Raleigh-Durham International to Charleston Afb/Intl Airport RDU → CHS
189 nautical miles (218 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 199°, about 208° magnetic at the departure end (variation 9W). At 120 knots that is 1 h 23 min at the quickest height in today's winds (18,000 ft, a 16-knot tailwind), arriving about 8:53 am EDT (12:53 UTC). Right now RDU is VFR, wind from the west-southwest (250°) at 5 knots; CHS is VFR, wind from the west (270°) at 6 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: 19 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 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). Near the route, at the departure end.
- AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 30,000 ft to 41,000 ft. Over the whole 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 RDU.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- E75L at 30,000 ft, 20 nm north, 6:51 am EDT (10:51 UTC): moderate turbulence above 30,000 ft. At the departure end, 20 nm north of the line.
as filed, and in English
RDU UA /OV RDU360020/TM 1051/FLF300/TP E75L/TB MOD 300
- Report
- a routine report filed through RDU
- Where
- 20 nm north (360°) of RDU
- Time
- 10:51 UTC
- Height
- at F300
- Aircraft
- E75L
- Turbulence
- moderate at 30,000 ft
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 08:00–15:00 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 3 forecast points nearest it (RDU, FLO, CHS). 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 | 330° at 19 kt | −12 kt | 132 kt | 1 h 26 min | 8:56 am EDT (12:56 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 330° at 19 kt | −12 kt | 12 °C | 132 kt | 1 h 26 min | 8:56 am EDT (12:56 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 320° at 22 kt | −12 kt | 9 °C | 132 kt | 1 h 26 min | 8:56 am EDT (12:56 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 320° at 25 kt | −12 kt | 6 °C | 132 kt | 1 h 26 min | 8:56 am EDT (12:56 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 310° at 29 kt | −12 kt | 3 °C | 132 kt | 1 h 26 min | 8:56 am EDT (12:56 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 310° at 31 kt | −13 kt | -1 °C | 133 kt | 1 h 25 min | 8:55 am EDT (12:55 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 320° at 34 kt | −15 kt | -5 °C | 135 kt | 1 h 24 min | 8:54 am EDT (12:54 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 320° at 36 kt | −16 kt | -8 °C | 136 kt | 1 h 23 min | 8:53 am EDT (12:53 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 300° at 33 kt | −5 kt | -19 °C | 125 kt | 1 h 31 min | 9:01 am EDT (13:01 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 290° at 33 kt | +2 kt | -32 °C | 118 kt | 1 h 36 min | 9:06 am EDT (13:06 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 300° at 30 kt | −5 kt | -40 °C | 125 kt | 1 h 31 min | 9:01 am EDT (13:01 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 310° at 35 kt | −12 kt | -48 °C | 132 kt | 1 h 26 min | 8:56 am EDT (12:56 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RDU | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 330/30 | 340/24 12° | 330/26 7° | 320/30 3° | 330/39 -8° | 310/30 -20° | 300/33 -33° | 310/34 -39° | 310/41 -47° |
| FLO | used from 50 nm out; 38 nm from the line | 330/17 | 330/17 12° | 320/21 9° | 310/29 4° | 310/36 -8° | 300/36 -19° | 290/34 -32° | 300/29 -40° | 310/34 -48° |
| CHS | used from 149 nm out; 20 nm from the line | 330/14 | 300/17 14° | 320/21 9° | 310/26 6° | 310/32 -6° | 280/34 -19° | 260/37 -32° | 280/30 -39° | 310/30 -50° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RDU Raleigh/Durham, NC | departure | VFR Sky: a few clouds at 7,000 feet | from the west-southwest (250°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 435 ft | 6:51 am EDT (10:51 UTC) |
| TTA Sanford, NC | 20 nm out, 9 nm west of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 246 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| FAY Fayetteville, NC | 50 nm out, 14 nm southeast of the line, tower | VFR | from the west-southwest (250°) at 7 knots | 10+ mi | none | 189 ft | 10:53 UTC |
| FLO Florence, SC | 110 nm out, 10 nm west of the line, tower | VFR | from the west-southwest (240°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 146 ft | 10:53 UTC |
| MKS Moncks Corner, SC | 169 nm out, 6 nm west of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 74 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| CHS Charleston, SC | destination | VFR | from the west (270°) at 6 knots | 10+ mi | none | 46 ft | 6:56 am EDT (10:56 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 435 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At CHS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:53 am EDT (12:53 UTC)
Wind from the west at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
The whole forecast for CHS
- From Mon 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the west at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the north-northwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for RDU, the departure
- From Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 2,500 feet, a broken layer at 4,000 feet and more above
- From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the northwest at 11 knots, gusting to 19, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 3,000 feet, a broken layer at 4,500 feet
- At times between Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC) and 1:00 pm EDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the northwest at 12 knots, gusting to 22, a broken layer at 3,000 feet
- From Mon 5:30 pm EDT (21:30 UTC): wind from the northwest at 3 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8713 Maxton, NC, Friday, October 16, 2026 through Sunday, October 18, 2026 UTC 0 nm from the route, 70 nm along the route · air shows/sports · starts Friday 16 October · ZDC
Daylight
Sunset at RDU 6:43 pm EDT (22:43 UTC), at CHS 6:50 pm EDT (22:50 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:15 pm EDT (23:15 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: Raleigh-Durham International, Charleston Afb/Intl Airport.