Des Moines International to General Edward Lawrence Logan International DSM → BOS
1,010 nautical miles (1,162 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 080°, about 079° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1E). At 120 knots that is 6 h 07 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 45-knot tailwind), arriving about 1:40 pm EDT (17:40 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: 163 flights in the DOT's last twelve reported months, the route's page.
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 120 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 last 620 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 24,000 ft to 33,000 ft. Over the last 350 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, mist). Over the route from 710 to 920 nm out.
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 DSM.
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 11 forecast points nearest it (DSM, DBQ, JOT, MKG, FWA, CLE, BUF, SYR, ALB, BDL, BOS). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,500 ft | 280° at 15 kt | −15 kt | 135 kt | 7 h 29 min | 3:02 pm EDT (19:02 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 300° at 14 kt | −13 kt | 133 kt | 7 h 36 min | 3:09 pm EDT (19:09 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 300° at 14 kt | −12 kt | 11 °C | 132 kt | 7 h 39 min | 3:12 pm EDT (19:12 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 300° at 14 kt | −13 kt | 8 °C | 133 kt | 7 h 36 min | 3:09 pm EDT (19:09 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 300° at 18 kt | −17 kt | 4 °C | 137 kt | 7 h 22 min | 2:55 pm EDT (18:55 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 300° at 21 kt | −18 kt | 0 °C | 138 kt | 7 h 19 min | 2:52 pm EDT (18:52 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 300° at 23 kt | −19 kt | -4 °C | 139 kt | 7 h 16 min | 2:49 pm EDT (18:49 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 300° at 24 kt | −20 kt | -8 °C | 140 kt | 7 h 13 min | 2:46 pm EDT (18:46 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 300° at 25 kt | −21 kt | -9 °C | 141 kt | 7 h 10 min | 2:43 pm EDT (18:43 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 300° at 28 kt | −24 kt | -21 °C | 144 kt | 7 h 01 min | 2:34 pm EDT (18:34 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 300° at 35 kt | −31 kt | -36 °C | 151 kt | 6 h 41 min | 2:14 pm EDT (18:14 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 300° at 46 kt | −40 kt | -44 °C | 160 kt | 6 h 19 min | 1:52 pm EDT (17:52 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 300° at 55 kt | −45 kt | -51 °C | 165 kt | 6 h 07 min | 1:40 pm EDT (17:40 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
| Point | From | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSM | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 250/47 | 260/25 20° | 240/19 11° | 240/31 5° | 250/26 -9° | 260/38 -20° | 260/47 -34° | 270/58 -37° | 270/61 -47° |
| DBQ | used from 50 nm out; 70 nm from the line | 250/27 | 260/23 17° | 240/26 10° | 260/30 4° | 280/26 -9° | 280/36 -21° | 270/41 -36° | 280/52 -41° | 290/67 -48° |
| JOT | used from 200 nm out; 42 nm from the line | 250/25 | 260/22 14° | 250/17 9° | 270/21 5° | 280/28 -8° | 280/36 -20° | 270/41 -35° | 280/57 -42° | 290/65 -50° |
| MKG | used from 300 nm out; 54 nm from the line | 260/28 | 260/18 15° | 250/16 9° | 260/22 4° | 280/31 -9° | 270/35 -21° | 270/44 -35° | 270/42 -45° | 290/61 -51° |
| FWA | used from 400 nm out; 98 nm from the line | 270/20 | 300/16 15° | 290/14 10° | 280/17 3° | 290/25 -7° | 280/30 -19° | 280/34 -35° | 290/48 -44° | 300/64 -52° |
| CLE | used from 450 nm out; 85 nm from the line | 310/7 | 350/20 14° | 340/16 9° | 320/21 2° | 320/32 -8° | 330/34 -20° | 330/45 -36° | 320/60 -45° | 320/64 -51° |
| BUF | used from 600 nm out; 48 nm from the line | 300/11 | 330/15 11° | 340/26 8° | 330/28 2° | 340/31 -10° | 340/32 -21° | 340/52 -37° | 340/59 -46° | 330/66 -53° |
| SYR | used from 750 nm out; 34 nm from the line | 330/17 | 320/14 9° | 350/18 8° | 350/26 2° | 340/25 -11° | 360/34 -22° | 350/43 -39° | 330/50 -46° | 350/50 -54° |
| ALB | used from 850 nm out; 18 nm from the line | 340/22 | 340/19 9° | 320/16 7° | 330/16 2° | 330/19 -11° | 320/21 -23° | 320/25 -39° | 280/30 -44° | 270/41 -51° |
| BDL | used from 900 nm out; 33 nm from the line | 020/15 | 010/19 10° | 340/10 7° | 300/17 3° | 280/23 -10° | 250/35 -22° | 250/44 -38° | 250/55 -42° | 250/57 -51° |
| BOS | used from 950 nm out; 35 nm from the line | 020/10 | 360/20 10° | 340/19 7° | 290/21 2° | 270/35 -9° | 260/42 -22° | 250/55 -38° | 240/75 -43° | 250/72 -51° |
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
| Airport | Where | Conditions | Wind | Visibility | Ceiling | Elevation | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSM Des Moines, IA | departure | no report just now | 957 ft | ||||
| CID Cedar Rapids, IA | 90 nm out, 6 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 869 ft | ||||
| SFY Savanna, IL | 160 nm out, 5 nm north of the line | no report just now | 616 ft | ||||
| PWK Chicago/Prospect Heights/Wheeling, IL | 260 nm out, 4 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 644 ft | ||||
| BTL Battle Creek, MI | 380 nm out, 4 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 951 ft | ||||
| DET Detroit, MI | 480 nm out, 5 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 624 ft | ||||
| CYQS St Thomas, | 560 nm out, 14 nm north of the line | no report just now | 776 ft | ||||
| BUF Buffalo, NY | 670 nm out, 21 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 726 ft | ||||
| ITH Ithaca, NY | 770 nm out, 5 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,099 ft | ||||
| ALB Albany, NY | 890 nm out, 16 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 284 ft | ||||
| ORH Worcester, MA | 970 nm out, 9 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,009 ft | ||||
| BOS Boston, MA | destination | no report just now | 19 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,099 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At BOS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:40 pm EDT (17:40 UTC)
BOS has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8802 Foxborough, MA, Saturday, October 17, 2026 through Sunday, October 18, 2026 UTC 16 nm from the route, at the destination end · drones kept away from a public gathering · starts Saturday 17 October · ZBW
Daylight
Sunset at DSM 6:38 pm CDT (23:38 UTC), at BOS 6:07 pm EDT (22:07 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:35 pm EDT (22:35 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
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: Des Moines International, General Edward Lawrence Logan International.