San Antonio International to Chicago Midway International SAT → MDW
901 nautical miles (1,037 statute miles) northeast on a straight line, true course 032°, about 028° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4E). At 120 knots that is 6 h 18 min at the quickest height in today's winds (3,500 ft, a 23-knot tailwind), arriving about 8:47 am CDT (13:47 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: 1,311 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). Near the route, at the destination end.
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 SAT.
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 9 forecast points nearest it (SAT, CLL, DAL, FSM, SGF, COU, STL, SPI, JOT). 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 | 210° at 23 kt | −23 kt | 143 kt | 6 h 18 min | 8:47 am CDT (13:47 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 230° at 21 kt | −21 kt | 141 kt | 6 h 23 min | 8:52 am CDT (13:52 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 240° at 19 kt | −18 kt | 14 °C | 138 kt | 6 h 32 min | 9:01 am CDT (14:01 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 240° at 17 kt | −15 kt | 11 °C | 135 kt | 6 h 40 min | 9:09 am CDT (14:09 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 250° at 15 kt | −13 kt | 8 °C | 133 kt | 6 h 46 min | 9:15 am CDT (14:15 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 250° at 16 kt | −13 kt | 4 °C | 133 kt | 6 h 46 min | 9:15 am CDT (14:15 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 250° at 17 kt | −14 kt | -1 °C | 134 kt | 6 h 43 min | 9:12 am CDT (14:12 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 250° at 18 kt | −15 kt | -5 °C | 135 kt | 6 h 40 min | 9:09 am CDT (14:09 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 250° at 19 kt | −15 kt | -6 °C | 135 kt | 6 h 40 min | 9:09 am CDT (14:09 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 260° at 24 kt | −17 kt | -16 °C | 137 kt | 6 h 35 min | 9:04 am CDT (14:04 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 280° at 33 kt | −14 kt | -31 °C | 134 kt | 6 h 43 min | 9:12 am CDT (14:12 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 280° at 40 kt | −15 kt | -40 °C | 135 kt | 6 h 40 min | 9:09 am CDT (14:09 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 300° at 43 kt | −6 kt | -51 °C | 126 kt | 7 h 09 min | 9:38 am CDT (14:38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAT | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 150/26 | 180/18 19° | 180/18 14° | 200/14 9° | 230/16 -6° | 210/9 -13° | 270/8 -29° | 280/6 -39° | 340/19 -51° |
| CLL | used from 49 nm out; 69 nm from the line | 170/22 | 170/26 18° | 200/15 14° | 240/13 8° | 240/15 -5° | 260/17 -13° | 290/27 -29° | 290/22 -40° | 320/30 -51° |
| DAL | used from 148 nm out; 54 nm from the line | 190/29 | 220/23 17° | 220/17 13° | 250/18 8° | 230/18 -5° | 240/18 -15° | 270/34 -29° | 280/33 -39° | 300/36 -51° |
| FSM | used from 297 nm out; 86 nm from the line | 210/27 | 250/23 16° | 250/20 13° | 240/17 8° | 250/18 -6° | 260/31 -16° | 280/42 -30° | 280/44 -40° | 290/38 -51° |
| SGF | used from 495 nm out; 46 nm from the line | 230/33 | 230/28 15° | 250/20 13° | 240/18 7° | 250/20 -6° | 250/24 -17° | 280/42 -31° | 280/49 -40° | 290/46 -51° |
| COU | used from 594 nm out; 57 nm from the line | 230/31 | 230/30 15° | 260/16 11° | 270/14 6° | 260/24 -6° | 270/27 -18° | 270/37 -32° | 280/49 -41° | 290/56 -51° |
| STL | used from 643 nm out; 23 nm from the line | 250/24 | 250/24 16° | 260/23 9° | 270/16 6° | 260/25 -6° | 270/29 -19° | 290/34 -33° | 290/48 -41° | 290/54 -51° |
| SPI | used from 693 nm out; 38 nm from the line | 220/21 | 250/23 16° | 260/27 9° | 270/14 6° | 270/23 -7° | 270/31 -19° | 270/28 -33° | 290/48 -42° | 300/55 -52° |
| JOT | used from 792 nm out; 60 nm from the line | 250/23 | 270/22 15° | 250/16 10° | 240/9 4° | 280/22 -7° | 280/29 -19° | 300/29 -34° | 290/50 -43° | 300/64 -52° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAT San Antonio, TX | departure | no report just now | 809 ft | ||||
| GTU Georgetown, TX | 79 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 789 ft | ||||
| CNW Waco, TX | 148 nm out, 8 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 470 ft | ||||
| GVT Greenville, TX | 247 nm out, 12 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 534 ft | ||||
| PRX Paris, TX | 287 nm out, 7 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 547 ft | ||||
| FSM Fort Smith, AR | 406 nm out, 19 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 469 ft | ||||
| BBG Branson, MO | 495 nm out, 13 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,302 ft | ||||
| TBN Fort Leonard Wood, MO | 584 nm out, 14 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,159 ft | ||||
| SUS St Louis, MO | 673 nm out, 10 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 463 ft | ||||
| SPI Springfield, IL | 752 nm out, 4 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 597 ft | ||||
| LOT Chicago/Romeoville, IL | 881 nm out, 6 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 679 ft | ||||
| MDW Chicago, IL | destination | no report just now | 619 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,302 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MDW when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:47 am CDT (13:47 UTC)
MDW has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/0543 MCGREGOR, TX 15 nm from the route, 119 nm along the route · security · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at SAT 7:05 pm CDT (00:05 UTC), at MDW 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:42 pm CDT (23:42 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: San Antonio International, Chicago Midway International.