The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 8:57 pm EDT (00:57 UTC)

Willow Run Airport to Tuscaloosa Ntl Airport YIP → TCL

575 nautical miles (662 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 201°, about 207° magnetic at the departure end (variation 6W). At 120 knots that is 3 h 56 min at the quickest height in today's winds (12,500 ft, a 26-knot tailwind), arriving about 11:53 pm CDT (04:53 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: 3 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 first 149 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 6W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 28,000 ft to 40,000 ft. Over the last 188 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 YIP.

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 6 forecast points nearest it (FWA, CVG, LOU, BNA, HSV, BHM). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft330° at 19 kt−13 kt133 kt4 h 19 min12:16 am CDT (05:16 UTC)
6,500 ft340° at 27 kt−21 kt14 °C141 kt4 h 05 min12:02 am CDT (05:02 UTC)
8,500 ft340° at 29 kt−21 kt10 °C141 kt4 h 05 min12:02 am CDT (05:02 UTC)
10,500 ft340° at 32 kt−24 kt7 °C144 kt4 h11:57 pm CDT (04:57 UTC)
12,500 ft340° at 34 kt−26 kt3 °C146 kt3 h 56 min11:53 pm CDT (04:53 UTC)
14,500 ft340° at 34 kt−25 kt-1 °C145 kt3 h 58 min11:55 pm CDT (04:55 UTC)
16,500 ft340° at 33 kt−24 kt-5 °C144 kt4 h11:57 pm CDT (04:57 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180330° at 33 kt−23 kt-9 °C143 kt4 h 01 min11:58 pm CDT (04:58 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240330° at 37 kt−25 kt-20 °C145 kt3 h 58 min11:55 pm CDT (04:55 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300320° at 41 kt−23 kt-35 °C143 kt4 h 01 min11:58 pm CDT (04:58 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340320° at 44 kt−25 kt-41 °C145 kt3 h 58 min11:55 pm CDT (04:55 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390320° at 38 kt−21 kt-48 °C141 kt4 h 05 min12:02 am CDT (05:02 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
FWAused from 0 nm out; 84 nm from the line350/9350/24 15°360/25 9°360/29 4°350/31 -10°340/39 -22°330/40 -37°320/38 -43°320/48 -48°
CVGused from 149 nm out; 31 nm from the line350/13340/20 13°340/22 8°350/30 3°340/30 -9°340/38 -21°330/37 -35°320/38 -40°310/35 -47°
LOUused from 248 nm out; 15 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°
BNAused from 347 nm out; 26 nm from the line280/13340/34 16°330/38 10°330/44 5°330/39 -8°330/38 -19°320/49 -34°330/53 -40°330/35 -47°
HSVused from 446 nm out; 16 nm from the line290/15330/34 16°330/38 11°330/40 5°320/36 -7°320/31 -18°320/44 -34°330/53 -41°330/34 -48°
BHMused from 496 nm out; 40 nm from the line300/16330/32 16°320/37 11°330/37 6°310/33 -7°310/30 -18°320/40 -34°330/43 -41°330/30 -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
YIP Detroit, MI departure no report just now 715 ft
TOL Toledo, OH 40 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 683 ft
AXV Wapakoneta, OH 109 nm out, 5 nm southeast of the line no report just now 912 ft
DAY Dayton, OH 139 nm out, 21 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 1,009 ft
CVG Covington, KY 198 nm out, 19 nm east of the line, tower no report just now 896 ft
LOU Louisville, KY 258 nm out, 8 nm west of the line, tower no report just now 545 ft
GLW Glasgow, KY 337 nm out, 6 nm northeast of the line no report just now 716 ft
MQY Smyrna, TN 397 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 543 ft
LUG Lewisburg, TN 436 nm out, 7 nm northwest of the line no report just now 718 ft
HSV Huntsville, AL 486 nm out, 13 nm east of the line, tower no report just now 628 ft
JFX Jasper, AL 535 nm out, 4 nm northeast of the line no report just now 482 ft
TCL Tuscaloosa, AL destination no report just now 169 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,009 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At TCL when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:53 pm CDT (04:53 UTC)

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

Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it

  • 6/8029 Cincinnati, OH, Friday, October 9, 2026 through Monday, October 12, 2026 Local 14 nm from the route, 198 nm along the route · a VIP movement · until 12 October · ZID
  • 6/0708 Goodlettsville, TN, Saturday, August 1, 2026 through Sunday, August 1, 2027 UTC 17 nm from the route, 387 nm along the route · security · until 1 August · ZME

Daylight

Sunset at YIP 6:57 pm EDT (22:57 UTC), at TCL 6:20 pm CDT (23:20 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:45 pm CDT (23:45 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at TCL is before sunrise there (6:52 am CDT (11:52 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 central Great Lakes
Radar now, the central Great Lakes · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower 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: Willow Run Airport, Tuscaloosa Ntl Airport.