Oakland County International to William P Hobby Airport PTK → HOU
968 nautical miles (1,114 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 220°, about 227° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7W). At 120 knots that is 7 h 48 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 4-knot tailwind), arriving about 4:58 pm CDT (21:58 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: 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 PTK.
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 14:00–21:00 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 10 forecast points nearest it (CLE, FWA, IND, EVV, CGI, MEM, LIT, SHV, LCH, HOU). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 ft | 240° at 16 kt | +16 kt | 104 kt | 9 h 18 min | 6:28 pm CDT (23:28 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 240° at 18 kt | +17 kt | 15 °C | 103 kt | 9 h 24 min | 6:34 pm CDT (23:34 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 250° at 19 kt | +17 kt | 12 °C | 103 kt | 9 h 24 min | 6:34 pm CDT (23:34 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 260° at 19 kt | +14 kt | 8 °C | 106 kt | 9 h 08 min | 6:18 pm CDT (23:18 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 270° at 20 kt | +12 kt | 5 °C | 108 kt | 8 h 58 min | 6:08 pm CDT (23:08 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 270° at 22 kt | +13 kt | 1 °C | 107 kt | 9 h 03 min | 6:13 pm CDT (23:13 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 270° at 24 kt | +13 kt | -4 °C | 107 kt | 9 h 03 min | 6:13 pm CDT (23:13 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 270° at 25 kt | +14 kt | -7 °C | 106 kt | 9 h 08 min | 6:18 pm CDT (23:18 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 280° at 30 kt | +14 kt | -17 °C | 106 kt | 9 h 08 min | 6:18 pm CDT (23:18 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 290° at 40 kt | +10 kt | -32 °C | 110 kt | 8 h 48 min | 5:58 pm CDT (22:58 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 300° at 44 kt | +6 kt | -39 °C | 114 kt | 8 h 29 min | 5:39 pm CDT (22:39 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 310° at 43 kt | −4 kt | -49 °C | 124 kt | 7 h 48 min | 4:58 pm CDT (21:58 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 12:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 18:00 UTC for use 14:00 to 21:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | used from 0 nm out; 103 nm from the line | 280/17 | 270/17 14° | 280/22 10° | 290/26 4° | 290/25 -8° | 280/31 -21° | 280/35 -36° | 280/43 -44° | 300/53 -48° |
| FWA | used from 50 nm out; 54 nm from the line | 250/18 | 260/22 15° | 260/27 7° | 290/26 6° | 290/28 -8° | 290/39 -20° | 280/36 -37° | 290/54 -39° | 310/60 -48° |
| IND | used from 150 nm out; 46 nm from the line | 260/18 | 250/20 15° | 260/26 9° | 290/28 5° | 290/30 -7° | 280/40 -20° | 280/46 -35° | 290/53 -38° | 300/58 -47° |
| EVV | used from 299 nm out; 28 nm from the line | 270/15 | 250/15 14° | 260/24 11° | 270/28 6° | 280/30 -7° | 280/34 -18° | 290/48 -33° | 290/59 -38° | 300/56 -48° |
| CGI | used from 399 nm out; 23 nm from the line | 250/22 | 250/17 15° | 250/25 11° | 260/27 7° | 270/35 -7° | 280/38 -17° | 300/63 -31° | 300/62 -38° | 300/55 -49° |
| MEM | used from 499 nm out; 46 nm from the line | 240/14 | 260/23 16° | 250/22 11° | 250/20 7° | 270/24 -6° | 270/27 -16° | 310/49 -30° | 310/46 -39° | 320/43 -50° |
| LIT | used from 599 nm out; 41 nm from the line | 230/23 | 250/23 17° | 250/18 11° | 250/18 7° | 250/27 -7° | 270/23 -15° | 290/50 -30° | 300/43 -38° | 320/38 -50° |
| SHV | used from 699 nm out; 70 nm from the line | 200/17 | 190/28 18° | 200/15 13° | 250/12 7° | 260/28 -7° | 280/22 -14° | 290/29 -29° | 310/33 -39° | 340/27 -50° |
| LCH | used from 848 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 170/9 | 180/18 18° | 190/13 13° | 190/6 8° | 270/11 -6° | 290/20 -13° | 320/21 -30° | 350/23 -40° | 360/25 -51° |
| HOU | used from 898 nm out; 45 nm from the line | 160/21 | 180/12 17° | 210/11 13° | 200/7 8° | 280/7 -5° | 260/19 -13° | 290/16 -30° | 340/15 -40° | 010/27 -51° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTK Pontiac, MI | departure | no report just now | 980 ft | ||||
| ARB Ann Arbor, MI | 30 nm out, 6 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 839 ft | ||||
| FWA Fort Wayne, IN | 130 nm out, 3 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 814 ft | ||||
| IND Indianapolis, IN | 220 nm out, 11 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 796 ft | ||||
| CUL Carmi, IL | 349 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 387 ft | ||||
| PAH Paducah, KY | 419 nm out, 15 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 410 ft | ||||
| DRP Colt, AR | 569 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 238 ft | ||||
| PBF Pine Bluff, AR | 649 nm out, 10 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 205 ft | ||||
| ELD El Dorado, AR | 719 nm out, 14 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 277 ft | ||||
| JAS Jasper, TX | 868 nm out, 13 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 212 ft | ||||
| IAH Houston, TX | 948 nm out, 15 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 95 ft | ||||
| HOU Houston, TX | destination | no report just now | 46 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 980 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At HOU when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 4:58 pm CDT (21:58 UTC)
HOU has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8992 Monroe, MI, Thursday, October 15, 2026 Local 24 nm from the route, at the departure end · a VIP movement · starts Thursday 15 October · ZOB
Daylight
Sunset at PTK 6:56 pm EDT (22:56 UTC), at HOU 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:18 pm CDT (00:18 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: Oakland County International, William P Hobby Airport.