Manchester Boston Regional to Des Moines International MHT → DSM
989 nautical miles (1,138 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 273°, about 288° magnetic at the departure end (variation 15W). At 120 knots that is 8 h 50 min at the quickest height in today's winds (8,500 ft, a 8-knot headwind), arriving about 11:17 am CDT (16:17 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 SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the first 669 nm of the route.
- AIRMET ZULU 1C: moderate icing up to 22,000 ft. Over the first 160 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 21,000 ft to 33,000 ft. Over the first 260 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 10,000 ft. Over the first 60 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 30 to 230 nm out.
- 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 last 150 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 MHT.
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 9 forecast points nearest it (BOS, ALB, SYR, BUF, CLE, MKG, JOT, DBQ, DSM). 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 | 270° at 11 kt | +12 kt | 108 kt | 9 h 09 min | 11:36 am CDT (16:36 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 290° at 11 kt | +10 kt | 12 °C | 110 kt | 8 h 59 min | 11:26 am CDT (16:26 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 300° at 10 kt | +8 kt | 9 °C | 112 kt | 8 h 50 min | 11:17 am CDT (16:17 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 300° at 10 kt | +8 kt | 6 °C | 112 kt | 8 h 50 min | 11:17 am CDT (16:17 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 290° at 11 kt | +10 kt | 2 °C | 110 kt | 8 h 59 min | 11:26 am CDT (16:26 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 290° at 15 kt | +14 kt | -2 °C | 106 kt | 9 h 20 min | 11:47 am CDT (16:47 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 290° at 19 kt | +17 kt | -6 °C | 103 kt | 9 h 36 min | 12:03 pm CDT (17:03 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 290° at 22 kt | +20 kt | -9 °C | 100 kt | 9 h 53 min | 12:20 pm CDT (17:20 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 290° at 27 kt | +25 kt | -21 °C | 95 kt | 10 h 25 min | 12:52 pm CDT (17:52 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 290° at 33 kt | +29 kt | -36 °C | 91 kt | 10 h 52 min | 1:19 pm CDT (18:19 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 280° at 44 kt | +40 kt | -43 °C | 80 kt | 12 h 22 min | 2:49 pm CDT (19:49 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 290° at 51 kt | +47 kt | -51 °C | 73 kt | 13 h 33 min | 4:00 pm CDT (21:00 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
| Point | From | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | used from 0 nm out; 56 nm from the line | 110/20 | 200/26 12° | 280/24 8° | 260/29 3° | 250/47 -10° | 230/59 -19° | 230/74 -33° | 240/95 -41° | 240/96 -53° |
| ALB | used from 50 nm out; 32 nm from the line | 120/9 | 270/8 10° | L/V 5° | 260/9 1° | 260/34 -10° | 250/42 -22° | 240/57 -35° | 240/70 -42° | 240/65 -50° |
| SYR | used from 150 nm out; 31 nm from the line | 280/13 | 350/18 10° | 340/10 6° | 300/15 1° | 280/17 -12° | 270/16 -23° | 280/25 -38° | 250/40 -42° | 240/53 -50° |
| BUF | used from 250 nm out; 46 nm from the line | 320/10 | 010/16 10° | 360/10 6° | 340/13 2° | 330/22 -11° | 300/25 -23° | 320/31 -38° | 300/29 -44° | 280/36 -50° |
| CLE | used from 400 nm out; 94 nm from the line | 340/7 | 010/16 13° | 350/18 8° | 350/20 3° | 340/31 -10° | 340/46 -21° | 340/54 -37° | 330/62 -44° | 340/65 -49° |
| MKG | used from 549 nm out; 84 nm from the line | 260/22 | 290/16 15° | 300/11 10° | 290/5 3° | 300/26 -9° | 300/32 -20° | 320/48 -36° | 320/61 -45° | 310/74 -53° |
| JOT | used from 699 nm out; 51 nm from the line | 250/23 | 270/22 15° | 250/16 10° | 240/9 4° | 280/22 -7° | 280/29 -19° | 300/29 -34° | 290/50 -43° | 300/64 -52° |
| DBQ | used from 799 nm out; 36 nm from the line | 230/33 | 250/30 16° | 280/15 9° | 260/15 5° | 260/21 -7° | 260/24 -20° | 250/37 -33° | 270/42 -43° | 280/63 -52° |
| DSM | used from 899 nm out; 65 nm from the line | 230/40 | 250/33 17° | 250/18 12° | 240/17 5° | 260/28 -8° | 270/34 -19° | 260/41 -33° | 260/55 -41° | 270/62 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MHT Manchester, NH | departure | no report just now | 266 ft | ||||
| DDH Bennington, VT | 80 nm out, 5 nm south of the line | no report just now | 826 ft | ||||
| SCH Schenectady, NY | 110 nm out, 8 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 377 ft | ||||
| SYR Syracuse, NY | 210 nm out, 8 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 421 ft | ||||
| BUF Buffalo, NY | 320 nm out, 1 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 726 ft | ||||
| CYQS St Thomas, | 429 nm out, 7 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 776 ft | ||||
| PTK Pontiac, MI | 529 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 980 ft | ||||
| BTL Battle Creek, MI | 609 nm out, 16 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 951 ft | ||||
| RFD Chicago/Rockford, IL | 779 nm out, 2 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 742 ft | ||||
| SFY Savanna, IL | 829 nm out, 2 nm east of the line | no report just now | 616 ft | ||||
| CID Cedar Rapids, IA | 899 nm out, 3 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 869 ft | ||||
| DSM Des Moines, IA | destination | no report just now | 957 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 980 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At DSM when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:17 am CDT (16:17 UTC)
DSM 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 MHT 6:08 pm EDT (22:08 UTC), at DSM 6:38 pm CDT (23:38 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:06 pm CDT (00:06 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: Manchester Boston Regional, Des Moines International.