Blue Grass Airport to Columbia Regional LEX → COU
361 nautical miles (415 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 280°, about 284° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4W). At 120 knots that is 3 h 22 min at the quickest height in today's winds (12,500 ft, a 13-knot headwind), arriving about 4:04 am CDT (09:04 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: 1 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 137 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 LEX.
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 4 forecast points nearest it (LOU, EVV, STL, COU). 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 | 280° at 17 kt | +17 kt | 103 kt | 3 h 30 min | 4:12 am CDT (09:12 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 290° at 17 kt | +17 kt | 15 °C | 103 kt | 3 h 30 min | 4:12 am CDT (09:12 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 300° at 18 kt | +17 kt | 11 °C | 103 kt | 3 h 30 min | 4:12 am CDT (09:12 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 300° at 16 kt | +15 kt | 7 °C | 105 kt | 3 h 26 min | 4:08 am CDT (09:08 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 310° at 15 kt | +13 kt | 4 °C | 107 kt | 3 h 22 min | 4:04 am CDT (09:04 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 300° at 17 kt | +16 kt | 0 °C | 104 kt | 3 h 28 min | 4:10 am CDT (09:10 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 300° at 19 kt | +19 kt | -3 °C | 101 kt | 3 h 34 min | 4:16 am CDT (09:16 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 290° at 21 kt | +21 kt | -6 °C | 99 kt | 3 h 39 min | 4:21 am CDT (09:21 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 310° at 26 kt | +24 kt | -19 °C | 96 kt | 3 h 46 min | 4:28 am CDT (09:28 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 310° at 39 kt | +33 kt | -33 °C | 87 kt | 4 h 09 min | 4:51 am CDT (09:51 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 310° at 53 kt | +46 kt | -41 °C | 74 kt | 4 h 53 min | 5:35 am CDT (10:35 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 310° at 48 kt | +42 kt | -50 °C | 78 kt | 4 h 38 min | 5:20 am CDT (10:20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOU | used from 0 nm out; 27 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 98 nm out; 26 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° |
| STL | used from 195 nm out; 55 nm from the line | 250/24 | 250/24 16° | 260/23 9° | 270/16 6° | 260/25 -6° | 270/29 -19° | 290/34 -33° | 290/48 -41° | 290/54 -51° |
| COU | used from 341 nm out; 10 nm from the line | 230/31 | 230/30 15° | 260/16 11° | 270/14 6° | 260/24 -6° | 270/27 -18° | 270/37 -32° | 280/49 -41° | 290/56 -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
| Airport | Where | Conditions | Wind | Visibility | Ceiling | Elevation | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEX Lexington, KY | departure | no report just now | 979 ft | ||||
| FFT Frankfort, KY | 20 nm out, 7 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 812 ft | ||||
| LOU Louisville, KY | 49 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 545 ft | ||||
| HNB Huntingburg, IN | 107 nm out, 6 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 529 ft | ||||
| EVV Evansville, IN | 137 nm out, 21 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 421 ft | ||||
| FWC Fairfield, IL | 185 nm out, 8 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 434 ft | ||||
| ENL Centralia, IL | 215 nm out, 3 nm south of the line | no report just now | 534 ft | ||||
| CPS Cahokia/St Louis, IL | 263 nm out, 5 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 412 ft | ||||
| SUS St Louis, MO | 283 nm out, 5 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 463 ft | ||||
| MYJ Mexico, MO | 341 nm out, 22 nm north of the line | no report just now | 822 ft | ||||
| COU Columbia, MO | destination | no report just now | 889 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 979 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At COU when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 4:04 am CDT (09:04 UTC)
COU has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/7634 CENTRALIA, MO, Monday, October 12, 2026 UTC 19 nm from the route, at the destination end · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · today · ZKC
Daylight
Sunset at LEX 7:05 pm EDT (23:05 UTC), at COU 6:35 pm CDT (23:35 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:01 pm CDT (00:01 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at COU is before sunrise there (7:15 am CDT (12:15 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: Blue Grass Airport, Columbia Regional.