, CGI, STL, SPI, JOT). 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	270° at 11 kt	0		120 kt	4 h 23 min	1:29 am CDT (06:29 UTC)
6,500 ft	290° at 14 kt	+5 kt	16 °C	115 kt	4 h 34 min	1:40 am CDT (06:40 UTC)
8,500 ft	290° at 19 kt	+7 kt	12 °C	113 kt	4 h 39 min	1:45 am CDT (06:45 UTC)
10,500 ft	300° at 21 kt	+10 kt	8 °C	110 kt	4 h 47 min	1:53 am CDT (06:53 UTC)
12,500 ft	300° at 23 kt	+13 kt	4 °C	107 kt	4 h 55 min	2:01 am CDT (07:01 UTC)
14,500 ft	310° at 23 kt	+14 kt	0 °C	106 kt	4 h 58 min	2:04 am CDT (07:04 UTC)
16,500 ft	310° at 23 kt	+16 kt	-5 °C	104 kt	5 h 03 min	2:09 am CDT (07:09 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180	310° at 23 kt	+17 kt	-8 °C	103 kt	5 h 06 min	2:12 am CDT (07:12 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240	330° at 28 kt	+25 kt	-18 °C	95 kt	5 h 32 min	2:38 am CDT (07:38 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300	320° at 49 kt	+39 kt	-34 °C	81 kt	6 h 30 min	3:36 am CDT (08:36 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340	320° at 58 kt	+48 kt	-43 °C	72 kt	7 h 18 min	4:24 am CDT (09:24 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390	320° at 54 kt	+43 kt	-50 °C	77 kt	6 h 50 min	3:56 am CDT (08:56 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

Point	From	3,000	6,000	9,000	12,000	18,000	24,000	30,000	34,000	39,000
BHM	used from 0 nm out; 95 nm from the line	300/16	330/32 16°	320/37 11°	330/37 6°	310/33 -7°	310/30 -18°	320/40 -34°	330/43 -41°	330/30 -49°
MEM	used from 50 nm out; 68 nm from the line	240/9	280/14 17°	280/20 12°	290/25 5°	320/25 -6°	330/31 -18°	320/52 -32°	330/58 -41°	320/42 -50°
CGI	used from 149 nm out; 66 nm from the line	250/10	290/12 17°	290/18 11°	300/22 5°	320/25 -8°	330/30 -18°	320/53 -33°	320/66 -42°	320/56 -50°
STL	used from 298 nm out; 70 nm from the line	210/13	260/16 17°	270/21 10°	280/24 5°	310/20 -7°	320/22 -18°	320/44 -33°	320/59 -43°	310/69 -51°
SPI	used from 347 nm out; 36 nm from the line	210/13	260/11 17°	270/18 10°	290/21 4°	310/20 -8°	330/25 -19°	320/49 -34°	320/60 -44°	320/59 -50°
JOT	used from 446 nm out; 41 nm from the line	230/11	290/12 16°	300/19 10°	320/19 4°	300/17 -9°	330/31 -20°	320/49 -37°	320/53 -45°	320/67 -49°

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
GTR Columbus/W Point/Starkville, MS	departure	VFR	calm	10+ mi	none	264 ft	8:56 pm CDT (01:56 UTC)
TUP Tupelo, MS	50 nm out, 7 nm west of the line, tower	VFR	from the south-southwest (200°) at 3 knots	10+ mi	none	346 ft	01:53 UTC
CRX Corinth, MS	89 nm out, 3 nm east of the line	VFR	calm	10+ mi	none	425 ft	01:55 UTC
MKL Jackson, TN	129 nm out, 10 nm west of the line, tower	VFR	from the south-southwest (200°) at 5 knots	10+ mi	none	434 ft	01:53 UTC
UCY Union City, TN	179 nm out, 12 nm west of the line	VFR	calm	10+ mi	none	345 ft	01:55 UTC
PAH Paducah, KY	218 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line, tower	VFR	calm	10+ mi	none	410 ft	00:00 UTC
MVN Mount Vernon, IL	298 nm out, 5 nm south of the line	VFR	calm	10+ mi	none	480 ft	01:56 UTC
VLA Vandalia, IL	337 nm out, 13 nm west of the line	no report just now				537 ft
DEC Decatur, IL	387 nm out, 5 nm southeast of the line, tower	VFR	from the south (190°) at 4 knots	9 mi	none	681 ft	01:54 UTC
BMI Bloomington/Normal, IL	427 nm out, 5 nm southeast of the line, tower	VFR	from the south (180°) at 3 knots	10+ mi	none	871 ft	01:56 UTC
RPJ Rochelle, IL	506 nm out, 2 nm north of the line	VFR	from the south-southeast (160°) at 4 knots	10+ mi	none	780 ft	01:55 UTC
RFD Chicago/Rockford, IL	destination	VFR Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 feet	calm	10+ mi	none	742 ft	8:54 pm CDT (01:54 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 871 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At RFD when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:29 am CDT (06:29 UTC)

Wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for RFD

From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, gusting to 22, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 20,000 feet
From Mon 6:00 pm CDT (23:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 12,000 feet

The forecast for GTR, the departure

From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 3 knots, 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 GTR 6:24 pm CDT (23:24 UTC), at RFD 6:19 pm CDT (23:19 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:47 pm CDT (23:47 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at RFD is before sunrise there (7:05 am CDT (12:05 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 lower Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service

Radar now, the central Great Lakes · loop National Weather Service

Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service

Radar, the whole country · loop National Weather Service

Surface analysis now Weather Prediction Center

Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center

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: Golden Triangle Regional, Chicago/Rockford International.