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Plan a flight · Sun 10:11 pm CDT (03:11 UTC)

Kansas City International to Abilene Regional MCI → ABI

479 nautical miles (551 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 212°, about 210° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 26 min at the quickest height in today's winds (12,500 ft, a 12-knot headwind), arriving about 2:37 am CDT (07:37 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now MCI is VFR, wind from the south (180°) at 12 knots; ABI is VFR, wind from the south-southeast (160°) 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 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 120 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 MCI.

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 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 (MKC, ICT, TUL, OKC, SPS, ABI). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft210° at 34 kt+34 kt17 °C86 kt5 h 34 min3:45 am CDT (08:45 UTC)
6,500 ft230° at 28 kt+26 kt17 °C94 kt5 h 06 min3:17 am CDT (08:17 UTC)
8,500 ft230° at 21 kt+19 kt14 °C101 kt4 h 45 min2:56 am CDT (07:56 UTC)
10,500 ft240° at 16 kt+14 kt11 °C106 kt4 h 31 min2:42 am CDT (07:42 UTC)
12,500 ft240° at 14 kt+12 kt7 °C108 kt4 h 26 min2:37 am CDT (07:37 UTC)
14,500 ft250° at 15 kt+12 kt3 °C108 kt4 h 26 min2:37 am CDT (07:37 UTC)
16,500 ft250° at 17 kt+13 kt-2 °C107 kt4 h 29 min2:40 am CDT (07:40 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180250° at 18 kt+14 kt-5 °C106 kt4 h 31 min2:42 am CDT (07:42 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240250° at 28 kt+22 kt-16 °C98 kt4 h 53 min3:04 am CDT (08:04 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300260° at 46 kt+31 kt-29 °C89 kt5 h 23 min3:34 am CDT (08:34 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340270° at 46 kt+26 kt-39 °C94 kt5 h 06 min3:17 am CDT (08:17 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390280° at 47 kt+20 kt-50 °C100 kt4 h 47 min2:58 am CDT (07:58 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
MKCused from 0 nm out; 22 nm from the line220/44250/28 18°250/18 13°240/12 6°280/24 -6°240/34 -18°260/47 -30°260/51 -40°270/58 -50°
ICTused from 100 nm out; 64 nm from the line200/48230/39 19°240/24 14°240/20 8°240/22 -6°250/31 -18°250/61 -29°260/58 -38°270/54 -49°
TULused from 150 nm out; 51 nm from the line210/37240/29 17°260/15 14°260/11 7°240/22 -6°250/29 -16°270/45 -29°270/47 -40°280/44 -50°
OKCused from 199 nm out; 48 nm from the line200/44230/32 18°240/13 15°240/10 9°240/20 -5°250/27 -16°260/47 -28°270/48 -39°270/45 -50°
SPSused from 299 nm out; 43 nm from the line200/39220/28 17°230/27 12°240/15 9°250/15 -4°250/24 -15°260/45 -28°270/43 -39°280/45 -51°
ABIused from 399 nm out; 55 nm from the line200/31 17°210/21 15°240/15 9°250/14 -4°250/24 -14°250/36 -28°270/35 -38°290/41 -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

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
MCI Kansas City, MO departure VFR from the south (180°) at 12 knots 10+ mi none 1,027 ft 9:53 pm CDT (02:53 UTC)
IXD Olathe, KS 30 nm out, 8 nm east of the line, tower VFR from the south (170°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 1,087 ft 02:53 UTC
OWI Ottawa, KS 50 nm out, 3 nm south of the line VFR from the south (180°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 966 ft 02:55 UTC
CNU Chanute, KS 100 nm out, 20 nm southeast of the line VFR from the south (180°) at 13 knots 10+ mi none 1,002 ft 02:52 UTC
PNC Ponca City, OK 190 nm out, 17 nm northwest of the line VFR from the south (180°) at 13 knots, gusting to 25 10+ mi none 1,008 ft 02:53 UTC
SWO Stillwater, OK 219 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line, tower VFR Weather: light rain from the south (180°) at 13 knots, gusting to 23 10+ mi none 1,000 ft 02:53 UTC
OKC Oklahoma City, OK 269 nm out, 3 nm south of the line, tower VFR from the south (170°) at 11 knots 10+ mi none 1,295 ft 02:52 UTC
CHK Chickasha, OK 299 nm out, 5 nm northwest of the line VFR from the southeast (140°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 1,151 ft 02:55 UTC
SPS Wichita Falls, TX 369 nm out, 6 nm east of the line, tower VFR from the south-southeast (160°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 1,019 ft 02:52 UTC
ONY Olney, TX 409 nm out, 11 nm southeast of the line no report just now 1,275 ft
ABI Abilene, TX destination VFR from the south-southeast (160°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 1,790 ft 9:52 pm CDT (02:52 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,790 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At ABI when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 2:37 am CDT (07:37 UTC)

Wind from the south at 15 knots, gusting to 22, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for ABI
  • From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 20 knots, gusting to 29, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 5,000 feet
  • From Sun 8:00 pm CDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the south at 11 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 12:00 am CDT (05:00 UTC): wind from the south at 15 knots, gusting to 22, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the south at 15 knots, gusting to 25, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 2,500 feet
  • From Mon 2:00 pm CDT (19:00 UTC): wind from the south at 15 knots, gusting to 25, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 5,000 feet
The forecast for MCI, the departure
  • From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 11 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 17 knots, gusting to 26, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered 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 MCI 6:44 pm CDT (23:44 UTC), at ABI 7:09 pm CDT (00:09 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:34 pm CDT (00:34 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at ABI is before sunrise there (7:40 am CDT (12:40 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 southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · 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: Kansas City International, Abilene Regional.