The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 10:39 pm CDT (03:39 UTC)

Des Moines International to Punta Gorda Airport DSM → PGD

1,049 nautical miles (1,208 statute miles) southeast on a straight line, true course 143°, about 142° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1E). At 120 knots that is 6 h 49 min at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 34-knot tailwind), arriving about 6:28 am EDT (10:28 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now DSM is VFR, wind from the south (190°) at 8 knots; PGD is VFR, wind calm. 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: 370 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 30 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 DSM.

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

  • CRJ7 at 28,000 ft, 34 nm southwest, 9:41 pm CDT (02:41 UTC): moderate turbulence, remarks: produced by skypath. 690 nm along the route, 34 nm southwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    TOI UA /OV MGM157029 /TM 0241 /FL280 /TP CRJ7 /TB MOD /RM PRODUCED BY SKYPATH
    Report
    a routine report filed through TOI
    Where
    29 nm southeast (157°) of MGM
    Time
    02:41 UTC
    Height
    at 28,000 ft
    Aircraft
    CRJ7
    Turbulence
    moderate
    Remarks
    produced by skypath
  • B747 at 33,000 ft, 12 nm east, 8:02 pm CDT (01:02 UTC): no turbulence. 779 nm along the route, 12 nm east of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    TLH UA /OV TLH360025/TM 0102/FL330/TP B747/TB NEG
    Report
    a routine report filed through TLH
    Where
    25 nm north (360°) of TLH
    Time
    01:02 UTC
    Height
    at 33,000 ft
    Aircraft
    B747
    Turbulence
    none

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 12 forecast points nearest it (DSM, BRL, COU, STL, CGI, MEM, HSV, BHM, MGM, CSG, TLH, PIE). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft280° at 15 kt−10 kt130 kt8 h 04 min7:43 am EDT (11:43 UTC)
5,500 ft290° at 14 kt−12 kt132 kt7 h 57 min7:36 am EDT (11:36 UTC)
7,500 ft300° at 15 kt−15 kt14 °C135 kt7 h 46 min7:25 am EDT (11:25 UTC)
9,500 ft310° at 16 kt−16 kt11 °C136 kt7 h 43 min7:22 am EDT (11:22 UTC)
11,500 ft310° at 14 kt−13 kt8 °C133 kt7 h 53 min7:32 am EDT (11:32 UTC)
13,500 ft300° at 15 kt−13 kt3 °C133 kt7 h 53 min7:32 am EDT (11:32 UTC)
15,500 ft290° at 17 kt−14 kt-1 °C134 kt7 h 50 min7:29 am EDT (11:29 UTC)
17,500 ft280° at 20 kt−14 kt-6 °C134 kt7 h 50 min7:29 am EDT (11:29 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180280° at 20 kt−15 kt-7 °C135 kt7 h 46 min7:25 am EDT (11:25 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240290° at 24 kt−20 kt-18 °C140 kt7 h 30 min7:09 am EDT (11:09 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300300° at 32 kt−29 kt-32 °C149 kt7 h 02 min6:41 am EDT (10:41 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340300° at 37 kt−34 kt-41 °C154 kt6 h 49 min6:28 am EDT (10:28 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390300° at 36 kt−33 kt-51 °C153 kt6 h 51 min6:30 am EDT (10:30 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; 25 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°
BRLused from 50 nm out; 72 nm from the line230/24240/29 15°290/16 10°280/15 4°260/23 -7°260/32 -19°260/36 -33°280/48 -41°280/59 -52°
COUused from 100 nm out; 63 nm from the line230/31230/30 15°260/16 11°270/14 6°260/24 -6°270/27 -18°270/37 -32°280/49 -41°290/56 -51°
STLused from 200 nm out; 25 nm from the line250/24250/24 16°260/23 9°270/16 6°260/25 -6°270/29 -19°290/34 -33°290/48 -41°290/54 -51°
CGIused from 250 nm out; 46 nm from the line240/20270/15 15°280/15 11°300/13 6°290/20 -6°280/24 -18°300/34 -32°300/47 -41°310/49 -51°
MEMused from 400 nm out; 87 nm from the line230/19260/16 15°270/17 12°300/13 6°300/15 -5°300/26 -18°300/34 -32°300/41 -40°310/46 -52°
HSVused from 450 nm out; 60 nm from the line310/20330/20 16°320/27 11°340/23 5°320/23 -7°340/30 -17°320/50 -33°330/61 -41°340/41 -50°
BHMused from 550 nm out; 6 nm from the line310/19330/20 17°320/28 11°340/21 6°310/22 -7°330/33 -17°330/50 -32°330/57 -41°330/41 -50°
MGMused from 600 nm out; 41 nm from the line310/19340/24 17°340/28 11°330/16 7°300/23 -7°320/32 -16°330/46 -33°330/55 -42°330/41 -50°
CSGused from 700 nm out; 59 nm from the line310/24340/35 17°340/37 12°330/22 8°310/30 -7°290/30 -18°340/57 -32°340/55 -41°320/33 -49°
TLHused from 750 nm out; 32 nm from the line320/18350/31 18°340/24 13°310/17 8°280/22 -7°300/25 -17°320/28 -33°320/24 -41°320/25 -50°
PIEused from 899 nm out; 55 nm from the line350/6L/V 18°290/6 14°280/9 9°250/18 -6°250/23 -17°240/30 -31°220/31 -41°220/30 -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
DSM Des Moines, IA departure VFR Sky: a broken layer at 23,000 feet from the south (190°) at 8 knots 10+ mi 23,000 ft 957 ft 9:54 pm CDT (02:54 UTC)
TVK Centerville, IA 60 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line VFR calm 9 mi none 1,023 ft 03:15 UTC
MYJ Mexico, MO 170 nm out, 17 nm west of the line VFR from the south (170°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 822 ft 03:15 UTC
SUS St Louis, MO 220 nm out, 11 nm northeast of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 463 ft 02:54 UTC
CGI Cape Girardeau, MO 320 nm out, 4 nm east of the line, tower VFR from the west-southwest (240°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 341 ft 20:53 UTC
MKL Jackson, TN 420 nm out, 25 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 434 ft 02:53 UTC
BHM Birmingham, AL 580 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 650 ft 02:53 UTC
DHN Dothan, AL 730 nm out, 19 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR from the west-southwest (250°) at 3 knots 10+ mi none 400 ft 23:55 UTC
TLH Tallahassee, FL 809 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR from the west (260°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 83 ft 02:53 UTC
CDK Cedar Key, FL 909 nm out, 19 nm northeast of the line no report just now 11 ft
PIE St Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 979 nm out, 2 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR from the north-northwest (330°) at 3 knots 10+ mi none 10 ft 02:53 UTC
PGD Punta Gorda, FL destination VFR calm 10+ mi none 25 ft 10:53 pm EDT (02:53 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,023 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At PGD when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 6:28 am EDT (10:28 UTC)

Wind from the north at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for PGD
  • From Sun 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the east-northeast at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 3,000 feet, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • From Sun 11:00 pm EDT (03:00 UTC): wind from the north at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for DSM, the departure
  • From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • From Sun 10:00 pm CDT (03:00 UTC): wind from the south at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, gusting to 19, visibility more than 6 miles, 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 DSM 6:38 pm CDT (23:38 UTC), at PGD 7:02 pm EDT (23:02 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:26 pm EDT (23:26 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at PGD is before sunrise there (7:25 am EDT (11:25 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 lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the Southeast
Radar now, the Southeast · 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: Des Moines International, Punta Gorda Airport.