The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 3:00 am CDT (08:00 UTC)

Valley International to Gerald R Ford International HRL → GRR

1,163 nautical miles (1,339 statute miles) northeast on a straight line, true course 028°, about 025° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 8 h 29 min at the quickest height in today's winds (3,500 ft, a 17-knot tailwind), arriving about 12:29 pm EDT (16:29 UTC). Right now HRL is VFR, wind from the east (090°) at 3 knots; GRR is IFR, wind from the south-southeast (150°) at 3 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: 1 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 HRL.

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

  • B739 at 35,000 ft, 30 nm northwest, 2:05 am CDT (07:05 UTC): no turbulence. 1004 nm along the route, 30 nm northwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    TIP UA /OV RBS010023/TM 0705/FL350/TP B739/TB NEG
    Report
    a routine report filed through TIP
    Where
    23 nm north (010°) of RBS
    Time
    07:05 UTC
    Height
    at 35,000 ft
    Aircraft
    B739
    Turbulence
    none

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 12 forecast points nearest it (BRO, CRP, PSX, HOU, SHV, LIT, MEM, CGI, STL, SPI, JOT, MKG). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft210° at 16 kt−17 kt137 kt8 h 29 min12:29 pm EDT (16:29 UTC)
5,500 ft220° at 15 kt−15 kt135 kt8 h 37 min12:37 pm EDT (16:37 UTC)
7,500 ft230° at 15 kt−14 kt14 °C134 kt8 h 41 min12:41 pm EDT (16:41 UTC)
9,500 ft240° at 14 kt−13 kt11 °C133 kt8 h 45 min12:45 pm EDT (16:45 UTC)
11,500 ft250° at 11 kt−8 kt8 °C128 kt9 h 05 min1:05 pm EDT (17:05 UTC)
13,500 ft260° at 11 kt−7 kt4 °C127 kt9 h 09 min1:09 pm EDT (17:09 UTC)
15,500 ft270° at 12 kt−7 kt0 °C127 kt9 h 09 min1:09 pm EDT (17:09 UTC)
17,500 ft270° at 14 kt−7 kt-4 °C127 kt9 h 09 min1:09 pm EDT (17:09 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180270° at 14 kt−7 kt-5 °C127 kt9 h 09 min1:09 pm EDT (17:09 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240280° at 19 kt−8 kt-16 °C128 kt9 h 05 min1:05 pm EDT (17:05 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300300° at 27 kt0-31 °C120 kt9 h 42 min1:42 pm EDT (17:42 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340300° at 35 kt−1 kt-41 °C121 kt9 h 37 min1:37 pm EDT (17:37 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390310° at 39 kt+3 kt-52 °C117 kt9 h 56 min1:56 pm EDT (17:56 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
BROused from 0 nm out; 41 nm from the line150/22160/18 18°160/13 14°150/9 10°050/5 -3°L/V -15°100/13 -29°120/15 -40°080/9 -52°
CRPused from 50 nm out; 38 nm from the line150/24180/19 19°190/13 14°200/14 9°230/5 -4°170/6 -14°360/6 -29°L/V -40°350/18 -52°
PSXused from 99 nm out; 44 nm from the line160/24160/23 19°180/14 15°210/11 9°240/8 -4°250/8 -13°320/14 -29°300/16 -40°340/17 -51°
HOUused from 199 nm out; 22 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°
SHVused from 348 nm out; 51 nm from the line200/18230/24 18°230/24 12°240/14 8°260/12 -4°240/11 -15°300/31 -29°300/32 -40°300/36 -52°
LITused from 497 nm out; 61 nm from the line220/21230/17 16°250/24 12°260/15 7°260/13 -5°280/25 -16°290/35 -30°300/42 -40°300/40 -52°
MEMused from 646 nm out; 85 nm from the line230/19260/16 15°270/17 12°300/13 6°300/15 -5°300/26 -18°300/34 -32°300/41 -40°310/46 -52°
CGIused from 696 nm out; 64 nm from the line240/20270/15 15°280/15 11°300/13 6°290/20 -6°280/24 -18°300/34 -32°300/47 -41°310/49 -51°
STLused from 795 nm out; 52 nm from the line250/24250/24 16°260/23 9°270/16 6°260/25 -6°270/29 -19°290/34 -33°290/48 -41°290/54 -51°
SPIused from 895 nm out; 58 nm from the line220/21250/23 16°260/27 9°270/14 6°270/23 -7°270/31 -19°270/28 -33°290/48 -42°300/55 -52°
JOTused from 945 nm out; 80 nm from the line250/23270/22 15°250/16 10°240/9 4°280/22 -7°280/29 -19°300/29 -34°290/50 -43°300/64 -52°
MKGused from 1094 nm out; 55 nm from the line260/22290/16 15°300/11 10°290/5 3°300/26 -9°300/32 -20°320/48 -36°320/61 -45°310/74 -53°

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
HRL Harlingen, TX departure VFR Sky: a few clouds at 1,600 feet from the east (090°) at 3 knots 10+ mi none 36 ft 2:52 am CDT (07:52 UTC)
RAS Port Aransas, TX 99 nm out, 18 nm northwest of the line VFR from the south-southeast (150°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 5 ft 07:55 UTC
SGR Houston, TX 229 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR from the east (100°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 81 ft 07:53 UTC
IAH Houston, TX 259 nm out, 2 nm south of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 3,500 feet, overcast at 23,000 feet calm 10+ mi 23,000 ft 95 ft 07:53 UTC
DTN Shreveport, LA 428 nm out, 4 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 9 knots 10+ mi none 179 ft 07:53 UTC
AGO Magnolia, AR 477 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line VFR from the south (190°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 319 ft 07:55 UTC
LIT Little Rock, AR 587 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 feet from the west-southwest (240°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 266 ft 07:53 UTC
PCD Perryville, MO 805 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line VFR from the east (100°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 372 ft 07:55 UTC
BLV Belleville, IL 835 nm out, 22 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR from the southwest (220°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 459 ft 07:55 UTC
CMI Champaign/Urbana, IL 954 nm out, 9 nm west of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 754 ft 07:53 UTC
SBN South Bend, IN 1084 nm out, 11 nm southeast of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 798 ft 07:54 UTC
GRR Grand Rapids, MI destination IFR Weather: mist from the south-southeast (150°) at 3 knots 2.5 mi none 793 ft 3:53 am EDT (07:53 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 798 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At GRR when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 12:29 pm EDT (16:29 UTC)

Wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for GRR
  • From Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 3 knots, visibility 4 miles, mist, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • At times between Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC) and 4:00 am EDT (08:00 UTC): visibility ½ mile, fog
  • From Mon 5:00 am EDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 1:00 pm EDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 12 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 20,000 feet
  • From Mon 6:00 pm EDT (22:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 8,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 pm EDT (02:00 UTC): wind from the south at 8 knots, visibility 4 miles, light rain showers, mist, scattered clouds at 5,000 feet, overcast at 8,000 feet
  • 30% chance between Mon 10:00 pm EDT (02:00 UTC) and 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): visibility 2 miles, light thunderstorms with rain, mist, overcast at 3,500 feet (thunderheads)
The forecast for HRL, the departure
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 2,500 feet
  • From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 1:00 pm CDT (18:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 12 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 7,000 feet
  • From Mon 9:00 pm CDT (02:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 7,000 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 HRL 7:04 pm CDT (00:04 UTC), at GRR 7:04 pm EDT (23:04 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:33 pm EDT (23:33 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: Valley International, Gerald R Ford International.