The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 12:36 am CDT (05:36 UTC)

Key Field to City Of Colorado Springs Municipal MEI → COS

869 nautical miles (1,000 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 301°, about 303° magnetic at the departure end (variation 2W). At 120 knots that is 7 h 46 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 8-knot headwind), arriving about 7:22 am MDT (13:22 UTC). Right now MEI is VFR, wind calm; COS is VFR, wind from the south (180°) at 11 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

  • SIGMET 7C: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 34,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 1:55 am CDT (06:55 UTC). Over the last 0 nm of the route.
    as issued
    WSUS32 KKCI 120455
    MKCC WST 120455
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 7C
    VALID UNTIL 0655Z
    TX OK CO NM
    FROM 40NNW PUB-70WSW LBL-40NE CME-40ESE RSK-30ENE HBU-40NNW PUB
    AREA TS MOV FROM 22040KT. TOPS TO FL340.
  • 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 route from 379 to 789 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the last 90 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 35,000 ft to 45,000 ft. Near the route, 799 nm along the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 1W: 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 MEI.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

  • E170 at 22,500 ft, 42 nm northwest, 12:06 am CDT (05:06 UTC): light to moderate turbulence up to 23,000 ft, remarks: during the descent tbarr star ZDVWC-13. At the destination end, 42 nm northwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    DEN UA /OV DEN216057/TM 0506/FL225/TP E170/TB CONS LGT OCNL MOD BLO 230/RM DURD TBARR STAR. ZDVWC-13
    Report
    a routine report filed through DEN
    Where
    57 nm southwest (216°) of DEN
    Time
    05:06 UTC
    Height
    at 22,500 ft
    Aircraft
    E170
    Turbulence
    continuous light occasional moderate below 23,000 ft
    Remarks
    during the descent tbarr star ZDVWC-13

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 8 forecast points nearest it (JAN, LIT, FSM, TUL, OKC, GAG, GCK, PUB). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft220° at 28 kt+8 kt20 °C112 kt7 h 46 min7:22 am MDT (13:22 UTC)
6,500 ft230° at 25 kt+12 kt17 °C108 kt8 h 03 min7:39 am MDT (13:39 UTC)
8,500 ft240° at 22 kt+12 kt14 °C108 kt8 h 03 min7:39 am MDT (13:39 UTC)
10,500 ft240° at 19 kt+12 kt10 °C108 kt8 h 03 min7:39 am MDT (13:39 UTC)
12,500 ft250° at 18 kt+12 kt6 °C108 kt8 h 03 min7:39 am MDT (13:39 UTC)
14,500 ft240° at 19 kt+12 kt2 °C108 kt8 h 03 min7:39 am MDT (13:39 UTC)
16,500 ft240° at 21 kt+12 kt-2 °C108 kt8 h 03 min7:39 am MDT (13:39 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180240° at 22 kt+12 kt-6 °C108 kt8 h 03 min7:39 am MDT (13:39 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240250° at 29 kt+22 kt-17 °C98 kt8 h 52 min8:28 am MDT (14:28 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300260° at 46 kt+39 kt-29 °C81 kt10 h 44 min10:20 am MDT (16:20 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340270° at 46 kt+42 kt-39 °C78 kt11 h 08 min10:44 am MDT (16:44 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390280° at 40 kt+39 kt-50 °C81 kt10 h 44 min10:20 am MDT (16:20 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
JANused from 0 nm out; 48 nm from the line230/10270/13 18°270/11 12°310/11 6°300/15 -4°300/22 -16°310/33 -31°320/37 -41°330/41 -52°
LITused from 150 nm out; 61 nm from the line220/21230/17 16°250/24 12°260/15 7°260/13 -5°280/25 -16°290/35 -30°300/42 -40°300/40 -52°
FSMused from 250 nm out; 61 nm from the line210/27250/23 16°250/20 13°240/17 8°250/18 -6°260/31 -16°280/42 -30°280/44 -40°290/38 -51°
TULused from 399 nm out; 31 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 449 nm out; 50 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°
GAGused from 549 nm out; 50 nm from the line220/40 19°230/28 14°240/23 8°230/21 -6°240/31 -19°250/66 -29°260/58 -38°260/47 -49°
GCKused from 649 nm out; 24 nm from the line220/48 21°230/37 14°250/30 8°230/37 -6°240/37 -20°240/69 -28°250/67 -37°260/58 -48°
PUBused from 749 nm out; 79 nm from the line230/25 13°230/32 6°220/44 -8°230/49 -21°240/70 -28°240/67 -34°240/58 -46°

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
MEI Meridian, MS departure VFR calm 10+ mi none 297 ft 11:58 pm CDT (04:58 UTC)
MPE Philadelphia, MS 30 nm out, 14 nm northeast of the line reported, no category calm none 458 ft 05:15 UTC
GLH Greenville, MS 130 nm out, 4 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 8 knots 10+ mi none 130 ft 04:53 UTC
HOT Hot Springs, AR 250 nm out, 5 nm north of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 540 ft 04:53 UTC
FSM Fort Smith, AR 330 nm out, 19 nm north of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 469 ft 04:53 UTC
RVS Tulsa, OK 419 nm out, 20 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 9 knots 10+ mi none 638 ft 04:53 UTC
WDG Enid, OK 509 nm out, 1 nm south of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 1,167 ft 05:15 UTC
AVK Alva, OK 559 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line VFR from the south (190°) at 16 knots 10+ mi none 1,476 ft 05:15 UTC
GCK Garden City, KS 679 nm out, 25 nm northeast of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 15 knots, gusting to 21 10+ mi none 2,890 ft 04:54 UTC
ULS Ulysses, KS 699 nm out, 7 nm south of the line VFR from the south (190°) at 20 knots, gusting to 26 10+ mi none 3,071 ft 05:15 UTC
LHX La Junta, CO 799 nm out, 21 nm southwest of the line VFR from the southwest (230°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 4,228 ft 15:53 UTC
COS Colorado Springs, CO destination VFR Sky: a broken layer at 18,000 feet from the south (180°) at 11 knots 10+ mi 18,000 ft 6,187 ft 10:54 pm MDT (04:54 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 6,187 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At COS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 7:22 am MDT (13:22 UTC)

Wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for COS
  • From Mon 12:00 am MDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 6,000 feet, a broken layer at 20,000 feet
  • From Mon 6:00 am MDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 11:00 am MDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south at 15 knots, gusting to 25, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 12,000 feet
  • From Mon 1:00 pm MDT (19:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 20 knots, gusting to 30, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 12,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm MDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for MEI, the departure
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies

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 MEI 6:26 pm CDT (23:26 UTC), at COS 6:25 pm MDT (00:25 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:51 pm MDT (00:51 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 lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the southern Rockies
Radar now, the southern 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: Key Field, City Of Colorado Springs Municipal.