The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 9:42 pm CDT (02:42 UTC)

Bismarck Municipal to Chicago O'Hare International BIS → ORD

621 nautical miles (714 statute miles) southeast on a straight line, true course 113°, about 106° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7E). At 120 knots that is 3 h 40 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 49-knot tailwind), arriving about 1:22 am CDT (06:22 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: 548 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: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 118 to 207 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20 knots or more below 2,000 ft above the ground). Near the route, 384 nm along 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 BIS.

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 02:00–09:00 UTC · at 120 knots true airspeed

The eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd 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 (ABR, AXN, MSP, LSE, DBQ, JOT). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft230° at 12 kt−3 kt123 kt5 h 03 min2:45 am CDT (07:45 UTC)
5,500 ft250° at 18 kt−11 kt131 kt4 h 44 min2:26 am CDT (07:26 UTC)
7,500 ft250° at 19 kt−13 kt13 °C133 kt4 h 40 min2:22 am CDT (07:22 UTC)
9,500 ft250° at 18 kt−13 kt10 °C133 kt4 h 40 min2:22 am CDT (07:22 UTC)
11,500 ft250° at 21 kt−15 kt6 °C135 kt4 h 36 min2:18 am CDT (07:18 UTC)
13,500 ft260° at 24 kt−18 kt1 °C138 kt4 h 30 min2:12 am CDT (07:12 UTC)
15,500 ft260° at 26 kt−21 kt-3 °C141 kt4 h 24 min2:06 am CDT (07:06 UTC)
17,500 ft260° at 29 kt−24 kt-8 °C144 kt4 h 19 min2:01 am CDT (07:01 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180260° at 30 kt−25 kt-9 °C145 kt4 h 17 min1:59 am CDT (06:59 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240260° at 35 kt−28 kt-21 °C148 kt4 h 12 min1:54 am CDT (06:54 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300260° at 35 kt−28 kt-36 °C148 kt4 h 12 min1:54 am CDT (06:54 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340260° at 44 kt−37 kt-43 °C157 kt3 h 57 min1:39 am CDT (06:39 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390270° at 55 kt−49 kt-51 °C169 kt3 h 40 min1:22 am CDT (06:22 UTC)

Based on data from the 12th at 00:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 06:00 UTC for use 02:00 to 09:00 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
ABRused from 0 nm out; 102 nm from the line070/14250/10 17°270/16 11°260/28 5°260/36 -10°260/41 -22°270/33 -37°260/42 -42°260/50 -48°
AXNused from 197 nm out; 44 nm from the line100/14250/21 14°240/24 12°240/31 5°260/36 -10°260/40 -21°250/42 -36°260/48 -45°260/53 -50°
MSPused from 296 nm out; 37 nm from the line230/26240/30 17°240/24 12°250/22 5°250/35 -10°260/36 -21°250/41 -36°250/49 -45°260/58 -52°
LSEused from 394 nm out; 28 nm from the line230/40240/24 17°240/13 10°250/13 6°280/22 -9°250/28 -21°250/41 -34°260/42 -44°270/62 -53°
DBQused from 493 nm out; 45 nm from the line230/33250/30 16°280/15 9°260/15 5°260/21 -7°260/24 -20°250/37 -33°270/42 -43°280/63 -52°
JOTused from 542 nm out; 66 nm from the line250/23270/22 15°250/16 10°240/9 4°280/22 -7°280/29 -19°300/29 -34°290/50 -43°300/64 -52°

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
BIS Bismarck, ND departure no report just now 1,661 ft
ASY Ashley, ND 69 nm out, 18 nm south of the line no report just now 2,034 ft
BTN Britton, SD 138 nm out, 2 nm southwest of the line no report just now 1,318 ft
AQP Appleton, MN 217 nm out, 2 nm south of the line no report just now 1,021 ft
OVL Olivia, MN 266 nm out, 7 nm south of the line no report just now 1,079 ft
FBL Faribault, MN 345 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line no report just now 1,060 ft
RST Rochester, MN 384 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 1,317 ft
OVS Boscobel, WI 483 nm out, 4 nm west of the line no report just now 672 ft
MRJ Mineral Point, WI 502 nm out, 7 nm south of the line no report just now 1,170 ft
JVL Janesville, WI 561 nm out, 8 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 807 ft
ORD Chicago, IL destination no report just now 680 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 2,034 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At ORD when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:22 am CDT (06:22 UTC)

ORD 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 BIS 7:01 pm CDT (00:01 UTC), at ORD 6:15 pm CDT (23:15 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:43 pm CDT (23:43 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at ORD is before sunrise there (7:00 am CDT (12:00 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 northern Rockies
Radar now, the northern Rockies · 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: Bismarck Municipal, Chicago O'Hare International.