The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 8:47 pm EDT (00:47 UTC)

MC Ghee Tyson Airport to Hector International TYS → FAR

880 nautical miles (1,013 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 323°, about 329° magnetic at the departure end (variation 6W). At 120 knots that is 7 h 43 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 6-knot headwind), arriving about 3:30 am CDT (08:30 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: 4 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 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the first 69 nm of the route.
  • 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 route from 30 to 109 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 4E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the last 49 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET ZULU 4C: moderate icing up to 20,000 ft. 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 TYS.

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 20:00–03:00 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 11 forecast points nearest it (TYS, LOU, EVV, IND, SPI, JOT, DBQ, LSE, MCW, MSP, AXN). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft260° at 13 kt+6 kt114 kt7 h 43 min3:30 am CDT (08:30 UTC)
6,500 ft270° at 16 kt+12 kt15 °C108 kt8 h 09 min3:56 am CDT (08:56 UTC)
8,500 ft280° at 17 kt+13 kt11 °C107 kt8 h 13 min4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC)
10,500 ft290° at 17 kt+15 kt7 °C105 kt8 h 23 min4:10 am CDT (09:10 UTC)
12,500 ft300° at 18 kt+17 kt3 °C103 kt8 h 33 min4:20 am CDT (09:20 UTC)
14,500 ft300° at 20 kt+19 kt-1 °C101 kt8 h 43 min4:30 am CDT (09:30 UTC)
16,500 ft300° at 21 kt+21 kt-6 °C99 kt8 h 53 min4:40 am CDT (09:40 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180300° at 23 kt+22 kt-9 °C98 kt8 h 59 min4:46 am CDT (09:46 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240300° at 29 kt+28 kt-20 °C92 kt9 h 34 min5:21 am CDT (10:21 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300300° at 42 kt+40 kt-35 °C80 kt11 h6:47 am CDT (11:47 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340300° at 48 kt+46 kt-43 °C74 kt11 h 54 min7:41 am CDT (12:41 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390300° at 57 kt+53 kt-51 °C67 kt13 h 08 min8:55 am CDT (13:55 UTC)

Based on data from the 11th at 18:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 00:00 UTC for use 20:00 to 03:00 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
TYSused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line290/19310/22 11°330/25 7°330/34 3°320/37 -7°300/37 -18°300/37 -34°280/29 -39°270/29 -48°
LOUused from 99 nm out; 47 nm from the line320/15340/24 14°330/28 9°340/34 4°340/37 -9°340/42 -20°320/39 -35°320/45 -39°330/40 -47°
EVVused from 198 nm out; 53 nm from the line310/13340/26 16°330/29 10°330/32 4°330/30 -9°340/38 -20°330/60 -35°320/57 -41°330/39 -48°
INDused from 247 nm out; 59 nm from the line320/10350/30 16°350/32 10°350/30 4°340/31 -10°340/42 -21°340/49 -37°320/46 -41°320/47 -47°
SPIused from 297 nm out; 70 nm from the line210/13260/11 17°270/18 10°290/21 4°310/20 -8°330/25 -19°320/49 -34°320/60 -44°320/59 -50°
JOTused from 346 nm out; 60 nm from the line230/11290/12 16°300/19 10°320/19 4°300/17 -9°330/31 -20°320/49 -37°320/53 -45°320/67 -49°
DBQused from 445 nm out; 35 nm from the line220/23240/22 16°240/24 10°260/18 5°270/16 -8°290/27 -19°310/42 -35°320/55 -44°300/71 -52°
LSEused from 544 nm out; 49 nm from the line220/33250/29 17°250/15 9°260/12 6°280/21 -9°280/33 -20°300/43 -36°310/56 -45°300/79 -53°
MCWused from 593 nm out; 51 nm from the line200/35240/33 18°250/20 10°260/10 6°270/18 -8°260/28 -19°280/30 -34°290/49 -43°280/70 -54°
MSPused from 643 nm out; 31 nm from the line200/28240/30 19°240/24 12°240/17 5°270/24 -10°270/33 -20°280/48 -35°290/55 -45°280/84 -54°
AXNused from 742 nm out; 27 nm from the lineL/V220/23 17°230/24 12°240/25 5°260/32 -11°260/40 -21°270/50 -35°270/57 -45°270/81 -55°

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
TYS Knoxville, TN departure no report just now 986 ft
SCX Oneida, TN 49 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line no report just now 1,544 ft
SDF Louisville, KY 168 nm out, 20 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 500 ft
BMG Bloomington, IN 237 nm out, 23 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 845 ft
CMI Champaign/Urbana, IL 326 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 754 ft
BMI Bloomington/Normal, IL 366 nm out, 9 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 871 ft
DBQ Dubuque, IA 504 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 1,076 ft
DEH Decorah, IA 574 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line no report just now 1,157 ft
RST Rochester, MN 623 nm out, 6 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 1,317 ft
STC St Cloud, MN 742 nm out, 24 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 1,030 ft
FFM Fergus Falls, MN 831 nm out, 8 nm west of the line no report just now 1,182 ft
FAR Fargo, ND destination no report just now 901 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,544 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At FAR when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 3:30 am CDT (08:30 UTC)

FAR 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 TYS 7:04 pm EDT (23:04 UTC), at FAR 6:47 pm CDT (23:47 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:18 pm CDT (00:18 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at FAR is before sunrise there (7:40 am CDT (12:40 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 now, the upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley · 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: MC Ghee Tyson Airport, Hector International.