Kansas City International to St. Louis Downtown Airport MCI → CPS
217 nautical miles (250 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 100°, about 098° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2E). At 120 knots that is 1 h 09 min at the quickest height in today's winds (30,000 ft, a 68-knot tailwind), arriving about 11:48 am CDT (16:48 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). Over the first 138 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 14:00–21:00 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 3 forecast points nearest it (MKC, COU, STL). 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 | 240° at 27 kt | −19 kt | 139 kt | 1 h 34 min | 12:13 pm CDT (17:13 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 240° at 24 kt | −18 kt | 138 kt | 1 h 34 min | 12:13 pm CDT (17:13 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 240° at 22 kt | −18 kt | 15 °C | 138 kt | 1 h 34 min | 12:13 pm CDT (17:13 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 250° at 21 kt | −18 kt | 11 °C | 138 kt | 1 h 34 min | 12:13 pm CDT (17:13 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 260° at 23 kt | −21 kt | 7 °C | 141 kt | 1 h 32 min | 12:11 pm CDT (17:11 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 260° at 24 kt | −22 kt | 3 °C | 142 kt | 1 h 32 min | 12:11 pm CDT (17:11 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 270° at 24 kt | −23 kt | -2 °C | 143 kt | 1 h 31 min | 12:10 pm CDT (17:10 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 270° at 25 kt | −25 kt | -6 °C | 145 kt | 1 h 30 min | 12:09 pm CDT (17:09 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 270° at 25 kt | −25 kt | -7 °C | 145 kt | 1 h 30 min | 12:09 pm CDT (17:09 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 260° at 39 kt | −37 kt | -19 °C | 157 kt | 1 h 23 min | 12:02 pm CDT (17:02 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 290° at 68 kt | −68 kt | -30 °C | 188 kt | 1 h 09 min | 11:48 am CDT (16:48 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 290° at 71 kt | −70 kt | -37 °C | 190 kt | 1 h 09 min | 11:48 am CDT (16:48 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 290° at 58 kt | −58 kt | -48 °C | 178 kt | 1 h 13 min | 11:52 am CDT (16:52 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 12:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 18:00 UTC for use 14:00 to 21:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKC | used from 0 nm out; 20 nm from the line | 220/35 | 240/30 21° | 240/27 13° | 240/31 6° | 260/31 -7° | 250/43 -21° | 270/70 -28° | 280/72 -36° | 280/59 -49° |
| COU | used from 49 nm out; 46 nm from the line | 240/28 | 240/22 17° | 250/18 12° | 260/22 6° | 270/23 -7° | 260/39 -19° | 290/70 -30° | 290/71 -37° | 290/58 -48° |
| STL | used from 148 nm out; 33 nm from the line | 240/25 | 240/21 15° | 260/21 12° | 270/21 7° | 280/25 -7° | 280/39 -19° | 290/65 -31° | 290/70 -38° | 290/59 -48° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCI Kansas City, MO | departure | no report just now | 1,027 ft | ||||
| GPH Mosby, MO | 20 nm out, 6 nm north of the line | no report just now | 777 ft | ||||
| MHL Marshall, MO | 69 nm out, 2 nm east of the line | no report just now | 778 ft | ||||
| COU Columbia, MO | 119 nm out, 6 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 889 ft | ||||
| MYJ Mexico, MO | 138 nm out, 18 nm north of the line | no report just now | 822 ft | ||||
| SUS St Louis, MO | 198 nm out, 4 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 463 ft | ||||
| CPS Cahokia/St Louis, IL | destination | no report just now | 412 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,027 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At CPS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:48 am CDT (16:48 UTC)
CPS has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/7634 CENTRALIA, MO, Monday, October 12, 2026 UTC 12 nm from the route, 119 nm along the route · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · today · ZKC
Daylight
Sunset at MCI 6:44 pm CDT (23:44 UTC), at CPS 6:27 pm CDT (23:27 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:53 pm CDT (23:53 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: Kansas City International, St. Louis Downtown Airport.