The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 8:10 am CDT (13:10 UTC)

Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International to Alexandria International JAN → AEX

139 nautical miles (160 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 246°, about 247° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1W). At 120 knots that is 1 h 11 min at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 3-knot headwind), arriving about 9:21 am CDT (14:21 UTC). Right now JAN is VFR, wind calm; AEX 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 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

  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, mist, fog). 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 JAN.

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

  • BE36 at 8,000 ft, 9 nm southeast, 6:18 am CDT (11:18 UTC): no turbulence, no icing, remarks: ZME65. 40 nm along the route, 9 nm southeast of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    JAN UA /OV MHZ225040/TM 1118/FL080/TP BE36/TB NEG/IC NEG/RM ZME65
    Report
    a routine report filed through JAN
    Where
    40 nm southwest (225°) of MHZ
    Time
    11:18 UTC
    Height
    at 8,000 ft
    Aircraft
    BE36
    Turbulence
    none
    Icing
    none
    Remarks
    ZME65

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 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 2 forecast points nearest it (JAN, LCH). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft220° at 11 kt+10 kt110 kt1 h 16 min9:26 am CDT (14:26 UTC)
6,500 ft230° at 11 kt+10 kt17 °C110 kt1 h 16 min9:26 am CDT (14:26 UTC)
8,500 ft240° at 8 kt+8 kt13 °C112 kt1 h 14 min9:24 am CDT (14:24 UTC)
10,500 ft260° at 5 kt+5 kt9 °C115 kt1 h 13 min9:23 am CDT (14:23 UTC)
12,500 ft270° at 5 kt+4 kt6 °C116 kt1 h 12 min9:22 am CDT (14:22 UTC)
14,500 ft290° at 8 kt+6 kt1 °C114 kt1 h 13 min9:23 am CDT (14:23 UTC)
16,500 ft290° at 11 kt+8 kt-2 °C112 kt1 h 14 min9:24 am CDT (14:24 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180290° at 14 kt+10 kt-6 °C110 kt1 h 16 min9:26 am CDT (14:26 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240290° at 15 kt+10 kt-16 °C110 kt1 h 16 min9:26 am CDT (14:26 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300320° at 33 kt+9 kt-30 °C111 kt1 h 15 min9:25 am CDT (14:25 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340330° at 34 kt+3 kt-40 °C117 kt1 h 11 min9:21 am CDT (14:21 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390330° at 39 kt+2 kt-51 °C118 kt1 h 11 min9:21 am CDT (14:21 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
JANused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line240/10260/15 18°280/10 11°290/6 6°290/15 -5°300/15 -17°320/35 -30°330/38 -40°330/39 -51°
LCHused from 99 nm out; 96 nm from the line170/21160/23 18°170/13 13°170/6 8°300/12 -7°280/16 -14°320/27 -30°330/23 -41°340/38 -51°

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
JAN Jackson, MS departure VFR calm 10+ mi none 346 ft 7:54 am CDT (12:54 UTC)
JVW Raymond, MS 20 nm out, 8 nm north of the line VFR calm 7 mi none 247 ft 12:55 UTC
HEZ Natchez, MS 70 nm out, 13 nm south of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 272 ft 12:56 UTC
MKV Marksville, LA 119 nm out, 24 nm south of the line VFR from the east-southeast (110°) at 3 knots 8 mi none 78 ft 08:15 UTC
AEX Alexandria, LA destination VFR calm 8 mi none 88 ft 7:53 am CDT (12:53 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 346 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At AEX when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:21 am CDT (14:21 UTC)

Wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for AEX
  • From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 9:00 pm CDT (02:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
The forecast for JAN, the departure
  • From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the south-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 JAN 6:31 pm CDT (23:31 UTC), at AEX 6:42 pm CDT (23:42 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:06 pm CDT (00:06 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
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: Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International, Alexandria International.