Robert Gray Army Airfield to Sheppard Afb/Wichita Falls Municipal GRK → SPS
179 nautical miles (206 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 349°, about 345° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4E). At 120 knots that is 1 h 15 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 23-knot tailwind), arriving about 7:44 am CDT (12:44 UTC). Right now GRK is marginal VFR, wind from the southeast (140°) at 7 knots; SPS is VFR, wind from the south (180°) at 10 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: 1 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 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 GRK.
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 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 3 forecast points nearest it (CLL, DAL, SPS). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 ft | 200° at 27 kt | −23 kt | 143 kt | 1 h 15 min | 7:44 am CDT (12:44 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 210° at 24 kt | −19 kt | 17 °C | 139 kt | 1 h 17 min | 7:46 am CDT (12:46 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 210° at 16 kt | −11 kt | 15 °C | 131 kt | 1 h 22 min | 7:51 am CDT (12:51 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 230° at 12 kt | −7 kt | 11 °C | 127 kt | 1 h 25 min | 7:54 am CDT (12:54 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 240° at 11 kt | −4 kt | 7 °C | 124 kt | 1 h 27 min | 7:56 am CDT (12:56 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 240° at 14 kt | −5 kt | 2 °C | 125 kt | 1 h 26 min | 7:55 am CDT (12:55 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 240° at 17 kt | −5 kt | -2 °C | 125 kt | 1 h 26 min | 7:55 am CDT (12:55 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 240° at 19 kt | −6 kt | -6 °C | 126 kt | 1 h 25 min | 7:54 am CDT (12:54 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 260° at 25 kt | −1 kt | -15 °C | 121 kt | 1 h 29 min | 7:58 am CDT (12:58 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 270° at 38 kt | +5 kt | -29 °C | 115 kt | 1 h 33 min | 8:02 am CDT (13:02 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 290° at 35 kt | +17 kt | -39 °C | 103 kt | 1 h 44 min | 8:13 am CDT (13:13 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 310° at 42 kt | +33 kt | -51 °C | 87 kt | 2 h 03 min | 8:32 am CDT (13:32 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLL | used from 0 nm out; 96 nm from the line | 180/24 | 170/21 19° | 180/10 14° | 230/7 8° | 230/16 -6° | 260/20 -13° | 290/23 -29° | 320/21 -39° | 340/35 -51° |
| DAL | used from 50 nm out; 72 nm from the line | 190/30 | 200/28 18° | 220/18 13° | 250/13 8° | 240/24 -6° | 270/20 -14° | 270/35 -29° | 290/34 -39° | 310/41 -51° |
| SPS | used from 99 nm out; 55 nm from the line | 220/35 | 220/31 18° | 230/16 14° | 230/10 8° | 250/18 -5° | 250/32 -16° | 260/51 -28° | 280/46 -38° | 300/50 -50° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRK Fort Hood (Killeen), TX | departure | marginal VFR Sky: scattered clouds at 2,400 feet, a broken layer at 3,000 feet | from the southeast (140°) at 7 knots | 9 mi | 3,000 ft | 1,015 ft | 6:15 am CDT (11:15 UTC) |
| GOP Gatesville, TX | 20 nm out, 6 nm east of the line | VFR | from the southeast (140°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 905 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| SEP Stephenville, TX | 69 nm out, 5 nm west of the line | VFR | from the south (170°) at 3 knots | 10+ mi | none | 1,321 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| MWL Mineral Wells, TX | 99 nm out, 9 nm northeast of the line | VFR | from the southeast (140°) at 8 knots | 10+ mi | none | 973 ft | 10:53 UTC |
| ONY Olney, TX | 149 nm out, 24 nm west of the line | no report just now | 1,275 ft | ||||
| SPS Wichita Falls, TX | destination | VFR | from the south (180°) at 10 knots | 10+ mi | none | 1,019 ft | 5:52 am CDT (10:52 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,321 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At SPS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 7:44 am CDT (12:44 UTC)
Wind from the south-southeast at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, clear skies VFR
The whole forecast for SPS
- From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, clear skies
- From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the south at 16 knots, gusting to 25, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 10,000 feet, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
- From Mon 8:00 pm CDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the south at 11 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 10,000 feet, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
The forecast for GRK, the departure
- From Mon 3:00 am CDT (08:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 9 knots, a broken layer at 1,500 feet
- Changing between Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC) and 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) to: wind from the south-southeast at 9 knots, a broken layer at 5,000 feet
- Changing between Mon 5:00 pm CDT (22:00 UTC) and 6:00 pm CDT (23:00 UTC) to: wind from the south-southeast at 9 knots, a broken layer at 10,000 feet
- Changing between Mon 10:00 pm CDT (03:00 UTC) and 11:00 pm CDT (04:00 UTC) to: wind from the south-southeast at 9 knots, a broken layer at 1,000 feet
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/0543 MCGREGOR, TX 21 nm from the route, 20 nm along the route · security · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at GRK 7:02 pm CDT (00:02 UTC), at SPS 7:02 pm CDT (00:02 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:27 pm CDT (00:27 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: Robert Gray Army Airfield, Sheppard Afb/Wichita Falls Municipal.