Northern Colorado Regional to General Mitchell International FNL → MKE
780 nautical miles (898 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 073°, about 064° magnetic at the departure end (variation 9E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 24 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 57-knot tailwind), arriving about 4:42 am CDT (09:42 UTC), after sunset at the destination. 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: 3 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 1W: 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, at the departure end.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 38,000 ft. Over the first 119 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the first 69 nm of the route.
- 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 route from 99 to 701 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 FNL.
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 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 9 forecast points nearest it (DEN, BFF, GRI, ONL, OMA, DSM, MCW, DBQ, JOT). 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 | 230° at 37 kt | −31 kt | 151 kt | 5 h 10 min | 5:28 am CDT (10:28 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 230° at 28 kt | −25 kt | 21 °C | 145 kt | 5 h 23 min | 5:41 am CDT (10:41 UTC) |
| 7,500 ft | 230° at 23 kt | −22 kt | 14 °C | 142 kt | 5 h 30 min | 5:48 am CDT (10:48 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 240° at 20 kt | −19 kt | 11 °C | 139 kt | 5 h 37 min | 5:55 am CDT (10:55 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 230° at 20 kt | −18 kt | 7 °C | 138 kt | 5 h 39 min | 5:57 am CDT (10:57 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 240° at 21 kt | −20 kt | 2 °C | 140 kt | 5 h 34 min | 5:52 am CDT (10:52 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 240° at 23 kt | −22 kt | -2 °C | 142 kt | 5 h 30 min | 5:48 am CDT (10:48 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 240° at 25 kt | −25 kt | -7 °C | 145 kt | 5 h 23 min | 5:41 am CDT (10:41 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 240° at 26 kt | −25 kt | -8 °C | 145 kt | 5 h 23 min | 5:41 am CDT (10:41 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 31 kt | −31 kt | -20 °C | 151 kt | 5 h 10 min | 5:28 am CDT (10:28 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 250° at 40 kt | −40 kt | -33 °C | 160 kt | 4 h 52 min | 5:10 am CDT (10:10 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 260° at 50 kt | −51 kt | -40 °C | 171 kt | 4 h 34 min | 4:52 am CDT (09:52 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 270° at 57 kt | −57 kt | -49 °C | 177 kt | 4 h 24 min | 4:42 am CDT (09:42 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
| Point | From | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN | used from 0 nm out; 43 nm from the line | 240/21 14° | 250/44 6° | 220/49 -8° | 220/49 -21° | 230/54 -30° | 240/57 -35° | 240/49 -45° | ||
| BFF | used from 49 nm out; 65 nm from the line | 180/28 | 220/33 15° | 210/31 7° | 230/32 -9° | 220/41 -21° | 220/40 -33° | 240/47 -36° | 250/54 -46° | |
| GRI | used from 198 nm out; 93 nm from the line | 230/35 21° | 230/23 13° | 220/20 7° | 240/25 -8° | 240/37 -20° | 250/49 -33° | 260/57 -38° | 260/58 -47° | |
| ONL | used from 296 nm out; 48 nm from the line | 210/31 20° | 230/27 13° | 230/18 7° | 220/19 -8° | 240/26 -20° | 250/44 -35° | 270/52 -39° | 260/57 -47° | |
| OMA | used from 346 nm out; 65 nm from the line | 220/47 | 240/33 19° | 250/18 11° | 230/17 6° | 260/29 -8° | 250/33 -19° | 250/51 -33° | 260/61 -40° | 270/62 -49° |
| DSM | used from 444 nm out; 69 nm from the line | 230/40 | 250/33 17° | 250/18 12° | 240/17 5° | 260/28 -8° | 270/34 -19° | 260/41 -33° | 260/55 -41° | 270/62 -51° |
| MCW | used from 494 nm out; 50 nm from the line | 220/44 | 250/30 17° | 230/14 12° | 240/17 6° | 250/22 -8° | 270/29 -20° | 250/34 -34° | 260/52 -43° | 260/59 -51° |
| DBQ | used from 593 nm out; 41 nm from the line | 230/33 | 250/30 16° | 280/15 9° | 260/15 5° | 260/21 -7° | 260/24 -20° | 250/37 -33° | 270/42 -43° | 280/63 -52° |
| JOT | used from 741 nm out; 84 nm from the line | 250/23 | 270/22 15° | 250/16 10° | 240/9 4° | 280/22 -7° | 280/29 -19° | 300/29 -34° | 290/50 -43° | 300/64 -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
| Airport | Where | Conditions | Wind | Visibility | Ceiling | Elevation | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FNL Fort Collins/Loveland, CO | departure | no report just now | 5,020 ft | ||||
| GXY Greeley, CO | 20 nm out, 7 nm south of the line | no report just now | 4,696 ft | ||||
| CNP Chappell, NE | 119 nm out, 5 nm north of the line | no report just now | 3,681 ft | ||||
| LBF North Platte, NE | 198 nm out, 13 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 2,777 ft | ||||
| ODX Ord, NE | 286 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 2,070 ft | ||||
| BVN Albion, NE | 326 nm out, 5 nm south of the line | no report just now | 1,806 ft | ||||
| SUX Sioux City, IA | 405 nm out, 21 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,098 ft | ||||
| IFA Iowa Falls, IA | 543 nm out, 2 nm west of the line | no report just now | 1,137 ft | ||||
| ALO Waterloo, IA | 583 nm out, 2 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 873 ft | ||||
| DBQ Dubuque, IA | 652 nm out, 19 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,076 ft | ||||
| JVL Janesville, WI | 731 nm out, 15 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 807 ft | ||||
| MKE Milwaukee, WI | destination | no report just now | 728 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 5,020 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MKE when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 4:42 am CDT (09:42 UTC)
MKE 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 FNL 6:24 pm MDT (00:24 UTC), at MKE 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:42 pm CDT (23:42 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at MKE is before sunrise there (7:01 am CDT (12:01 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: Northern Colorado Regional, General Mitchell International.