The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 4:45 am CDT (09:45 UTC)

Springfield-Branson Ntl Airport to George Bush Intcntl/Houston Airport SGF → IAH

447 nautical miles (514 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 193°, about 190° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 3 h 13 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 19-knot tailwind), arriving about 7:58 am CDT (12:58 UTC). Right now SGF is VFR, wind from the south (170°) at 8 knots; IAH is VFR, wind calm. 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: 2,203 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

  • AIRMET TANGO 2W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20 knots or more below 2,000 ft above the ground). Over the first 50 nm of the 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 SGF.

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 (SGF, FSM, SHV, CLL, HOU). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft220° at 21 kt+19 kt101 kt4 h 26 min9:11 am CDT (14:11 UTC)
6,500 ft230° at 17 kt+14 kt16 °C106 kt4 h 13 min8:58 am CDT (13:58 UTC)
8,500 ft230° at 17 kt+13 kt13 °C107 kt4 h 11 min8:56 am CDT (13:56 UTC)
10,500 ft230° at 15 kt+12 kt10 °C108 kt4 h 08 min8:53 am CDT (13:53 UTC)
12,500 ft240° at 14 kt+10 kt7 °C110 kt4 h 04 min8:49 am CDT (13:49 UTC)
14,500 ft240° at 15 kt+10 kt1 °C110 kt4 h 04 min8:49 am CDT (13:49 UTC)
16,500 ft240° at 16 kt+10 kt-3 °C110 kt4 h 04 min8:49 am CDT (13:49 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180250° at 17 kt+10 kt-7 °C110 kt4 h 04 min8:49 am CDT (13:49 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240250° at 21 kt+11 kt-15 °C109 kt4 h 06 min8:51 am CDT (13:51 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300290° at 39 kt−4 kt-30 °C124 kt3 h 36 min8:21 am CDT (13:21 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340290° at 38 kt−7 kt-39 °C127 kt3 h 31 min8:16 am CDT (13:16 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390310° at 39 kt−19 kt-51 °C139 kt3 h 13 min7:58 am CDT (12:58 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
SGFused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line230/37260/20 15°250/16 13°250/15 8°260/28 -7°250/31 -17°280/59 -31°280/59 -39°290/55 -50°
FSMused from 50 nm out; 52 nm from the line230/33260/23 15°240/23 11°230/18 8°230/20 -8°250/31 -17°280/51 -30°280/52 -39°300/47 -51°
SHVused from 199 nm out; 76 nm from the line210/20210/20 18°230/20 11°240/16 7°270/17 -7°250/11 -15°300/34 -30°310/34 -40°320/36 -51°
CLLused from 347 nm out; 77 nm from the line180/24170/21 19°180/10 14°230/7 8°230/16 -6°260/20 -13°290/23 -29°320/21 -39°340/35 -51°
HOUused from 397 nm out; 45 nm from the line180/22180/20 16°170/7 15°L/V 8°220/11 -6°260/15 -13°310/20 -30°320/20 -40°350/32 -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
SGF Springfield, MO departure VFR from the south (170°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 1,268 ft 3:52 am CDT (08:52 UTC)
BBG Branson, MO 40 nm out, 19 nm east of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 1,302 ft 09:35 UTC
FYV Fayetteville, AR 79 nm out, 20 nm west of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 1,252 ft 08:53 UTC
FSM Fort Smith, AR 119 nm out, 21 nm west of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 469 ft 08:53 UTC
MEZ Mena, AR 169 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line VFR variable at 4 knots 10+ mi none 1,079 ft 09:35 UTC
DEQ De Queen, AR 199 nm out, 5 nm west of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 354 ft 08:53 UTC
TXK Texarkana, AR 228 nm out, 22 nm east of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 389 ft 08:53 UTC
GGG Longview, TX 298 nm out, 2 nm southeast of the line, tower VFR from the south-southwest (200°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 365 ft 08:53 UTC
RFI Henderson, TX 318 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 441 ft 09:35 UTC
LFK Lufkin, TX 367 nm out, 14 nm east of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 295 ft 08:53 UTC
CXO Houston, TX 427 nm out, 8 nm west of the line, tower VFR from the east (080°) at 3 knots 10+ mi none 244 ft 08:53 UTC
IAH Houston, TX destination VFR Sky: a few clouds at 3,300 feet, overcast at 23,000 feet calm 10+ mi 23,000 ft 95 ft 3:53 am CDT (08:53 UTC)

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 IAH when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 7:58 am CDT (12:58 UTC)

Wind from the east-southeast at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 2,500 feet, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for IAH
  • From Mon 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the east-southeast at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 2,500 feet, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 11 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 3,500 feet, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • 30% chance between Mon 1:00 pm CDT (18:00 UTC) and 5:00 pm CDT (22:00 UTC): light rain showers
The forecast for SGF, the departure
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 6:00 am CDT (11:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, gusting to 21, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, clear skies
  • From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 18 knots, gusting to 25, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 11 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies

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 SGF 6:41 pm CDT (23:41 UTC), at IAH 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

Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley · 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: Springfield-Branson Ntl Airport, George Bush Intcntl/Houston Airport.