Chicago Midway International to Indianapolis International MDW → IND
141 nautical miles (162 statute miles) southeast on a straight line, true course 151°, about 155° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4W). At 120 knots that is 47 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 59-knot tailwind), arriving about 10:46 pm EDT (02:46 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now MDW is VFR, wind from the south (180°) at 5 knots; IND 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: 1,539 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 MDW.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- CRJ7 at 17,000 ft, 39 nm northeast, 7:04 pm CDT (00:04 UTC): no turbulence. At the departure end, 39 nm northeast of the line.
as filed, and in English
BEH UA /OV ELX270040/TM 0004/FL170/TP CRJ7/TB NEG
- Report
- a routine report filed through BEH
- Where
- 40 nm west (270°) of ELX
- Time
- 00:04 UTC
- Height
- at 17,000 ft
- Aircraft
- CRJ7
- Turbulence
- none
- B39M at 35,000 ft, 1 nm west, 7:29 pm CDT (00:29 UTC): no turbulence, remarks: smooth. 19 nm along the route, 1 nm west of the line.
as filed, and in English
IKK UA /OV CGT/TM 0029/FL350/TP B39M/TB NEG/RM SMOOTH
- Report
- a routine report filed through IKK
- Where
- over CGT
- Time
- 00:29 UTC
- Height
- at 35,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B39M
- Turbulence
- none
- Remarks
- smooth
- E170 at 23,000 ft, 6 nm southwest, 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC): light turbulence. 113 nm along the route, 6 nm southwest of the line.
as filed, and in English
IND UA /OV VHP315020/TM 2314/FL230/TP E170/TB LGT
- Report
- a routine report filed through IND
- Where
- 20 nm northwest (315°) of VHP
- Time
- 23:14 UTC
- Height
- at 23,000 ft
- Aircraft
- E170
- Turbulence
- light
- A21N at 17,000 ft, 45 nm south, 8:28 pm CDT (01:28 UTC): no icing, clear from 17,000 ft to 60,000 ft, remarks: clear since departing KIND southbound. At the destination end, 45 nm south of the line.
as filed, and in English
IND UA /OV IND183045/TM 0128/FL170/TP A21N/SK SKC/IC NEG/RM CLR SINCE DEPARTING KIND SOUTHBOUND
- Report
- a routine report filed through IND
- Where
- 45 nm south (183°) of IND
- Time
- 01:28 UTC
- Height
- at 17,000 ft
- Aircraft
- A21N
- Sky
- clear
- Icing
- none
- Remarks
- clear since departing KIND southbound
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 2 forecast points nearest it (JOT, IND). 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 | 270° at 8 kt | −4 kt | 124 kt | 1 h 08 min | 11:07 pm EDT (03:07 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 320° at 14 kt | −13 kt | 133 kt | 1 h 04 min | 11:03 pm EDT (03:03 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 320° at 18 kt | −18 kt | 13 °C | 138 kt | 1 h 01 min | 11:00 pm EDT (03:00 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 320° at 21 kt | −21 kt | 9 °C | 141 kt | 1 h | 10:59 pm EDT (02:59 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 330° at 22 kt | −22 kt | 5 °C | 142 kt | 1 h | 10:59 pm EDT (02:59 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 330° at 21 kt | −21 kt | 1 °C | 141 kt | 1 h | 10:59 pm EDT (02:59 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 330° at 21 kt | −21 kt | -4 °C | 141 kt | 1 h | 10:59 pm EDT (02:59 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 320° at 20 kt | −20 kt | -8 °C | 140 kt | 1 h | 10:59 pm EDT (02:59 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 320° at 20 kt | −20 kt | -9 °C | 140 kt | 1 h | 10:59 pm EDT (02:59 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 330° at 35 kt | −35 kt | -20 °C | 155 kt | 55 min | 10:54 pm EDT (02:54 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 330° at 48 kt | −48 kt | -37 °C | 168 kt | 50 min | 10:49 pm EDT (02:49 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 320° at 51 kt | −50 kt | -44 °C | 170 kt | 50 min | 10:49 pm EDT (02:49 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 320° at 60 kt | −59 kt | -48 °C | 179 kt | 47 min | 10:46 pm EDT (02:46 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOT | used from 0 nm out; 31 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° |
| IND | used from 94 nm out; 23 nm from the line | 320/10 | 350/30 16° | 350/32 10° | 350/30 4° | 340/31 -10° | 340/42 -21° | 340/49 -37° | 320/46 -41° | 320/47 -47° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDW Chicago, IL | departure | VFR | from the south (180°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 619 ft | 8:53 pm CDT (01:53 UTC) |
| GYY Gary/Chicago, IN | 19 nm out, 9 nm northeast of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 9 mi | none | 596 ft | 01:50 UTC |
| RZL Rensselaer, IN | 56 nm out, 1 nm southwest of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 698 ft | 23:35 UTC |
| LAF Lafayette, IN | 94 nm out, 8 nm west of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 605 ft | 01:54 UTC |
| IND Indianapolis, IN | destination | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 796 ft | 9:54 pm EDT (01:54 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 796 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At IND when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 10:46 pm EDT (02:46 UTC)
Wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet VFR
The whole forecast for IND
- From Sun 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
- From Mon 4:00 am EDT (08:00 UTC): wind from the south at 6 knots, visibility 6 miles, mist, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
- At times between Mon 4:00 am EDT (08:00 UTC) and 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC): visibility 4 miles, mist, a few clouds at 700 feet
- From Mon 9:00 am EDT (13:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 20,000 feet
The forecast for MDW, the departure
- From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 13 knots, gusting to 23, 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
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 MDW 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC), at IND 7:10 pm EDT (23:10 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:37 pm EDT (23:37 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at IND is after sunset there (7:12 pm EDT (23:12 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: Chicago Midway International, Indianapolis International.