The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 7:31 pm CDT (00:31 UTC)

William P Hobby Airport to Springfield-Branson Ntl Airport HOU → SGF

466 nautical miles (536 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 011°, about 008° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 3 h 23 min at the quickest height in today's winds (7,500 ft, a 18-knot tailwind), arriving about 10:54 pm CDT (03:54 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now HOU is VFR, wind from the south-southeast (150°) at 8 knots; SGF is VFR, wind from the south (190°) at 6 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: 8 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 HOU.

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

  • A320 at 26,500 ft, 6 nm west, 5:46 pm CDT (22:46 UTC): moderate clear-air turbulence, remarks: ZFW86. 169 nm along the route, 6 nm west of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    GGG UA /OV GGG/TM 2246/FL265/TP A320/TB MOD CAT/RM ZFW86
    Report
    a routine report filed through GGG
    Where
    over GGG
    Time
    22:46 UTC
    Height
    at 26,500 ft
    Aircraft
    A320
    Turbulence
    moderate clear-air turbulence
    Remarks
    ZFW86
  • A320 at 24,000 ft, 7 nm west, 5:07 pm CDT (22:07 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: during the climb zhu. 20 nm along the route, 7 nm west of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    IAH UA /OV IAH/TM 2207/FL240/TP A320/TB OCNL LGT CHOP /RM DURC. ZHU
    Report
    a routine report filed through IAH
    Where
    over IAH
    Time
    22:07 UTC
    Height
    at 24,000 ft
    Aircraft
    A320
    Turbulence
    occasional light chop
    Remarks
    during the climb zhu
  • BE35 at 4,000 ft, 41 nm east, 5:03 pm CDT (22:03 UTC): light clear-air turbulence above 4,000 ft, wind 133° at 26 knots, remarks: ZFW30. 159 nm along the route, 41 nm east of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    BAD UA /OV EMG210025/TM 2203/FL040/TP BE35/WV 133026 KT/TB LGT CAT 040/RM ZFW30
    Report
    a routine report filed through BAD
    Where
    25 nm southwest (210°) of EMG
    Time
    22:03 UTC
    Height
    at 4,000 ft
    Aircraft
    BE35
    Wind
    wind from 133° at 26 knots knots
    Turbulence
    light clear-air turbulence at 4,000 ft
    Remarks
    ZFW30
  • CRJ7 at 36,000 ft, 50 nm east, 7:10 pm CDT (00:10 UTC): no turbulence, remarks: ZME20. 307 nm along the route, 50 nm east of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    HOT UA /OV HOT/TM 0010/FL360/TP CRJ7/TB NEG/RM ZME20
    Report
    a routine report filed through HOT
    Where
    over HOT
    Time
    00:10 UTC
    Height
    at 36,000 ft
    Aircraft
    CRJ7
    Turbulence
    none
    Remarks
    ZME20

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 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 5 forecast points nearest it (HOU, CLL, SHV, FSM, SGF). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft190° at 16 kt−16 kt136 kt3 h 26 min10:57 pm CDT (03:57 UTC)
5,500 ft210° at 17 kt−16 kt136 kt3 h 26 min10:57 pm CDT (03:57 UTC)
7,500 ft220° at 20 kt−18 kt14 °C138 kt3 h 23 min10:54 pm CDT (03:54 UTC)
9,500 ft230° at 21 kt−17 kt11 °C137 kt3 h 24 min10:55 pm CDT (03:55 UTC)
11,500 ft240° at 17 kt−10 kt8 °C130 kt3 h 35 min11:06 pm CDT (04:06 UTC)
13,500 ft260° at 16 kt−7 kt4 °C127 kt3 h 40 min11:11 pm CDT (04:11 UTC)
15,500 ft260° at 17 kt−5 kt0 °C125 kt3 h 44 min11:15 pm CDT (04:15 UTC)
17,500 ft270° at 17 kt−3 kt-4 °C123 kt3 h 47 min11:18 pm CDT (04:18 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180270° at 18 kt−3 kt-5 °C123 kt3 h 47 min11:18 pm CDT (04:18 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240280° at 20 kt0-15 °C120 kt3 h 53 min11:24 pm CDT (04:24 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300290° at 33 kt+6 kt-30 °C114 kt4 h 05 min11:36 pm CDT (04:36 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340290° at 33 kt+8 kt-40 °C112 kt4 h 10 min11:41 pm CDT (04:41 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390300° at 38 kt+15 kt-52 °C105 kt4 h 26 min11:57 pm CDT (04:57 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
HOUused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line160/18160/14 17°180/19 12°190/11 8°260/12 -4°260/14 -13°310/26 -30°310/30 -40°320/21 -52°
CLLused from 50 nm out; 72 nm from the line160/18190/18 16°200/19 12°220/14 7°260/18 -5°250/20 -13°290/29 -29°290/31 -40°300/22 -53°
SHVused from 99 nm out; 68 nm from the line190/11230/19 17°230/26 12°260/15 7°280/16 -4°300/17 -15°300/34 -30°300/31 -41°310/42 -52°
FSMused from 248 nm out; 75 nm from the line200/18210/19 15°230/22 13°250/18 7°270/20 -5°280/24 -16°280/35 -30°290/37 -40°300/40 -52°
SGFused from 397 nm out; 45 nm from the line210/21210/21 16°240/28 12°260/24 7°280/21 -6°280/26 -18°290/38 -31°290/37 -41°300/49 -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
HOU Houston, TX departure VFR Sky: scattered clouds at 25,000 feet from the south-southeast (150°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 46 ft 6:53 pm CDT (23:53 UTC)
IAH Houston, TX 20 nm out, 7 nm west of the line, tower VFR Sky: a broken layer at 25,000 feet from the east-southeast (120°) at 11 knots 10+ mi 25,000 ft 95 ft 23:53 UTC
OCH Nacogdoches, TX 119 nm out, 6 nm east of the line reported, no category from the southeast (130°) at 4 knots none 343 ft 23:56 UTC
GGG Longview, TX 169 nm out, 4 nm west of the line, tower VFR from the south-southeast (150°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 365 ft 23:53 UTC
ATA Atlanta, TX 218 nm out, 14 nm southeast of the line no report just now 280 ft
TXK Texarkana, AR 238 nm out, 19 nm east of the line, tower VFR from the south (170°) at 3 knots 10+ mi none 389 ft 23:53 UTC
MEZ Mena, AR 297 nm out, 5 nm northwest of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 1,079 ft 23:35 UTC
FSM Fort Smith, AR 347 nm out, 23 nm west of the line, tower VFR from the south-southwest (210°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 469 ft 23:53 UTC
FYV Fayetteville, AR 387 nm out, 21 nm west of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 1,252 ft 23:53 UTC
BBG Branson, MO 426 nm out, 18 nm east of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 1,302 ft 23:45 UTC
SGF Springfield, MO destination VFR from the south (190°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 1,268 ft 6:52 pm CDT (23:52 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,302 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At SGF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 10:54 pm CDT (03:54 UTC)

Wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for SGF
  • From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 11 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, clear skies
  • From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 18 knots, gusting to 25, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
The forecast for HOU, the departure
  • From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Sun 8:00 pm CDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the east-southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 2,500 feet, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 11 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 3,500 feet, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • 30% chance between Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC) and 1:00 pm CDT (18:00 UTC): light rain showers
  • From Mon 5:00 pm CDT (22:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 13 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 5,000 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 HOU 6:55 pm CDT (23:55 UTC), at SGF 6:42 pm CDT (23:42 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:08 pm CDT (00:08 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at SGF is after sunset there (6:42 pm CDT (23:42 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 now, the upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper 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: William P Hobby Airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl Airport.