The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 7:17 am CDT (12:17 UTC)

The Eastern Iowa Airport to Columbia Metro Airport CID → CAE

691 nautical miles (796 statute miles) southeast on a straight line, true course 130°, about 128° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 05 min at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 49-knot tailwind), arriving about 12:22 pm EDT (16:22 UTC). 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: 1 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 49 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 296 to 563 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, mist). Over the route from 444 to 583 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 5W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) from 29,000 ft to 40,000 ft. Over the route from 543 to 612 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 6,000 ft. Over the route from 553 to 612 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, 593 nm along the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 30,000 ft to 41,000 ft. Near the route, at the destination end.

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

Not fetched just now.

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 7 forecast points nearest it (BRL, SPI, EVV, LOU, TYS, GSP, CAE). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft290° at 18 kt−18 kt138 kt5 h1:17 pm EDT (17:17 UTC)
5,500 ft300° at 16 kt−16 kt136 kt5 h 05 min1:22 pm EDT (17:22 UTC)
7,500 ft310° at 16 kt−16 kt12 °C136 kt5 h 05 min1:22 pm EDT (17:22 UTC)
9,500 ft310° at 16 kt−17 kt8 °C137 kt5 h 03 min1:20 pm EDT (17:20 UTC)
11,500 ft310° at 18 kt−18 kt6 °C138 kt5 h1:17 pm EDT (17:17 UTC)
13,500 ft310° at 21 kt−21 kt2 °C141 kt4 h 54 min1:11 pm EDT (17:11 UTC)
15,500 ft310° at 23 kt−23 kt-2 °C143 kt4 h 50 min1:07 pm EDT (17:07 UTC)
17,500 ft310° at 26 kt−26 kt-6 °C146 kt4 h 44 min1:01 pm EDT (17:01 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180310° at 26 kt−27 kt-7 °C147 kt4 h 42 min12:59 pm EDT (16:59 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240300° at 31 kt−30 kt-19 °C150 kt4 h 36 min12:53 pm EDT (16:53 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300300° at 39 kt−39 kt-33 °C159 kt4 h 21 min12:38 pm EDT (16:38 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340310° at 48 kt−49 kt-41 °C169 kt4 h 05 min12:22 pm EDT (16:22 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390310° at 49 kt−49 kt-50 °C169 kt4 h 05 min12:22 pm EDT (16:22 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
BRLused from 0 nm out; 51 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 99 nm out; 42 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°
EVVused from 247 nm out; 52 nm from the line270/25290/17 15°260/10 8°270/16 5°280/29 -6°280/33 -19°290/38 -33°300/53 -41°310/54 -51°
LOUused from 296 nm out; 40 nm from the line300/16310/19 15°310/17 9°300/15 4°300/26 -6°280/34 -19°290/30 -34°310/49 -42°310/58 -51°
TYSused from 444 nm out; 49 nm from the line330/16350/32 14°350/37 9°340/30 5°330/28 -6°340/36 -19°330/40 -33°330/51 -41°330/36 -51°
GSPused from 543 nm out; 44 nm from the line340/30360/24 13°350/29 10°340/33 6°340/40 -7°350/44 -19°340/59 -31°350/55 -41°300/29 -50°
CAEused from 642 nm out; 25 nm from the line340/17330/15 12°320/22 9°320/31 5°330/35 -7°320/33 -19°340/40 -32°350/43 -39°320/35 -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 no report just now 869 ft
MLI Moline, IL 59 nm out, 15 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 589 ft
PIA Peoria, IL 119 nm out, 4 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 660 ft
DEC Decatur, IL 178 nm out, 8 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 681 ft
HUF Terre Haute, IN 247 nm out, 24 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 589 ft
DCY Washington, IN 286 nm out, 4 nm west of the line no report just now 472 ft
SDF Louisville, KY 356 nm out, 19 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 500 ft
EKQ Monticello, KY 435 nm out, 9 nm south of the line no report just now 962 ft
TYS Knoxville, TN 514 nm out, 24 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 986 ft
GSP Greer, SC 612 nm out, 0 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 963 ft
EOE Newberry, SC 662 nm out, 6 nm west of the line no report just now 570 ft
CAE Columbia, SC destination no report just now 235 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 986 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At CAE when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 12:22 pm EDT (16:22 UTC)

CAE 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 CID 6:30 pm CDT (23:30 UTC), at CAE 6:54 pm EDT (22:54 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:19 pm EDT (23:19 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 now, the central Great Lakes
Radar now, the central Great Lakes · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower 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, Columbia Metro Airport.