Flight planning: Gerald R Ford International GRR / KGRR
What a pilot looks at before a flight from or to Gerald R Ford International in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in plain English: right now VFR: good flying weather, Wind from the southeast (140°) at 5 knots. The warnings, reports and winds below come from the government's aviation weather service and the restrictions from the FAA, refreshed every few minutes. For planning, not a briefing: the legal preflight briefing comes from Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF) or the FAA's own tools.
Warnings in force SIGMETs and AIRMETs whose area covers this field
No SIGMET or AIRMET covers this field right now.
A SIGMET warns of weather hazardous to all aircraft (thunderstorms, severe turbulence or icing, volcanic ash); an AIRMET of weather that matters to small aircraft and to flying without instruments (moderate turbulence or icing, low cloud, strong surface wind, mountains hidden in cloud). An area is counted when it covers this field's position.
Pilot reports within 100 nautical miles, last three hours, nearest first
- F2TH at 3,100 ft, 37 nm south, 7:40 pm EDT (23:40 UTC): remarks: tops 3,100 ft.
as filed, and in English
AZO UA /OV BTL/TM 2340/FL031/TP F2TH/RM TOPS 031
- Report
- a routine report filed through AZO
- Where
- over BTL
- Time
- 23:40 UTC
- Height
- at 3,100 ft
- Aircraft
- F2TH
- Remarks
- tops 3,100 ft
- B38M at 31,000 ft, 39 nm south, 8:04 pm EDT (00:04 UTC): light chop turbulence up to 31,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
AZO UA /OV AZO/TM 0004/FL310/TP B38M/TB CONS LGT CHOP 310 BLO
- Report
- a routine report filed through AZO
- Where
- over AZO
- Time
- 00:04 UTC
- Height
- at 31,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B38M
- Turbulence
- continuous light chop at 31,000 ft below
- CRJ2 descending, 78 nm east, 6:30 pm EDT (22:30 UTC): overcast from 1,900 ft to 2,900 ft.
as filed, and in English
FNT UA /OV FNT/TM 2230/FLDURD/TP CRJ2/SK OVC019 - TOP029
- Report
- a routine report filed through FNT
- Where
- over FNT
- Time
- 22:30 UTC
- Height
- during the descent
- Aircraft
- CRJ2
- Sky
- overcast from 1,900 ft, tops 2,900 ft
- C172 descending, 78 nm east, 5:32 pm EDT (21:32 UTC): overcast above 1,800 ft.
as filed, and in English
FNT UA /OV KFNT/TM 2132/FLDURD/TP C172/SK OVC018
- Report
- a routine report filed through FNT
- Where
- over KFNT
- Time
- 21:32 UTC
- Height
- during the descent
- Aircraft
- C172
- Sky
- overcast from 1,800 ft
- CRJ7 at 17,000 ft, 80 nm southwest, 8:04 pm EDT (00:04 UTC): no turbulence.
as filed, and in English
BEH UA /OV ELX270040/TM 0004/FL170/TP CRJ7/TB NEG
- Report
- a routine report filed through BEH
- Where
- 40 nm west (270°) of ELX
- Time
- 00:04 UTC
- Height
- at 17,000 ft
- Aircraft
- CRJ7
- Turbulence
- none
- UAL2761 at 33,000 ft, 81 nm southeast, 7:24 pm EDT (23:24 UTC): no turbulence, wind 310° at 40 knots.
as filed, and in English
ARP UAL2761 4139N 08447W 2324 F330 310/040KT TB SMTH IC
- Report
- a routine report filed through ARP
- BE36 at 3,000 ft, 90 nm east, 6:20 pm EDT (22:20 UTC): no turbulence, imc.
as filed, and in English
DTW UA /OV SVM/TM 2220/FL030/TP BE36/SK IMC/TB SMOOTH
- Report
- a routine report filed through DTW
- Where
- over SVM
- Time
- 22:20 UTC
- Height
- at 3,000 ft
- Aircraft
- BE36
- Sky
- instrument conditions
- Turbulence
- smooth
- A319 at 15,000 ft, 95 nm southwest, 6:08 pm EDT (22:08 UTC): no turbulence, remarks: during the descent from 15,000 ft to 13,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
PPO UA /OV PPO/TM 2208/FL150/TP A319/TB NEG/RM DURD 150-130
- Report
- a routine report filed through PPO
- Where
- over PPO
- Time
- 22:08 UTC
- Height
- at 15,000 ft
- Aircraft
- A319
- Turbulence
- none
- Remarks
- during the descent from 15,000 ft to 13,000 ft
What pilots in the air told air traffic control or Flight Service: turbulence, icing, cloud tops and bases, temperature, wind, and whatever they remarked on (wind shear on final, a smooth ride). An urgent report is one of severe turbulence or icing, wind shear, or similar. Open "as filed, and in English" for the coded report and its translation line by line.
Winds and temperatures aloft forecast point CLE, 186 nm southeast of the field · for use 20:00–03:00 UTC
| Height | Wind from | Speed | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000 ft | 340° (north) | 5 knots | |
| 6,000 ft | 320° (northwest) | 13 knots | 14 °C |
| 9,000 ft | 300° (northwest) | 12 knots | 8 °C |
| 12,000 ft | 310° (northwest) | 10 knots | 2 °C |
| 18,000 ft | 310° (northwest) | 14 knots | -10 °C |
| 24,000 ft | 340° (north) | 14 knots | -23 °C |
| 30,000 ft | 320° (northwest) | 27 knots | -35 °C |
| 34,000 ft | 260° (west) | 28 knots | -40 °C |
| 39,000 ft | 250° (west) | 36 knots | -48 °C |
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; the lowest rows are left out where the ground is already that high.
Temporary flight restrictions within 50 nautical miles, from the FAA's list
No temporary flight restriction within 50 nautical miles right now.
Each restriction opens the FAA's own page with the exact area, heights and times. Ordinary notices to air missions (a closed runway, lights out, a crane) are not shown here: the FAA's notice search is not open to sites like this one at this time, and the application for the FAA's data feed is in hand.
Radar and forecast charts government pictures, the latest each time the page loads
The radar pictures come from the National Weather Service (the nearest radar, then the region); the surface analysis and the 12- and 24-hour forecast charts from the Weather Prediction Center. They are public-domain government images shown as they are published.
Sources: the Aviation Weather Center's data service (SIGMETs, AIRMETs, graphical AIRMETs, pilot reports, winds and temperatures aloft), the National Weather Service radar, the Weather Prediction Center's charts, and the FAA's temporary flight restriction list and shapes. Fetched when the page is viewed and kept a few minutes. Back to Gerald R Ford International, where the current observation and the forecast for the field are.