The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 10:38 pm CDT (03:38 UTC)

Midland International Air And Space Port to Louisville Muhammad Ali International MAF → SDF

890 nautical miles (1,024 statute miles) northeast on a straight line, true course 061°, about 052° magnetic at the departure end (variation 9E). At 120 knots that is 5 h 51 min at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 32-knot tailwind), arriving about 5:29 am EDT (09:29 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now MAF is VFR, wind from the south (170°) at 16 knots; SDF is VFR, wind from the south-southeast (160°) at 3 knots. 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 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the last 80 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 MAF.

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

  • B38M at 21,000 ft, 9 nm southeast, 8:09 pm CDT (01:09 UTC): no turbulence, no icing. At the destination end, 9 nm southeast of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    SDF UA /OV IIU/TM 0109/FL210/TP B38M/TB NEG/IC NEG
    Report
    a routine report filed through SDF
    Where
    over IIU
    Time
    01:09 UTC
    Height
    at 21,000 ft
    Aircraft
    B38M
    Turbulence
    none
    Icing
    none

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 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 9 forecast points nearest it (INK, ABI, SPS, OKC, FSM, LIT, CGI, EVV, LOU). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft220° at 22 kt−21 kt141 kt6 h 19 min5:57 am EDT (09:57 UTC)
5,500 ft230° at 19 kt−19 kt18 °C139 kt6 h 24 min6:02 am EDT (10:02 UTC)
7,500 ft240° at 17 kt−18 kt14 °C138 kt6 h 27 min6:05 am EDT (10:05 UTC)
9,500 ft250° at 16 kt−16 kt12 °C136 kt6 h 33 min6:11 am EDT (10:11 UTC)
11,500 ft260° at 13 kt−13 kt8 °C133 kt6 h 42 min6:20 am EDT (10:20 UTC)
13,500 ft270° at 13 kt−13 kt4 °C133 kt6 h 42 min6:20 am EDT (10:20 UTC)
15,500 ft270° at 14 kt−14 kt0 °C134 kt6 h 39 min6:17 am EDT (10:17 UTC)
17,500 ft270° at 16 kt−15 kt-4 °C135 kt6 h 36 min6:14 am EDT (10:14 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180270° at 16 kt−15 kt-5 °C135 kt6 h 36 min6:14 am EDT (10:14 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240270° at 24 kt−22 kt-16 °C142 kt6 h 16 min5:54 am EDT (09:54 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300280° at 36 kt−30 kt-30 °C150 kt5 h 56 min5:34 am EDT (09:34 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340290° at 43 kt−32 kt-40 °C152 kt5 h 51 min5:29 am EDT (09:29 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390300° at 42 kt−26 kt-51 °C146 kt6 h 06 min5:44 am EDT (09:44 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
INKused from 0 nm out; 76 nm from the line190/23 20°200/18 15°230/18 8°240/23 -4°240/37 -14°240/46 -27°250/42 -38°260/36 -50°
ABIused from 50 nm out; 63 nm from the line200/31 17°210/21 15°240/15 9°250/14 -4°250/24 -14°250/36 -28°270/35 -38°290/41 -50°
SPSused from 150 nm out; 52 nm from the line200/39220/28 17°230/27 12°240/15 9°250/15 -4°250/24 -15°260/45 -28°270/43 -39°280/45 -51°
OKCused from 300 nm out; 78 nm from the line200/44230/32 18°240/13 15°240/10 9°240/20 -5°250/27 -16°260/47 -28°270/48 -39°270/45 -50°
FSMused from 350 nm out; 66 nm from the line210/27250/23 16°250/20 13°240/17 8°250/18 -6°260/31 -16°280/42 -30°280/44 -40°290/38 -51°
LITused from 500 nm out; 75 nm from the line220/21230/17 16°250/24 12°260/15 7°260/13 -5°280/25 -16°290/35 -30°300/42 -40°300/40 -52°
CGIused from 600 nm out; 76 nm from the line240/20270/15 15°280/15 11°300/13 6°290/20 -6°280/24 -18°300/34 -32°300/47 -41°310/49 -51°
EVVused from 750 nm out; 40 nm from the line280/15290/12 17°310/16 10°320/13 5°310/22 -6°320/26 -18°320/38 -33°310/56 -41°320/55 -51°
LOUused from 850 nm out; 24 nm from the line310/18340/28 16°340/29 10°350/27 3°330/27 -7°340/39 -19°330/58 -33°330/67 -41°330/40 -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

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
MAF Midland, TX departure VFR from the south (170°) at 16 knots 10+ mi none 2,872 ft 9:53 pm CDT (02:53 UTC)
BPG Big Spring, TX 40 nm out, 3 nm south of the line VFR from the south (170°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 2,572 ft 03:15 UTC
SWW Sweetwater, TX 90 nm out, 15 nm southeast of the line reported, no category from the south (180°) at 12 knots 10+ mi none 2,379 ft 03:15 UTC
SPS Wichita Falls, TX 220 nm out, 19 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the south-southeast (160°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 1,019 ft 02:52 UTC
ADM Ardmore, OK 300 nm out, 4 nm west of the line, tower reported, no category calm none 776 ft 03:15 UTC
FSM Fort Smith, AR 440 nm out, 2 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 469 ft 02:53 UTC
CCA Clinton, AR 530 nm out, 23 nm southeast of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 513 ft 03:35 UTC
CVK Ash Flat, AR 590 nm out, 4 nm south of the line no report just now 717 ft
CGI Cape Girardeau, MO 700 nm out, 12 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR from the west-southwest (240°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 341 ft 20:53 UTC
PAH Paducah, KY 730 nm out, 11 nm southeast of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 410 ft 00:00 UTC
OWB Owensboro, KY 820 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR Weather: mist calm 6 mi none 407 ft 02:56 UTC
SDF Louisville, KY destination VFR from the south-southeast (160°) at 3 knots 10+ mi none 500 ft 10:56 pm EDT (02:56 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 2,872 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At SDF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 5:29 am EDT (09:29 UTC)

Wind from the southwest at 3 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for SDF
  • From Sun 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the west-northwest at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 2,500 feet
  • From Sun 8:30 pm EDT (00:30 UTC): wind from the southwest at 3 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 6:00 am EDT (10:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 3 knots, visibility 4 miles, mist, clear skies
  • From Mon 9:00 am EDT (13:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for MAF, the departure
  • From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 19 knots, gusting to 27, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Sun 10:00 pm CDT (03:00 UTC): wind from the south at 15 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet

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 MAF 7:20 pm CDT (00:20 UTC), at SDF 7:09 pm EDT (23:09 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:36 pm EDT (23:36 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at SDF is before sunrise there (7:48 am EDT (11:48 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

Radar now, the southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper 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: Midland International Air And Space Port, Louisville Muhammad Ali International.