The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 2:03 am CDT (07:03 UTC)

The Eastern Iowa Airport to City Of Colorado Springs Municipal CID → COS

622 nautical miles (716 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 257°, about 255° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2E). At 120 knots that is 6 h 13 min at the quickest height in today's winds (12,500 ft, a 20-knot headwind), arriving about 7:16 am MDT (13:16 UTC). Right now CID is VFR, wind from the south (180°) at 6 knots; COS is VFR, wind from the west-southwest (240°) 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: 4 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 3W: 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 523 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 38,000 ft. Over the last 89 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the last 89 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 1W: 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 last 0 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 31,000 ft, 8 nm northwest, 1:41 am CDT (06:41 UTC): moderate turbulence, remarks: mtw +/-15KT zdvwc. At the destination end, 8 nm northwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    COS UA /OV BRK/TM 0641/FL310/TP A321/TB MOD/RM MTW +/-15KT. ZDVWC
    Report
    a routine report filed through COS
    Where
    over BRK
    Time
    06:41 UTC
    Height
    at 31,000 ft
    Aircraft
    A321
    Turbulence
    moderate
    Remarks
    mtw +/-15KT zdvwc
  • CRJ2 at 22,000 ft, 47 nm northwest, 1:35 am CDT (06:35 UTC): no turbulence up to 26,000 ft, no icing, clear from 22,000 ft to 60,000 ft, remarks: during the descent ZDVWC-26. At the destination end, 47 nm northwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    DEN UA /OV DEN220060/TM 0635/FL220/TP CRJ2/SK SKC/TB NEG BLO 260/IC NEG/RM DURD/ ZDVWC-26
    Report
    a routine report filed through DEN
    Where
    60 nm southwest (220°) of DEN
    Time
    06:35 UTC
    Height
    at 22,000 ft
    Aircraft
    CRJ2
    Sky
    clear
    Turbulence
    no below 26,000 ft
    Icing
    none
    Remarks
    during the descent ZDVWC-26
  • E170 at 22,500 ft, 42 nm northwest, 12:06 am CDT (05:06 UTC): light to moderate turbulence up to 23,000 ft, remarks: during the descent tbarr star ZDVWC-13. At the destination end, 42 nm northwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    DEN UA /OV DEN216057/TM 0506/FL225/TP E170/TB CONS LGT OCNL MOD BLO 230/RM DURD TBARR STAR. ZDVWC-13
    Report
    a routine report filed through DEN
    Where
    57 nm southwest (216°) of DEN
    Time
    05:06 UTC
    Height
    at 22,500 ft
    Aircraft
    E170
    Turbulence
    continuous light occasional moderate below 23,000 ft
    Remarks
    during the descent tbarr star ZDVWC-13

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 westbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: even thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 5 forecast points nearest it (DSM, OMA, GRI, GLD, PUB). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft230° at 40 kt+37 kt21 °C83 kt7 h 30 min8:33 am MDT (14:33 UTC)
6,500 ft240° at 36 kt+34 kt18 °C86 kt7 h 14 min8:17 am MDT (14:17 UTC)
8,500 ft240° at 27 kt+26 kt13 °C94 kt6 h 37 min7:40 am MDT (13:40 UTC)
10,500 ft230° at 23 kt+22 kt10 °C98 kt6 h 21 min7:24 am MDT (13:24 UTC)
12,500 ft230° at 22 kt+20 kt5 °C100 kt6 h 13 min7:16 am MDT (13:16 UTC)
14,500 ft230° at 23 kt+22 kt1 °C98 kt6 h 21 min7:24 am MDT (13:24 UTC)
16,500 ft240° at 25 kt+24 kt-4 °C96 kt6 h 29 min7:32 am MDT (13:32 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180240° at 26 kt+26 kt-8 °C94 kt6 h 37 min7:40 am MDT (13:40 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240240° at 34 kt+34 kt-20 °C86 kt7 h 14 min8:17 am MDT (14:17 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300250° at 53 kt+53 kt-32 °C67 kt9 h 17 min10:20 am MDT (16:20 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340250° at 59 kt+59 kt-38 °C61 kt10 h 12 min11:15 am MDT (17:15 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390260° at 58 kt+58 kt-48 °C62 kt10 h 02 min11:05 am MDT (17:05 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
DSMused from 0 nm out; 65 nm from the line230/40250/33 17°250/18 12°240/17 5°260/28 -8°270/34 -19°260/41 -33°260/55 -41°270/62 -51°
OMAused from 148 nm out; 22 nm from the line220/47240/33 19°250/18 11°230/17 6°260/29 -8°250/33 -19°250/51 -33°260/61 -40°270/62 -49°
GRIused from 247 nm out; 39 nm from the line230/35 21°230/23 13°220/20 7°240/25 -8°240/37 -20°250/49 -33°260/57 -38°260/58 -47°
GLDused from 395 nm out; 62 nm from the line230/49230/42 15°220/26 8°240/18 -7°230/27 -21°240/62 -30°240/61 -35°250/57 -47°
PUBused from 543 nm out; 65 nm from the line230/25 13°230/32 6°220/44 -8°230/49 -21°240/70 -28°240/67 -34°240/58 -46°

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 from the south (180°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 869 ft 9:52 pm CDT (02:52 UTC)
TNU Newton, IA 59 nm out, 2 nm northwest of the line VFR Sky: a few clouds at 1,600 feet from the south (190°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 952 ft 06:55 UTC
DSM Des Moines, IA 89 nm out, 1 nm west of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 21,000 feet from the south (190°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 957 ft 06:54 UTC
GFZ Greenfield, IA 128 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line no report just now 1,363 ft
LNK Lincoln, NE 237 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 15 knots 10+ mi none 1,218 ft 06:54 UTC
FMZ Fairmont, NE 276 nm out, 7 nm south of the line no report just now 1,636 ft
HSI Hastings, NE 316 nm out, 6 nm north of the line VFR from the south (170°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 1,961 ft 06:53 UTC
OIN Oberlin, KS 415 nm out, 10 nm south of the line VFR from the south-southwest (210°) at 23 knots, gusting to 31 10+ mi none 2,706 ft 06:55 UTC
ADT Atwood, KS 444 nm out, 3 nm east of the line VFR from the south-southwest (200°) at 18 knots, gusting to 25 10+ mi none 2,990 ft 06:55 UTC
ITR Burlington, CO 503 nm out, 16 nm south of the line VFR from the south (190°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 4,218 ft 06:53 UTC
LIC Limon, CO 563 nm out, 10 nm northwest of the line VFR from the southwest (220°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 5,374 ft 06:55 UTC
COS Colorado Springs, CO destination VFR Sky: a few clouds at 14,000 feet, a few clouds at 20,000 feet from the west-southwest (240°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 6,187 ft 12:54 am MDT (06:54 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 6,187 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At COS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 7:16 am MDT (13:16 UTC)

Wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for COS
  • From Mon 12:00 am MDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 6,000 feet, a broken layer at 20,000 feet
  • From Mon 6:00 am MDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 11:00 am MDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south at 15 knots, gusting to 25, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 12,000 feet
  • From Mon 1:00 pm MDT (19:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 20 knots, gusting to 30, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 12,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm MDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for CID, the departure
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 15 knots, gusting to 22, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a few clouds at 25,000 feet

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 COS 6:23 pm MDT (00:23 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:50 pm MDT (00:50 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 northern Rockies
Radar now, the northern Rockies · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · 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, City Of Colorado Springs Municipal.