The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 10:11 pm CDT (03:11 UTC)

Kansas City International to Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field MCI → SUX

201 nautical miles (232 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 338°, about 336° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2E). At 120 knots that is 1 h 31 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 12-knot tailwind), arriving about 11:42 pm CDT (04:42 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now MCI is VFR, wind from the south (180°) at 12 knots; SUX is VFR, wind from the north-northwest (340°) at 3 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 192 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 2 forecast points nearest it (MKC, OMA). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft230° at 38 kt−12 kt132 kt1 h 31 min11:42 pm CDT (04:42 UTC)
6,500 ft240° at 29 kt−3 kt18 °C123 kt1 h 38 min11:49 pm CDT (04:49 UTC)
8,500 ft250° at 20 kt012 °C120 kt1 h 40 min11:51 pm CDT (04:51 UTC)
10,500 ft240° at 17 kt−2 kt8 °C122 kt1 h 39 min11:50 pm CDT (04:50 UTC)
12,500 ft240° at 16 kt−3 kt5 °C123 kt1 h 38 min11:49 pm CDT (04:49 UTC)
14,500 ft250° at 20 kt+1 kt0 °C119 kt1 h 41 min11:52 pm CDT (04:52 UTC)
16,500 ft260° at 24 kt+5 kt-4 °C115 kt1 h 45 min11:56 pm CDT (04:56 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180260° at 28 kt+8 kt-8 °C112 kt1 h 48 min11:59 pm CDT (04:59 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240250° at 33 kt0-19 °C120 kt1 h 40 min11:51 pm CDT (04:51 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300250° at 50 kt+4 kt-32 °C116 kt1 h 44 min11:55 pm CDT (04:55 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340260° at 59 kt+12 kt-40 °C108 kt1 h 52 min12:03 am CDT (05:03 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390270° at 61 kt+23 kt-49 °C97 kt2 h 04 min12:15 am CDT (05:15 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; 36 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°
OMAused from 48 nm out; 60 nm from the line220/47240/33 19°250/18 11°230/17 6°260/29 -8°250/33 -19°250/51 -33°260/61 -40°270/62 -49°

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)
STJ St Joseph, MO 29 nm out, 2 nm northeast of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 826 ft 02:53 UTC
EVU Maryville, MO 67 nm out, 15 nm east of the line VFR from the south (180°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 1,145 ft 02:55 UTC
SDA Shenandoah, IA 96 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line VFR from the south (170°) at 10 knots 9 mi none 971 ft 02:55 UTC
OMA Omaha, NE 134 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR Sky: a broken layer at 25,000 feet from the south-southeast (160°) at 10 knots 10+ mi 25,000 ft 984 ft 02:52 UTC
TQE Tekamah, NE 163 nm out, 6 nm southwest of the line VFR from the south-southeast (160°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 1,026 ft 02:54 UTC
SUX Sioux City, IA destination VFR from the north-northwest (340°) at 3 knots 10+ mi none 1,098 ft 9:52 pm CDT (02:52 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,145 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At SUX when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:42 pm CDT (04:42 UTC)

Wind from the south-southwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for SUX
  • From Sun 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • From Sun 11:00 pm CDT (04:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 8:00 am CDT (13:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 2:00 pm CDT (19:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 11 knots, gusting to 17, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 5:00 pm CDT (22:00 UTC): wind from the west at 12 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 6:00 pm CDT (23:00 UTC): wind from the west-northwest at 11 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 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 SUX 6:48 pm CDT (23:48 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:16 pm CDT (00:16 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at SUX is before sunrise there (7:34 am CDT (12:34 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 northern Rockies
Radar now, the northern Rockies · 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, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field.