Expert: Christopher McKenna - 12/30/2009

Question
QUESTION: I live in Harbor Springs, Michigan - located about 35 miles south of Mackinaw on Lake Michigan in Northwestern Michigan.  Most nights it seems we have large aircraft flying overhead at 1, 2 or even 3 in the morning.  I am curious about where these planes are originating and where they are headed?  Are they commercial or possibly freight?  We were on the beach one night last summer and saw a jet high in the sky around 2am - no one could give e valid explanation as we are in such a random, remote area.  Please shed some light if you can.  Thank you.
Ami Woods

ANSWER: Hi, Ami. Aircraft, unlike cars, travel on routes that have nothing to do with population centers. They often travel over areas we would consider remote. This is because they fly more directly from place to place. Imagine if you could drive directly to Las Vegas, for example. At that time of the morning, they are more likely to be freight carriers than passenger flights. There are, however, passenger flights at all times of the day.
As to where they are from, and where they are going, a lot depends on the direction that they were flying. If they were flying to the southwest, they could have originated in Europe and been heading for LA, Vegas, Phoenix, or even further to Hawaii, etc. They could have, depending on altitude, also been heading to Chicago, or places is Texas or Kansas. Many long distance flights from Europe refuel in Bangor, Maine, then continue on. If you were to look at a globe, you could deduce a lot about their possible departure and destination points.
I hope this helped!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you, but I probably should have been more specific with my question.  I understand flight patterns as I actually flew directly over my home en route from Paris to Chicago a few years ago.  What I am questioning in particular, I suppose is the timing.  1,2 or 3 in the morning - to my knowledge - is not the time of day for incoming or outgoing flights from Chicago.  The timing just isn't right.  I am trying to figure out more specifically what these planes are at the early hours in the morning - in my time zone.  For example if the planes originated in the UK... assuming a 6-8 hour flight... that would have the plane taking off at 1-3am.  Does that happen?  I was not aware of international flights that depart so late at night/early in the morning.  Just curious - my mother and I were arguing about it last night.  Thanks!

Answer
Generally speaking, you're right. There are few passenger flights at that time, but there are some. Mostly they are freight haulers. The cargo planes fly at night to take advantage of reduced congestion, and the ability to fly more directly. Some passenger flights do the same, but it is largely cargo flights. Rockford, IL, for example is a huge UPS hub, while Memphis is the same for FedEx. Both airports see a large influx of traffic over the night and early morning hours.
More of an answer? I hope so, but if not, email again!