WN 8501 — Minneapolis to Chicago
WN 8501 Schedule
Southwest Airlines flies MSP to MDW 1 day a week (Fri). Scheduled block time is 1h 14m.
Aircraft Details
Aircraft type, registration, age, and photo populate here as soon as WN 8501 shows up on live ADS-B.
WN 8501 Flight Path
Cruise altitude, ground speed, and vertical rate from ADS-B broadcasts. The altitude profile fills in while WN 8501 is airborne, capturing climbs, step-climbs, and descents in real time.
Flight path chart appears once WN 8501 is airborne and broadcasting.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a plane icon is moving on the map, yes. That's ADS-B, the aircraft's own GPS position broadcast, updated every few seconds. No icon means the flight isn't airborne at the moment: either before pushback, already landed, or a day it doesn't operate.
The live tracker shows the actual aircraft and registration when the flight is airborne. Scheduled equipment isn't listed in the public schedule for this number.
Once a week, on Fri. On days outside that pattern this page will show the schedule but no live aircraft.
Scheduled 1h 14m gate to gate from MSP to MDW. Actual air time varies with winds and ATC routing. Tailwinds can shave 15 to 20 minutes on long segments.
GPS-accurate via ADS-B. Typically within 30 meters horizontally, updated every 5 to 10 seconds. If the broadcast drops over oceans or mountainous terrain, the map holds the last-known position and the label changes to reflect the signal gap.
A projection from current position, groundspeed, and remaining distance. It doesn't account for descent procedures, holding, or ATC vectoring near the destination. Trust it within plus or minus 10 minutes once the flight is past the halfway mark.