Plan a flight · Sun 8:48 pm CDT (01:48 UTC)

Chicago/Rockford International to Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis Airport RFD → MEM

431 nautical miles (496 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 186°, about 189° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3W). At 120 knots that is 2 h 39 min at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 43-knot tailwind), arriving about 11:27 pm CDT (04:27 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now RFD is VFR, wind calm; MEM is VFR, wind from the south (170°) at 4 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: 322 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 RFD.

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

B737 at 31,000 ft, 43 nm east, 7:13 pm CDT (00:13 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: ZME25. 294 nm along the route, 43 nm east of the line.
as filed, and in English
```
PAH UA /OV CNG360015/TM 0013/FL310/TP B737/TB OCNL LGT CHOP/RM ZME25
```
Report
a routine report filed through PAH
Where
15 nm north (360°) of CNG
Time
00:13 UTC
Height
at 31,000 ft
Aircraft
B737
Turbulence
occasional light chop
Remarks
ZME25
BCS3 at 35,000 ft, 27 nm east, 7:13 pm CDT (00:13 UTC): no turbulence, remarks: ZME33. 373 nm along the route, 27 nm east of the line.
as filed, and in English
```
DYR UA /OV DYR/TM 0013/FL350/TP BCS3/TB NEG/RM ZME33
```
Report
a routine report filed through DYR
Where
over DYR
Time
00:13 UTC
Height
at 35,000 ft
Aircraft
BCS3
Turbulence
none
Remarks
ZME33
A319 at 39,000 ft, 2 nm south, 6:11 pm CDT (23:11 UTC): no chop turbulence, remarks: smooth. At the destination end, 2 nm south of the line.
as filed, and in English
```
MEM UA /OV MEM/TM 2311/FL390/TP A319/TB NEG CHOP/RM SMOOTH
```
Report
a routine report filed through MEM
Where
over MEM
Time
23:11 UTC
Height
at 39,000 ft
Aircraft
A319
Turbulence
no chop
Remarks
smooth

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 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, MEM). 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	250° at 10 kt	+4 kt		116 kt	3 h 43 min	12:31 am CDT (05:31 UTC)
6,500 ft	280° at 13 kt	−1 kt	16 °C	121 kt	3 h 34 min	12:22 am CDT (05:22 UTC)
8,500 ft	280° at 18 kt	−2 kt	12 °C	122 kt	3 h 32 min	12:20 am CDT (05:20 UTC)
10,500 ft	290° at 20 kt	−5 kt	8 °C	125 kt	3 h 27 min	12:15 am CDT (05:15 UTC)
12,500 ft	300° at 21 kt	−8 kt	4 °C	128 kt	3 h 22 min	12:10 am CDT (05:10 UTC)
14,500 ft	300° at 21 kt	−10 kt	0 °C	130 kt	3 h 19 min	12:07 am CDT (05:07 UTC)
16,500 ft	310° at 21 kt	−12 kt	-5 °C	132 kt	3 h 16 min	12:04 am CDT (05:04 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180	310° at 21 kt	−13 kt	-8 °C	133 kt	3 h 14 min	12:02 am CDT (05:02 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240	330° at 28 kt	−23 kt	-19 °C	143 kt	3 h 01 min	11:49 pm CDT (04:49 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300	320° at 50 kt	−35 kt	-34 °C	155 kt	2 h 47 min	11:35 pm CDT (04:35 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340	320° at 59 kt	−43 kt	-43 °C	163 kt	2 h 39 min	11:27 pm CDT (04:27 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390	320° at 58 kt	−39 kt	-50 °C	159 kt	2 h 43 min	11:31 pm CDT (04:31 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; 47 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°
SPI	used from 98 nm out; 24 nm from the line	210/13	260/11 17°	270/18 10°	290/21 4°	310/20 -8°	330/25 -19°	320/49 -34°	320/60 -44°	320/59 -50°
STL	used from 196 nm out; 40 nm from the line	210/13	260/16 17°	270/21 10°	280/24 5°	310/20 -7°	320/22 -18°	320/44 -33°	320/59 -43°	310/69 -51°
CGI	used from 245 nm out; 30 nm from the line	250/10	290/12 17°	290/18 11°	300/22 5°	320/25 -8°	330/30 -18°	320/53 -33°	320/66 -42°	320/56 -50°
MEM	used from 343 nm out; 64 nm from the line	240/9	280/14 17°	280/20 12°	290/25 5°	320/25 -6°	330/31 -18°	320/52 -32°	330/58 -41°	320/42 -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
RFD Chicago/Rockford, IL	departure	VFR Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 feet	calm	10+ mi	none	742 ft	7:54 pm CDT (00:54 UTC)
RPJ Rochelle, IL	20 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line	VFR	from the south-southeast (160°) at 3 knots	10+ mi	none	780 ft	01:35 UTC
VYS Peru, IL	49 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line	VFR	from the east-northeast (060°) at 4 knots	10+ mi	none	654 ft	10:30 UTC
PIA Peoria, IL	98 nm out, 18 nm west of the line, tower	VFR	calm	10+ mi	none	660 ft	00:54 UTC
SPI Springfield, IL	147 nm out, 13 nm northwest of the line, tower	VFR	from the south-southeast (160°) at 6 knots	10+ mi	none	597 ft	00:52 UTC
ALN Alton/St Louis, IL	206 nm out, 25 nm west of the line, tower	VFR	from the southeast (140°) at 6 knots	10+ mi	none	543 ft	00:50 UTC
BLV Belleville, IL	226 nm out, 13 nm northwest of the line, tower	VFR	calm	9 mi	none	459 ft	00:55 UTC
MDH Carbondale/Murphysboro, IL	265 nm out, 19 nm east of the line, tower	VFR	from the south-southeast (160°) at 3 knots	10+ mi	none	411 ft	00:52 UTC
CGI Cape Girardeau, MO	304 nm out, 9 nm northeast of the line, tower	VFR	from the west-southwest (240°) at 6 knots	10+ mi	none	341 ft	20:53 UTC
HKA Blytheville, AR	373 nm out, 5 nm south of the line	reported, no category	from the south (180°) at 5 knots		none	255 ft	00:53 UTC
NQA Millington, TN	412 nm out, 3 nm east of the line, tower	VFR	calm	10+ mi	none	322 ft	23:50 UTC
MEM Memphis, TN	destination	VFR	from the south (170°) at 4 knots	10+ mi	none	340 ft	7:54 pm CDT (00:54 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 780 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At MEM when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:27 pm CDT (04:27 UTC)

Wind from the south-southwest at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for MEM

From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
From Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 9 knots, gusting to 17, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 10,000 feet

The forecast for RFD, the departure

From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, gusting to 22, 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 RFD 6:19 pm CDT (23:19 UTC), at MEM 6:29 pm CDT (23:29 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at MEM is before sunrise there (7:03 am CDT (12:03 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 · loop National Weather Service

Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service

Radar, the whole country · loop National Weather Service

Surface analysis now Weather Prediction Center

Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center

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: Chicago/Rockford International, Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis Airport.