Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet Field to Chicago/Rockford International LFT → RFD
733 nautical miles (844 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 010°, about 007° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 5 h 49 min at the quickest height in today's winds (3,500 ft, a 6-knot tailwind), arriving about 2:55 am CDT (07:55 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now LFT is VFR, wind from the south-southwest (200°) at 4 knots; RFD 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 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 LFT.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- B39M at 32,000 ft, 37 nm west, 6:07 pm CDT (23:07 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: zhu. 59 nm along the route, 37 nm west of the line.
as filed, and in English
AEX UA /OV AEX/TM 2307/FL320/TP B39M/TB OCNL LGT CHOP/RM ZHU
- Report
- a routine report filed through AEX
- Where
- over AEX
- Time
- 23:07 UTC
- Height
- at 32,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B39M
- Turbulence
- occasional light chop
- Remarks
- zhu
- A319 at 39,000 ft, 46 nm east, 6:11 pm CDT (23:11 UTC): no chop turbulence, remarks: smooth. 307 nm along the route, 46 nm east of the line.
as filed, and in English
MEM UA /OV MEM/TM 2311/FL390/TP A319/TB NEG CHOP/RM SMOOTH
- Report
- a routine report filed through MEM
- Where
- over MEM
- Time
- 23:11 UTC
- Height
- at 39,000 ft
- Aircraft
- A319
- Turbulence
- no chop
- Remarks
- smooth
- A321 at 32,000 ft, 16 nm west, 8:56 pm CDT (01:56 UTC): light turbulence, remarks: pocket continuous light turbulence. At the destination end, 16 nm west of the line.
as filed, and in English
RPJ UA /OV PLL/TM 0156/FL320/TP A321/TB CONS LGT/RM POCKET CONS LGT TB
- Report
- a routine report filed through RPJ
- Where
- over PLL
- Time
- 01:56 UTC
- Height
- at 32,000 ft
- Aircraft
- A321
- Turbulence
- continuous light
- Remarks
- pocket continuous light turbulence
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 20:00–03:00 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 8 forecast points nearest it (LCH, JAN, LIT, MEM, CGI, STL, SPI, JOT). 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 | 240° at 9 kt | −6 kt | 126 kt | 5 h 49 min | 2:55 am CDT (07:55 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 270° at 11 kt | −2 kt | 122 kt | 6 h | 3:06 am CDT (08:06 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 280° at 14 kt | −1 kt | 14 °C | 121 kt | 6 h 03 min | 3:09 am CDT (08:09 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 280° at 16 kt | −1 kt | 10 °C | 121 kt | 6 h 03 min | 3:09 am CDT (08:09 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 290° at 19 kt | +2 kt | 6 °C | 118 kt | 6 h 13 min | 3:19 am CDT (08:19 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 290° at 20 kt | +5 kt | 2 °C | 115 kt | 6 h 22 min | 3:28 am CDT (08:28 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 300° at 20 kt | +7 kt | -2 °C | 113 kt | 6 h 29 min | 3:35 am CDT (08:35 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 310° at 20 kt | +10 kt | -6 °C | 110 kt | 6 h 40 min | 3:46 am CDT (08:46 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 310° at 20 kt | +10 kt | -7 °C | 110 kt | 6 h 40 min | 3:46 am CDT (08:46 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 320° at 26 kt | +17 kt | -18 °C | 103 kt | 7 h 07 min | 4:13 am CDT (09:13 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 320° at 46 kt | +29 kt | -33 °C | 91 kt | 8 h 03 min | 5:09 am CDT (10:09 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 320° at 54 kt | +36 kt | -42 °C | 84 kt | 8 h 44 min | 5:50 am CDT (10:50 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 320° at 55 kt | +33 kt | -51 °C | 87 kt | 8 h 26 min | 5:32 am CDT (10:32 UTC) |
Based on data from the 11th at 18:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 00:00 UTC for use 20:00 to 03:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCH | used from 0 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 190/6 | 180/8 18° | 170/13 12° | 220/12 7° | 290/10 -4° | 280/15 -14° | 320/30 -31° | 320/32 -40° | 320/39 -53° |
| JAN | used from 50 nm out; 100 nm from the line | 260/6 | 310/14 17° | 280/13 12° | 290/19 6° | 310/22 -5° | 310/28 -17° | 320/44 -32° | 330/48 -41° | 320/52 -51° |
| LIT | used from 198 nm out; 73 nm from the line | 220/12 | 250/12 17° | 250/18 12° | 260/22 6° | 310/14 -5° | 310/25 -17° | 310/40 -31° | 310/38 -41° | 310/46 -52° |
| MEM | used from 248 nm out; 56 nm from the line | 240/9 | 280/14 17° | 280/20 12° | 290/25 5° | 320/25 -6° | 330/31 -18° | 320/52 -32° | 330/58 -41° | 320/42 -50° |
| CGI | used from 347 nm out; 76 nm from the line | 250/10 | 290/12 17° | 290/18 11° | 300/22 5° | 320/25 -8° | 330/30 -18° | 320/53 -33° | 320/66 -42° | 320/56 -50° |
| STL | used from 446 nm out; 51 nm from the line | 210/13 | 260/16 17° | 270/21 10° | 280/24 5° | 310/20 -7° | 320/22 -18° | 320/44 -33° | 320/59 -43° | 310/69 -51° |
| SPI | used from 545 nm out; 20 nm from the line | 210/13 | 260/11 17° | 270/18 10° | 290/21 4° | 310/20 -8° | 330/25 -19° | 320/49 -34° | 320/60 -44° | 320/59 -50° |
| JOT | used from 644 nm out; 59 nm from the line | 230/11 | 290/12 16° | 300/19 10° | 320/19 4° | 300/17 -9° | 330/31 -20° | 320/49 -37° | 320/53 -45° | 320/67 -49° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LFT Lafayette, LA | departure | VFR | from the south-southwest (200°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 40 ft | 8:53 pm CDT (01:53 UTC) |
| OPL Opelousas, LA | 20 nm out, 9 nm west of the line | VFR | from the south-southwest (210°) at 3 knots | 10+ mi | none | 74 ft | 01:55 UTC |
| HEZ Natchez, MS | 89 nm out, 20 nm east of the line | VFR | from the south-southeast (160°) at 3 knots | 10+ mi | none | 272 ft | 01:56 UTC |
| GLH Greenville, MS | 198 nm out, 15 nm east of the line, tower | VFR | from the south (190°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 130 ft | 01:53 UTC |
| FCY Forrest City, AR | 287 nm out, 9 nm east of the line | no report just now | 249 ft | ||||
| DRP Colt, AR | 297 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 238 ft | 01:50 UTC |
| POF Poplar Bluff, MO | 406 nm out, 10 nm southeast of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 330 ft | 01:53 UTC |
| FAM Farmington, MO | 456 nm out, 8 nm northwest of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 945 ft | 20:07 UTC |
| CPS Cahokia/St Louis, IL | 515 nm out, 6 nm southwest of the line, tower | VFR | from the south (170°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 412 ft | 01:53 UTC |
| SPI Springfield, IL | 595 nm out, 6 nm south of the line, tower | VFR | from the south (180°) at 7 knots | 10+ mi | none | 597 ft | 01:52 UTC |
| RPJ Rochelle, IL | 713 nm out, 5 nm east of the line | VFR | from the south-southeast (160°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 780 ft | 01:55 UTC |
| RFD Chicago/Rockford, IL | destination | VFR Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 feet | calm | 10+ mi | none | 742 ft | 8:54 pm CDT (01:54 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 945 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At RFD when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 2:55 am CDT (07:55 UTC)
Wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
The whole forecast for RFD
- From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, gusting to 22, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 20,000 feet
- From Mon 6:00 pm CDT (23:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 12,000 feet
The forecast for LFT, the departure
- From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Sun 9:00 pm CDT (02:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 6 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 LFT 6:40 pm CDT (23:40 UTC), at RFD 6:19 pm CDT (23:19 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:47 pm CDT (23:47 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at RFD is before sunrise there (7:05 am CDT (12:05 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: Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet Field, Chicago/Rockford International.