The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 12:47 am CDT (05:47 UTC)

General Mitchell International to Bill And Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field MKE → LIT

533 nautical miles (613 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 204°, about 208° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4W). At 120 knots that is 4 h 12 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 7-knot tailwind), arriving about 4:59 am CDT (09:59 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now MKE is VFR, wind from the south-southwest (210°) at 10 knots; LIT is VFR, wind from the west (270°) at 7 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: 5 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

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 MKE.

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

  • B38M at 29,000 ft, 46 nm east, 11:52 pm CDT (04:52 UTC): no turbulence from 23,000 ft to 29,000 ft. 138 nm along the route, 46 nm east of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    TIP UA /OV RBS/TM 0452/FL290/TP B38M/TB NEG 230-290
    Report
    a routine report filed through TIP
    Where
    over RBS
    Time
    04:52 UTC
    Height
    at 29,000 ft
    Aircraft
    B38M
    Turbulence
    no from 23,000 ft to 29,000 ft

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 5 forecast points nearest it (JOT, SPI, STL, CGI, LIT). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft250° at 20 kt+15 kt105 kt5 h 05 min5:52 am CDT (10:52 UTC)
6,500 ft260° at 20 kt+12 kt15 °C108 kt4 h 56 min5:43 am CDT (10:43 UTC)
8,500 ft260° at 20 kt+11 kt11 °C109 kt4 h 53 min5:40 am CDT (10:40 UTC)
10,500 ft260° at 16 kt+8 kt8 °C112 kt4 h 46 min5:33 am CDT (10:33 UTC)
12,500 ft270° at 13 kt+5 kt5 °C115 kt4 h 38 min5:25 am CDT (10:25 UTC)
14,500 ft270° at 16 kt+6 kt1 °C114 kt4 h 41 min5:28 am CDT (10:28 UTC)
16,500 ft270° at 18 kt+6 kt-3 °C114 kt4 h 41 min5:28 am CDT (10:28 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180270° at 20 kt+7 kt-6 °C113 kt4 h 43 min5:30 am CDT (10:30 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240280° at 28 kt+8 kt-18 °C112 kt4 h 46 min5:33 am CDT (10:33 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300290° at 31 kt+1 kt-33 °C119 kt4 h 29 min5:16 am CDT (10:16 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340290° at 47 kt−1 kt-42 °C121 kt4 h 24 min5:11 am CDT (10:11 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390300° at 53 kt−7 kt-52 °C127 kt4 h 12 min4:59 am CDT (09:59 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
JOTused from 0 nm out; 63 nm from the line250/23270/22 15°250/16 10°240/9 4°280/22 -7°280/29 -19°300/29 -34°290/50 -43°300/64 -52°
SPIused from 148 nm out; 30 nm from the line220/21250/23 16°260/27 9°270/14 6°270/23 -7°270/31 -19°270/28 -33°290/48 -42°300/55 -52°
STLused from 247 nm out; 7 nm from the line250/24250/24 16°260/23 9°270/16 6°260/25 -6°270/29 -19°290/34 -33°290/48 -41°290/54 -51°
CGIused from 346 nm out; 69 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°
LITused from 444 nm out; 64 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°

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
MKE Milwaukee, WI departure VFR Sky: a broken layer at 25,000 feet from the south-southwest (210°) at 10 knots 10+ mi 25,000 ft 728 ft 11:52 pm CDT (04:52 UTC)
ENW Kenosha, WI 20 nm out, 7 nm southeast of the line, tower VFR from the south-southwest (210°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 742 ft 04:53 UTC
ARR Chicago/Aurora, IL 79 nm out, 6 nm east of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 712 ft 04:52 UTC
BMI Bloomington/Normal, IL 158 nm out, 17 nm east of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 871 ft 04:56 UTC
SPI Springfield, IL 207 nm out, 5 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 11 knots 10+ mi none 597 ft 04:52 UTC
TAZ Taylorville, IL 217 nm out, 22 nm east of the line no report just now 622 ft
STL St Louis, MO 276 nm out, 6 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 feet from the south (180°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 617 ft 04:51 UTC
FAM Farmington, MO 336 nm out, 15 nm east of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 945 ft 20:07 UTC
PYN Piedmont, MO 375 nm out, 16 nm east of the line no report just now 466 ft
CVK Ash Flat, AR 434 nm out, 3 nm west of the line no report just now 717 ft
HBZ Heber Springs, AR 484 nm out, 7 nm west of the line no report just now 632 ft
LIT Little Rock, AR destination VFR Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 feet from the west (270°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 266 ft 11:53 pm CDT (04:53 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 LIT when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 4:59 am CDT (09:59 UTC)

Wind from the southwest at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for LIT
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 12 knots, gusting to 21, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 6:00 pm CDT (23:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for MKE, the departure
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 10 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 8:00 pm CDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a few clouds at 4,000 feet, scattered clouds at 11,000 feet
  • From Tue 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 10 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 MKE 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC), at LIT 6:38 pm CDT (23:38 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:03 pm CDT (00:03 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at LIT is before sunrise there (7:11 am CDT (12:11 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 upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower 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: General Mitchell International, Bill And Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field.