Smyrna Airport to Manistee County/Blacker MQY → MBL
496 nautical miles (571 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 001°, about 003° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2W). At 120 knots that is 4 h 21 min at the quickest height in today's winds (3,500 ft, a 6-knot headwind), arriving about 8:29 am EDT (12:29 UTC). 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: 13 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, fog). Over the first 109 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 3W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20 knots or more below 2,000 ft above the ground). Over the last 40 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 MQY.
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 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 5 forecast points nearest it (BNA, LOU, IND, FWA, MKG). 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 | 290° at 17 kt | +6 kt | 114 kt | 4 h 21 min | 8:29 am EDT (12:29 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 310° at 18 kt | +12 kt | 108 kt | 4 h 36 min | 8:44 am EDT (12:44 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 320° at 19 kt | +14 kt | 13 °C | 106 kt | 4 h 41 min | 8:49 am EDT (12:49 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 320° at 18 kt | +14 kt | 9 °C | 106 kt | 4 h 41 min | 8:49 am EDT (12:49 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 330° at 14 kt | +12 kt | 4 °C | 108 kt | 4 h 36 min | 8:44 am EDT (12:44 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 320° at 16 kt | +13 kt | 0 °C | 107 kt | 4 h 38 min | 8:46 am EDT (12:46 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 320° at 20 kt | +14 kt | -3 °C | 106 kt | 4 h 41 min | 8:49 am EDT (12:49 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 310° at 24 kt | +15 kt | -6 °C | 105 kt | 4 h 43 min | 8:51 am EDT (12:51 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 310° at 25 kt | +16 kt | -8 °C | 104 kt | 4 h 46 min | 8:54 am EDT (12:54 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 320° at 31 kt | +24 kt | -19 °C | 96 kt | 5 h 10 min | 9:18 am EDT (13:18 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 330° at 49 kt | +41 kt | -34 °C | 79 kt | 6 h 17 min | 10:25 am EDT (14:25 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 320° at 62 kt | +48 kt | -43 °C | 72 kt | 6 h 53 min | 11:01 am EDT (15:01 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 320° at 59 kt | +45 kt | -51 °C | 75 kt | 6 h 37 min | 10:45 am EDT (14:45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNA | used from 0 nm out; 20 nm from the line | 310/20 | 340/20 17° | 330/24 10° | 340/22 5° | 330/26 -6° | 340/29 -18° | 330/52 -33° | 320/62 -41° | 340/45 -50° |
| LOU | used from 99 nm out; 39 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° |
| IND | used from 149 nm out; 49 nm from the line | 290/16 | 310/20 16° | 320/21 10° | 330/13 3° | 300/25 -7° | 320/32 -19° | 330/46 -34° | 320/61 -43° | 320/63 -50° |
| FWA | used from 298 nm out; 58 nm from the line | 300/17 | 320/20 16° | 330/20 10° | 340/15 3° | 310/27 -8° | 320/37 -20° | 330/52 -36° | 330/65 -43° | 330/60 -50° |
| MKG | used from 347 nm out; 58 nm from the line | 260/22 | 290/16 15° | 300/11 10° | 290/5 3° | 300/26 -9° | 300/32 -20° | 320/48 -36° | 320/61 -45° | 310/74 -53° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MQY Smyrna, TN | departure | no report just now | 543 ft | ||||
| XNX Gallatin, TN | 20 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 583 ft | ||||
| BWG Bowling Green, KY | 60 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 547 ft | ||||
| TEL Tell City, IN | 119 nm out, 11 nm west of the line | no report just now | 659 ft | ||||
| BMG Bloomington, IN | 189 nm out, 9 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 845 ft | ||||
| IND Indianapolis, IN | 218 nm out, 7 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 796 ft | ||||
| GUS Peru, IN | 278 nm out, 10 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 810 ft | ||||
| SBN South Bend, IN | 337 nm out, 5 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 798 ft | ||||
| BEH Benton Harbor, MI | 367 nm out, 4 nm west of the line | no report just now | 649 ft | ||||
| MKG Muskegon, MI | 427 nm out, 4 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 628 ft | ||||
| LDM Ludington, MI | 476 nm out, 7 nm west of the line | no report just now | 646 ft | ||||
| MBL Manistee, MI | destination | no report just now | 621 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 845 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MBL when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:29 am EDT (12:29 UTC)
MBL has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/0708 Goodlettsville, TN, Saturday, August 1, 2026 through Sunday, August 1, 2027 UTC 8 nm from the route, at the departure end · security · until 1 August · ZME
Daylight
Sunset at MQY 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC), at MBL 7:06 pm EDT (23:06 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:35 pm EDT (23:35 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: Smyrna Airport, Manistee County/Blacker.