Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International SPI → MSY
592 nautical miles (681 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 183°, about 184° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1W). At 120 knots that is 4 h 02 min at the quickest height in today's winds (30,000 ft, a 27-knot tailwind), arriving about 1:59 pm CDT (18:59 UTC). Right now SPI is VFR, wind from the south-southwest (210°) at 9 knots, gusting to 16; MSY is VFR, wind from the northeast (040°) at 3 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: 1 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 SPI.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- BE33 at 4,500 ft, 17 nm west, 8:05 am CDT (13:05 UTC): clear from 4,500 ft to 60,000 ft, remarks: ZME65. 326 nm along the route, 17 nm west of the line.
as filed, and in English
UTA UA /OV UTA180015/TM 1305/FL045/TP BE33/SK SKC/RM ZME65
- Report
- a routine report filed through UTA
- Where
- 15 nm south (180°) of UTA
- Time
- 13:05 UTC
- Height
- at 4,500 ft
- Aircraft
- BE33
- Sky
- clear
- Remarks
- ZME65
- B737 at 23,000 ft, 48 nm west, 7:30 am CDT (12:30 UTC): no turbulence up to 23,000 ft, remarks: zhu. 563 nm along the route, 48 nm west of the line.
as filed, and in English
BTR UA /OV KLSU945005/TM 1230/FL230/TP B737/TB NEG 000-230/RM ZHU
- Report
- a routine report filed through BTR
- Where
- 5 nm southwest (945°) of KLSU
- Time
- 12:30 UTC
- Height
- at 23,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B737
- Turbulence
- no from 0 ft to 23,000 ft
- Remarks
- zhu
- C25B at 41,000 ft, 0 nm northeast, 9:30 am CDT (14:30 UTC): light to moderate chop turbulence, remarks: zhu. At the destination end, 0 nm northeast of the line.
as filed, and in English
MSY UA /OV KLEV210045/TM 1430/FL410/TP C25B/TB CONS LGT OCNL MOD CHOP/RM ZHU
- Report
- a routine report filed through MSY
- Where
- 45 nm southwest (210°) of KLEV
- Time
- 14:30 UTC
- Height
- at 41,000 ft
- Aircraft
- C25B
- Turbulence
- continuous light occasional moderate chop
- Remarks
- zhu
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 14:00–21:00 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 6 forecast points nearest it (SPI, STL, CGI, MEM, JAN, MSY). 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 | 240° at 16 kt | +9 kt | 111 kt | 5 h 20 min | 3:17 pm CDT (20:17 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 240° at 17 kt | +8 kt | 15 °C | 112 kt | 5 h 17 min | 3:14 pm CDT (20:14 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 250° at 17 kt | +7 kt | 12 °C | 113 kt | 5 h 14 min | 3:11 pm CDT (20:11 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 250° at 17 kt | +5 kt | 9 °C | 115 kt | 5 h 09 min | 3:06 pm CDT (20:06 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 260° at 18 kt | +4 kt | 6 °C | 116 kt | 5 h 06 min | 3:03 pm CDT (20:03 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 270° at 20 kt | +2 kt | 1 °C | 118 kt | 5 h 01 min | 2:58 pm CDT (19:58 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 270° at 22 kt | +1 kt | -3 °C | 119 kt | 4 h 58 min | 2:55 pm CDT (19:55 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 270° at 23 kt | −1 kt | -6 °C | 121 kt | 4 h 54 min | 2:51 pm CDT (19:51 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 280° at 26 kt | −1 kt | -16 °C | 121 kt | 4 h 54 min | 2:51 pm CDT (19:51 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 310° at 47 kt | −27 kt | -31 °C | 147 kt | 4 h 02 min | 1:59 pm CDT (18:59 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 310° at 49 kt | −27 kt | -39 °C | 147 kt | 4 h 02 min | 1:59 pm CDT (18:59 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 310° at 42 kt | −27 kt | -50 °C | 147 kt | 4 h 02 min | 1:59 pm CDT (18:59 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 12:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 18:00 UTC for use 14:00 to 21:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPI | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 230/24 | 240/21 15° | 260/11 12° | 280/19 6° | 270/23 -8° | 280/34 -20° | 290/55 -33° | 290/62 -37° | 290/55 -47° |
| STL | used from 49 nm out; 30 nm from the line | 240/25 | 240/21 15° | 260/21 12° | 270/21 7° | 280/25 -7° | 280/39 -19° | 290/65 -31° | 290/70 -38° | 290/59 -48° |
| CGI | used from 99 nm out; 36 nm from the line | 250/22 | 250/17 15° | 250/25 11° | 260/27 7° | 270/35 -7° | 280/38 -17° | 300/63 -31° | 300/62 -38° | 300/55 -49° |
| MEM | used from 247 nm out; 17 nm from the line | 240/14 | 260/23 16° | 250/22 11° | 250/20 7° | 270/24 -6° | 270/27 -16° | 310/49 -30° | 310/46 -39° | 320/43 -50° |
| JAN | used from 395 nm out; 33 nm from the line | 210/8 | 230/13 18° | 240/10 11° | 260/11 6° | 280/16 -5° | 260/12 -15° | 330/34 -30° | 320/39 -40° | 340/34 -51° |
| MSY | used from 543 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 170/11 | 160/13 18° | 150/8 12° | L/V 6° | 310/12 -5° | 290/11 -15° | 340/27 -30° | 350/32 -40° | 360/30 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPI Springfield, IL | departure | VFR | from the south-southwest (210°) at 9 knots, gusting to 16 | 10+ mi | none | 597 ft | 9:52 am CDT (14:52 UTC) |
| ALN Alton/St Louis, IL | 59 nm out, 14 nm west of the line, tower | VFR | from the south-southwest (200°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 543 ft | 13:50 UTC |
| BLV Belleville, IL | 79 nm out, 3 nm west of the line, tower | VFR | from the south-southwest (200°) at 3 knots | 10+ mi | none | 459 ft | 13:55 UTC |
| CGI Cape Girardeau, MO | 158 nm out, 13 nm east of the line, tower | reported, no category | calm | none | 341 ft | 14:03 UTC | |
| DXE Dexter, MO | 188 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 304 ft | ||||
| MEM Memphis, TN | 286 nm out, 2 nm south of the line, tower | VFR Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 feet | from the southwest (220°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 340 ft | 13:54 UTC |
| PMU Batesville, MS | 326 nm out, 7 nm southeast of the line | VFR | from the west-southwest (240°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 221 ft | 14:35 UTC |
| GWO Greenwood, MS | 385 nm out, 3 nm north of the line, tower | VFR | from the south-southwest (210°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 162 ft | 13:53 UTC |
| JAN Jackson, MS | 454 nm out, 3 nm east of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 346 ft | 13:54 UTC |
| MCB Mc Comb, MS | 523 nm out, 14 nm west of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 413 ft | 13:53 UTC |
| HDC Hammond, LA | 563 nm out, 10 nm west of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 46 ft | 14:35 UTC |
| MSY New Orleans, LA | destination | VFR Sky: a few clouds at 2,000 feet, a few clouds at 25,000 feet | from the northeast (040°) at 3 knots | 10+ mi | none | 3 ft | 8:53 am CDT (13:53 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 597 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MSY when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:59 pm CDT (18:59 UTC)
Wind from the southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
The whole forecast for MSY
- From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for SPI, the departure
- From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
- From Mon 1:00 pm CDT (18:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 11 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
- From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
- From Mon 11:00 pm CDT (04:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, 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 SPI 6:24 pm CDT (23:24 UTC), at MSY 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:57 pm CDT (23:57 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: Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International.