North Platte Rgnl/Lee Bird Field to Midland International Air And Space Port LBF → MAF
556 nautical miles (640 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 188°, about 182° magnetic at the departure end (variation 6E). At 120 knots that is 5 h 21 min at the quickest height in today's winds (8,500 ft, a 16-knot headwind), arriving about 11:47 am CDT (16:47 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: 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). Near the route, 50 nm along 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 LBF.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- urgent BE20 at 500 ft, 21 nm east, 4:34 am CDT (09:34 UTC): remarks: low-level wind shear 500FT a 10-knot loss of airspeed zkc fd dl. 248 nm along the route, 21 nm east of the line.
as filed, and in English
LBL UUA /OV LBL/TM 0934/FL005/TP BE20/RM LLWS 500FT +/-10KT ZKC FD DL
- Report
- an urgent report filed through LBL
- Where
- over LBL
- Time
- 09:34 UTC
- Height
- at 500 ft
- Aircraft
- BE20
- Remarks
- low-level wind shear 500FT a 10-knot loss of airspeed zkc fd dl
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 6 forecast points nearest it (GLD, GCK, GAG, AMA, LBB, INK). 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 | 240° at 32 kt | +19 kt | 21 °C | 101 kt | 5 h 30 min | 11:56 am CDT (16:56 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 240° at 31 kt | +19 kt | 20 °C | 101 kt | 5 h 30 min | 11:56 am CDT (16:56 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 240° at 27 kt | +16 kt | 15 °C | 104 kt | 5 h 21 min | 11:47 am CDT (16:47 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 240° at 26 kt | +17 kt | 11 °C | 103 kt | 5 h 24 min | 11:50 am CDT (16:50 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 240° at 27 kt | +18 kt | 6 °C | 102 kt | 5 h 27 min | 11:53 am CDT (16:53 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 230° at 31 kt | +21 kt | 1 °C | 99 kt | 5 h 37 min | 12:03 pm CDT (17:03 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 230° at 34 kt | +25 kt | -4 °C | 95 kt | 5 h 51 min | 12:17 pm CDT (17:17 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 230° at 37 kt | +27 kt | -7 °C | 93 kt | 5 h 59 min | 12:25 pm CDT (17:25 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 230° at 48 kt | +34 kt | -18 °C | 86 kt | 6 h 28 min | 12:54 pm CDT (17:54 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 250° at 67 kt | +34 kt | -29 °C | 86 kt | 6 h 28 min | 12:54 pm CDT (17:54 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 260° at 67 kt | +19 kt | -37 °C | 101 kt | 5 h 30 min | 11:56 am CDT (16:56 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 260° at 60 kt | +19 kt | -49 °C | 101 kt | 5 h 30 min | 11:56 am CDT (16:56 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLD | used from 0 nm out; 92 nm from the line | 260/37 | 260/25 14° | 250/27 8° | 230/36 -8° | 230/49 -21° | 250/71 -30° | 260/82 -36° | 250/73 -48° | |
| GCK | used from 149 nm out; 30 nm from the line | 240/40 22° | 240/40 14° | 240/38 7° | 230/39 -7° | 230/45 -20° | 250/73 -28° | 260/74 -36° | 260/64 -49° | |
| GAG | used from 248 nm out; 84 nm from the line | 240/35 22° | 240/27 14° | 230/25 6° | 240/38 -7° | 230/44 -19° | 250/73 -28° | 270/66 -37° | 270/58 -49° | |
| AMA | used from 298 nm out; 35 nm from the line | 230/32 | 230/28 14° | 230/27 7° | 230/38 -6° | 230/50 -17° | 250/69 -28° | 260/62 -37° | 270/65 -49° | |
| LBB | used from 397 nm out; 30 nm from the line | 220/25 21° | 230/20 15° | 220/20 7° | 230/36 -6° | 240/50 -15° | 240/59 -28° | 260/52 -37° | 260/45 -50° | |
| INK | used from 546 nm out; 54 nm from the line | 220/17 21° | 230/12 14° | 210/13 7° | 220/29 -5° | 240/41 -14° | 230/43 -28° | 250/41 -38° | 250/33 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LBF North Platte, NE | departure | no report just now | 2,777 ft | ||||
| MCK Mc Cook, NE | 50 nm out, 13 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 2,582 ft | ||||
| CBK Colby, KS | 99 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 3,188 ft | ||||
| OEL Oakley, KS | 119 nm out, 11 nm east of the line | no report just now | 3,045 ft | ||||
| GCK Garden City, KS | 189 nm out, 25 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 2,890 ft | ||||
| GUY Guymon, OK | 268 nm out, 2 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 3,125 ft | ||||
| BGD Borger, TX | 328 nm out, 11 nm east of the line | no report just now | 3,055 ft | ||||
| AMA Amarillo, TX | 358 nm out, 0 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 3,606 ft | ||||
| PVW Plainview, TX | 417 nm out, 8 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 3,374 ft | ||||
| LBB Lubbock, TX | 447 nm out, 7 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 3,282 ft | ||||
| LUV Lamesa, TX | 507 nm out, 8 nm east of the line | no report just now | 2,998 ft | ||||
| MAF Midland, TX | destination | no report just now | 2,872 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 3,606 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MAF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:47 am CDT (16:47 UTC)
MAF 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 LBF 7:05 pm CDT (00:05 UTC), at MAF 7:19 pm CDT (00:19 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:43 pm CDT (00:43 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: North Platte Rgnl/Lee Bird Field, Midland International Air And Space Port.