The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 2:46 am EDT (06:46 UTC)

Tri-Cities Airport to Blue Grass Airport TRI → LEX

141 nautical miles (162 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 312°, about 319° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7W). At 120 knots that is 1 h 25 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 21-knot headwind), arriving about 4:11 am EDT (08:11 UTC), after sunset at the destination. 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 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 SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the whole route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 5W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) from 29,000 ft to 40,000 ft. Over the first 0 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the first 85 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 TRI.

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 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 2 forecast points nearest it (TRI, LOU). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft330° at 22 kt+21 kt11 °C99 kt1 h 25 min4:11 am EDT (08:11 UTC)
6,500 ft330° at 25 kt+23 kt12 °C97 kt1 h 27 min4:13 am EDT (08:13 UTC)
8,500 ft330° at 28 kt+26 kt9 °C94 kt1 h 30 min4:16 am EDT (08:16 UTC)
10,500 ft330° at 29 kt+27 kt5 °C93 kt1 h 31 min4:17 am EDT (08:17 UTC)
12,500 ft340° at 30 kt+28 kt2 °C92 kt1 h 32 min4:18 am EDT (08:18 UTC)
14,500 ft330° at 31 kt+29 kt-2 °C91 kt1 h 33 min4:19 am EDT (08:19 UTC)
16,500 ft330° at 32 kt+30 kt-5 °C90 kt1 h 34 min4:20 am EDT (08:20 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180330° at 33 kt+31 kt-8 °C89 kt1 h 35 min4:21 am EDT (08:21 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240330° at 35 kt+34 kt-19 °C86 kt1 h 38 min4:24 am EDT (08:24 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300320° at 43 kt+42 kt-34 °C78 kt1 h 48 min4:34 am EDT (08:34 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340320° at 51 kt+50 kt-40 °C70 kt2 h 01 min4:47 am EDT (08:47 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390320° at 44 kt+43 kt-48 °C77 kt1 h 50 min4:36 am EDT (08:36 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
TRIused from 0 nm out; 24 nm from the line330/22 11°330/29 7°330/32 3°330/36 -8°320/34 -19°320/36 -34°320/43 -39°320/46 -47°
LOUused from 94 nm out; 73 nm from the line310/18340/28 16°340/29 10°350/27 3°330/27 -7°340/39 -19°330/58 -33°330/67 -41°330/40 -49°

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
TRI Bristol/Johnson/Kingsport, TN departure no report just now 1,518 ft
RVN Rogersville, TN 19 nm out, 16 nm southwest of the line no report just now 1,254 ft
CPF Hazard, KY 66 nm out, 13 nm northeast of the line no report just now 1,256 ft
RGA Richmond, KY 113 nm out, 10 nm southwest of the line no report just now 1,002 ft
LEX Lexington, KY destination no report just now 979 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,518 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At LEX when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 4:11 am EDT (08:11 UTC)

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

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 TRI 6:57 pm EDT (22:57 UTC), at LEX 7:05 pm EDT (23:05 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:31 pm EDT (23:31 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at LEX is before sunrise there (7:43 am EDT (11:43 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 lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the central Great Lakes
Radar now, the central Great Lakes · 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: Tri-Cities Airport, Blue Grass Airport.