Rickenbacker International to Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis Airport LCK → MEM
441 nautical miles (508 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 232°, about 239° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7W). At 120 knots that is 3 h 28 min at the quickest height in today's winds (24,000 ft, a 7-knot tailwind), arriving about 2:00 am CDT (07:00 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: 566 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
- AIRMET SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the first 245 nm of the 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 LCK.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
Not fetched just now.
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 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 (CMH, CVG, LOU, EVV, BNA, MEM). 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 | 310° at 16 kt | +1 kt | 119 kt | 3 h 42 min | 2:14 am CDT (07:14 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 330° at 19 kt | −3 kt | 15 °C | 123 kt | 3 h 35 min | 2:07 am CDT (07:07 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 330° at 21 kt | −4 kt | 11 °C | 124 kt | 3 h 33 min | 2:05 am CDT (07:05 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 330° at 21 kt | −5 kt | 7 °C | 125 kt | 3 h 32 min | 2:04 am CDT (07:04 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 340° at 21 kt | −6 kt | 3 °C | 126 kt | 3 h 30 min | 2:02 am CDT (07:02 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 330° at 22 kt | −5 kt | 0 °C | 125 kt | 3 h 32 min | 2:04 am CDT (07:04 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 330° at 23 kt | −3 kt | -3 °C | 123 kt | 3 h 35 min | 2:07 am CDT (07:07 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 330° at 25 kt | −2 kt | -6 °C | 122 kt | 3 h 37 min | 2:09 am CDT (07:09 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 330° at 33 kt | −7 kt | -19 °C | 127 kt | 3 h 28 min | 2:00 am CDT (07:00 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 330° at 48 kt | −7 kt | -34 °C | 127 kt | 3 h 28 min | 2:00 am CDT (07:00 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 320° at 59 kt | −1 kt | -41 °C | 121 kt | 3 h 39 min | 2:11 am CDT (07:11 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 330° at 44 kt | −5 kt | -50 °C | 125 kt | 3 h 32 min | 2:04 am CDT (07:04 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
| Point | From | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMH | used from 0 nm out; 33 nm from the line | 330/15 | 340/22 14° | 340/24 9° | 340/23 4° | 340/35 -9° | 340/49 -20° | 340/58 -37° | 330/70 -42° | 340/55 -47° |
| CVG | used from 49 nm out; 23 nm from the line | 320/18 | 350/32 16° | 350/35 10° | 350/30 3° | 330/30 -7° | 340/44 -20° | 340/58 -35° | 330/72 -41° | 320/36 -49° |
| LOU | used from 147 nm out; 14 nm from the line | 310/18 | 340/28 16° | 340/29 10° | 350/27 3° | 330/27 -7° | 340/39 -19° | 330/58 -33° | 330/67 -41° | 330/40 -49° |
| EVV | used from 196 nm out; 57 nm from the line | 280/15 | 290/12 17° | 310/16 10° | 320/13 5° | 310/22 -6° | 320/26 -18° | 320/38 -33° | 310/56 -41° | 320/55 -51° |
| BNA | used from 245 nm out; 59 nm from the line | 310/20 | 340/20 17° | 330/24 10° | 340/22 5° | 330/26 -6° | 340/29 -18° | 330/52 -33° | 320/62 -41° | 340/45 -50° |
| MEM | used from 343 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 230/19 | 260/16 15° | 270/17 12° | 300/13 6° | 300/15 -5° | 300/26 -18° | 300/34 -32° | 300/41 -40° | 310/46 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCK Columbus, OH | departure | no report just now | 743 ft | ||||
| RZT Chillicothe, OH | 20 nm out, 15 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 725 ft | ||||
| ILN Wilmington, OH | 49 nm out, 8 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,076 ft | ||||
| SDF Louisville, KY | 167 nm out, 7 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 500 ft | ||||
| EKX Elizabethtown, KY | 186 nm out, 11 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 775 ft | ||||
| JQD Hartford, KY | 235 nm out, 9 nm north of the line | no report just now | 537 ft | ||||
| HVC Hopkinsville, KY | 275 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 563 ft | ||||
| HZD Huntingdon, TN | 343 nm out, 3 nm south of the line | no report just now | 496 ft | ||||
| MKL Jackson, TN | 383 nm out, 10 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 434 ft | ||||
| NQA Millington, TN | 422 nm out, 11 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 322 ft | ||||
| MEM Memphis, TN | destination | no report just now | 340 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,076 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MEM when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 2:00 am CDT (07:00 UTC)
MEM has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8029 Cincinnati, OH, Friday, October 9, 2026 through Monday, October 12, 2026 Local 10 nm from the route, 88 nm along the route · a VIP movement · until 12 October · ZID
Daylight
Sunset at LCK 6:57 pm EDT (22:57 UTC), at MEM 6:29 pm CDT (23:29 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at MEM is before sunrise there (7:03 am CDT (12:03 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: Rickenbacker International, Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis Airport.