Cape Cod Gateway Airport to Nantucket Memorial HYA → ACK
27 nautical miles (31 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 158°, about 174° magnetic at the departure end (variation 16W). At 120 knots that is 12 min at the quickest height in today's winds (3,500 ft, a 15-knot tailwind), arriving about 5:54 am EDT (09:54 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: 6,310 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
- SIGMET E29E: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 35,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 20 knots, until 6:55 am EDT (10:55 UTC). Over the last 18 nm of the route.
as issued
WSUS31 KKCI 120855 MKCE WST 120855 CONVECTIVE SIGMET 29E VALID UNTIL 1055Z MA RI NY AND MA RI DE NJ NY MD CT CSTL WTRS FROM 60NE ACK-90ESE ACK-200SSE HTO-160SE SIE-HTO-60NE ACK AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 24020KT. TOPS TO FL350. REF INTL SIGMET LIMA SERIES.
- AIRMET SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist, fog). Over the whole route.
- AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 24,000 ft to 33,000 ft. Over the whole 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 HYA.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
No pilot reports within 50 nautical miles of the line in the last three hours.
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 08:00–15:00 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 1 forecast point nearest it (ACK). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,500 ft | 320° at 16 kt | −15 kt | 135 kt | 12 min | 5:54 am EDT (09:54 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 280° at 28 kt | −13 kt | 133 kt | 12 min | 5:54 am EDT (09:54 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 260° at 34 kt | −10 kt | 12 °C | 130 kt | 12 min | 5:54 am EDT (09:54 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 260° at 36 kt | −7 kt | 8 °C | 127 kt | 13 min | 5:55 am EDT (09:55 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 260° at 31 kt | −6 kt | 5 °C | 126 kt | 13 min | 5:55 am EDT (09:55 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 260° at 33 kt | −5 kt | 1 °C | 125 kt | 13 min | 5:55 am EDT (09:55 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 250° at 36 kt | −3 kt | -4 °C | 123 kt | 13 min | 5:55 am EDT (09:55 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 250° at 40 kt | −2 kt | -8 °C | 122 kt | 13 min | 5:55 am EDT (09:55 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 250° at 41 kt | −1 kt | -9 °C | 121 kt | 13 min | 5:55 am EDT (09:55 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 250° at 49 kt | −1 kt | -21 °C | 121 kt | 13 min | 5:55 am EDT (09:55 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 240° at 92 kt | +13 kt | -34 °C | 107 kt | 15 min | 5:57 am EDT (09:57 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 240° at 107 kt | +15 kt | -42 °C | 105 kt | 15 min | 5:57 am EDT (09:57 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 240° at 94 kt | +14 kt | -52 °C | 106 kt | 15 min | 5:57 am EDT (09:57 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACK | used from 0 nm out; 13 nm from the line | 340/16 | 270/32 14° | 260/37 9° | 260/30 4° | 250/41 -9° | 250/49 -21° | 240/92 -34° | 240/107 -42° | 240/94 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HYA Hyannis, MA | departure | no report just now | 54 ft | ||||
| ACK Nantucket, MA | destination | no report just now | 46 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 54 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At ACK when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 5:54 am EDT (09:54 UTC)
ACK has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
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 HYA 6:05 pm EDT (22:05 UTC), at ACK 6:04 pm EDT (22:04 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:32 pm EDT (22:32 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at ACK is before sunrise there (6:48 am EDT (10:48 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: Cape Cod Gateway Airport, Nantucket Memorial.