The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 7:01 am EDT (11:01 UTC)

Southwest Florida International to Valley International RSW → HRL

855 nautical miles (984 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 272°, about 276° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4W). At 120 knots that is 7 h at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 2-knot tailwind), arriving about 1:01 pm CDT (18:01 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: 2 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 RSW.

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 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 5 forecast points nearest it (PIE, MSY, LCH, PSX, BRO). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft150° at 5 kt−2 kt122 kt7 h1:01 pm CDT (18:01 UTC)
6,500 ft170° at 3 kt017 °C120 kt7 h 08 min1:09 pm CDT (18:09 UTC)
8,500 ft210° at 2 kt+1 kt14 °C119 kt7 h 11 min1:12 pm CDT (18:12 UTC)
10,500 ft260° at 2 kt+3 kt11 °C117 kt7 h 18 min1:19 pm CDT (18:19 UTC)
12,500 ft270° at 4 kt+4 kt7 °C116 kt7 h 22 min1:23 pm CDT (18:23 UTC)
14,500 ft280° at 7 kt+7 kt2 °C113 kt7 h 34 min1:35 pm CDT (18:35 UTC)
16,500 ft280° at 10 kt+9 kt-2 °C111 kt7 h 42 min1:43 pm CDT (18:43 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180280° at 12 kt+11 kt-6 °C109 kt7 h 51 min1:52 pm CDT (18:52 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240280° at 11 kt+11 kt-16 °C109 kt7 h 51 min1:52 pm CDT (18:52 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300300° at 13 kt+12 kt-31 °C108 kt7 h 55 min1:56 pm CDT (18:56 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340310° at 14 kt+11 kt-41 °C109 kt7 h 51 min1:52 pm CDT (18:52 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390340° at 17 kt+5 kt-51 °C115 kt7 h 26 min1:27 pm CDT (18:27 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
PIEused from 0 nm out; 85 nm from the line360/10340/12 18°330/9 13°290/12 8°260/21 -7°280/18 -18°250/20 -33°250/26 -41°250/20 -51°
MSYused from 298 nm out; 241 nm from the line150/9140/8 18°L/V 13°L/V 6°320/15 -5°310/16 -16°320/32 -31°340/35 -40°350/34 -52°
LCHused from 547 nm out; 221 nm from the line170/21160/23 18°170/13 13°170/6 8°300/12 -7°280/16 -14°320/27 -30°330/23 -41°340/38 -51°
PSXused from 596 nm out; 206 nm from the line160/24190/17 17°200/10 15°L/V 8°260/7 -5°220/10 -12°310/11 -30°320/13 -40°010/29 -51°
BROused from 696 nm out; 125 nm from the line160/15160/15 18°170/11 14°150/7 9°L/V -4°170/6 -15°100/15 -29°100/14 -41°040/26 -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

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
RSW Fort Myers, FL departure no report just now 29 ft
PIL Port Isabel, TX 835 nm out, 6 nm southwest of the line no report just now 18 ft
HRL Harlingen, TX destination no report just now 36 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 36 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At HRL when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:01 pm CDT (18:01 UTC)

HRL has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.

Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it

  • 5/6914 South Padre Island, TX, Tuesday, May 6, 2025 Local 11 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · ended 6 May · ZHU
  • 5/3679 Brownsville, TX, Thursday, January 1, 2026 through Friday, January 1, 2027 Local 14 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · until 1 January · ZHU
  • 5/3678 Brownsville, TX, Thursday, January 1, 2026 through Friday, January 1, 2027 Local 17 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · until 1 January · ZHU

Daylight

Sunset at RSW 7:02 pm EDT (23:02 UTC), at HRL 7:04 pm CDT (00:04 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:28 pm CDT (00:28 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 Southeast
Radar now, the Southeast · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · 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: Southwest Florida International, Valley International.