The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 7:58 am CDT (12:58 UTC)

The Eastern Iowa Airport to Central IL Rgnl/Bloomington-Normal Airport CID → BMI

152 nautical miles (175 statute miles) southeast on a straight line, true course 123°, about 121° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2E). At 120 knots that is 50 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 62-knot tailwind), arriving about 8:48 am CDT (13:48 UTC). Right now CID is VFR, wind from the south (180°) at 10 knots; BMI is VFR, wind from the south-southwest (210°) at 7 knots. 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: 7 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 TANGO 2W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20 knots or more below 2,000 ft above the ground). Over the first 47 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 CID.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

  • A321 at 32,000 ft, 10 nm north, 7:25 am CDT (12:25 UTC): light chop turbulence. At the departure end, 10 nm north of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    CID UA /OV CID360010/TM 1225/FL320/TP A321/TB INTMT LGT CHOP CONS LGT CHOP
    Report
    a routine report filed through CID
    Where
    10 nm north (360°) of CID
    Time
    12:25 UTC
    Height
    at 32,000 ft
    Aircraft
    A321
    Turbulence
    intermittent light chop continuous light chop

Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 08:00–15:00 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 3 forecast points nearest it (DBQ, BRL, SPI). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft250° at 28 kt−18 kt138 kt1 h 06 min9:04 am CDT (14:04 UTC)
5,500 ft250° at 23 kt−14 kt134 kt1 h 08 min9:06 am CDT (14:06 UTC)
7,500 ft250° at 20 kt−12 kt13 °C132 kt1 h 09 min9:07 am CDT (14:07 UTC)
9,500 ft250° at 18 kt−11 kt9 °C131 kt1 h 10 min9:08 am CDT (14:08 UTC)
11,500 ft260° at 21 kt−15 kt5 °C135 kt1 h 08 min9:06 am CDT (14:06 UTC)
13,500 ft270° at 22 kt−18 kt1 °C138 kt1 h 06 min9:04 am CDT (14:04 UTC)
15,500 ft280° at 24 kt−21 kt-3 °C141 kt1 h 05 min9:03 am CDT (14:03 UTC)
17,500 ft280° at 25 kt−23 kt-7 °C143 kt1 h 04 min9:02 am CDT (14:02 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180280° at 25 kt−24 kt-8 °C144 kt1 h 03 min9:01 am CDT (14:01 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240270° at 37 kt−32 kt-20 °C152 kt1 h8:58 am CDT (13:58 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300270° at 47 kt−41 kt-34 °C161 kt57 min8:55 am CDT (13:55 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340280° at 58 kt−53 kt-40 °C173 kt53 min8:51 am CDT (13:51 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390290° at 63 kt−62 kt-48 °C182 kt50 min8:48 am CDT (13:48 UTC)

Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 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
DBQused from 0 nm out; 51 nm from the line250/27260/23 17°240/26 10°260/30 4°280/26 -9°280/36 -21°270/41 -36°280/52 -41°290/67 -48°
BRLused from 47 nm out; 43 nm from the line250/32250/19 17°260/15 11°270/16 3°290/23 -7°260/42 -20°270/52 -34°280/63 -39°290/64 -48°
SPIused from 95 nm out; 57 nm from the line260/28250/22 15°250/14 9°260/20 6°280/27 -7°280/34 -19°280/48 -32°280/59 -41°300/60 -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
CID Cedar Rapids, IA departure VFR Sky: a broken layer at 11,000 feet from the south (180°) at 10 knots 10+ mi 11,000 ft 869 ft 7:52 am CDT (12:52 UTC)
MUT Muscatine, IA 38 nm out, 12 nm southwest of the line reported, no category from the south-southeast (160°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 547 ft 12:35 UTC
MLI Moline, IL 57 nm out, 8 nm northeast of the line, tower VFR from the south-southwest (200°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 589 ft 12:52 UTC
PIA Peoria, IL 114 nm out, 11 nm south of the line, tower VFR from the south-southwest (210°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 660 ft 12:54 UTC
BMI Bloomington/Normal, IL destination VFR from the south-southwest (210°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 871 ft 6:56 am CDT (11:56 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 871 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At BMI when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:48 am CDT (13:48 UTC)

Wind from the south-southwest at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for BMI
  • From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 1:00 pm CDT (18:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 14 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 11:00 pm CDT (04:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, clear skies
The forecast for CID, the departure
  • From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a broken layer at 20,000 feet
  • From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, gusting to 22, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 20,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, clear skies
  • From Tue 12:00 am CDT (05:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies

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 CID 6:30 pm CDT (23:30 UTC), at BMI 6:20 pm CDT (23:20 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:47 pm CDT (23:47 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 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: The Eastern Iowa Airport, Central IL Rgnl/Bloomington-Normal Airport.