Kansas City Downtown/Wheeler Field to George Bush Intcntl/Houston Airport MKC → IAH
550 nautical miles (633 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 184°, about 183° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 01 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 17-knot tailwind), arriving about 12:50 am CDT (05:50 UTC), after sunset at the destination. 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: 6 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 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 20 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 MKC.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- B39M at 27,000 ft, 2 nm south, 7:42 pm CDT (00:42 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: zhu. At the destination end, 2 nm south of the line.
as filed, and in English
IAH UA /OV IH340035/TM 0042/FL270/TP B39M/TB LT CHOP DURC/RM ZHU
- Report
- a routine report filed through IAH
- Where
- IH340035
- Time
- 00:42 UTC
- Height
- at 27,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B39M
- Turbulence
- lt chop during the climb
- Remarks
- zhu
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 20:00–03:00 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 7 forecast points nearest it (MKC, SGF, TUL, FSM, SHV, CLL, HOU). 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 | 200° at 18 kt | +17 kt | 103 kt | 5 h 20 min | 2:09 am CDT (07:09 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 220° at 20 kt | +17 kt | 15 °C | 103 kt | 5 h 20 min | 2:09 am CDT (07:09 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 230° at 22 kt | +16 kt | 13 °C | 104 kt | 5 h 17 min | 2:06 am CDT (07:06 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 240° at 19 kt | +11 kt | 10 °C | 109 kt | 5 h 03 min | 1:52 am CDT (06:52 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 250° at 17 kt | +6 kt | 6 °C | 114 kt | 4 h 49 min | 1:38 am CDT (06:38 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 260° at 18 kt | +4 kt | 2 °C | 116 kt | 4 h 44 min | 1:33 am CDT (06:33 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 270° at 18 kt | +3 kt | -2 °C | 117 kt | 4 h 42 min | 1:31 am CDT (06:31 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 270° at 19 kt | +2 kt | -5 °C | 118 kt | 4 h 40 min | 1:29 am CDT (06:29 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 280° at 21 kt | −1 kt | -16 °C | 121 kt | 4 h 33 min | 1:22 am CDT (06:22 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 290° at 33 kt | −9 kt | -30 °C | 129 kt | 4 h 16 min | 1:05 am CDT (06:05 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 290° at 34 kt | −10 kt | -40 °C | 130 kt | 4 h 14 min | 1:03 am CDT (06:03 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 300° at 39 kt | −17 kt | -52 °C | 137 kt | 4 h 01 min | 12:50 am CDT (05:50 UTC) |
Based on data from the 11th at 18:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 00:00 UTC for use 20:00 to 03:00 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; 25 nm from the line | 200/28 | 220/30 16° | 270/20 11° | 280/22 7° | 260/27 -6° | 270/27 -18° | 280/38 -32° | 270/38 -40° | 280/50 -52° |
| SGF | used from 50 nm out; 73 nm from the line | 210/21 | 210/21 16° | 240/28 12° | 260/24 7° | 280/21 -6° | 280/26 -18° | 290/38 -31° | 290/37 -41° | 300/49 -52° |
| TUL | used from 150 nm out; 50 nm from the line | 200/27 | 210/28 15° | 240/24 13° | 250/19 8° | 250/28 -6° | 260/25 -16° | 270/34 -30° | 280/41 -39° | 280/41 -52° |
| FSM | used from 200 nm out; 27 nm from the line | 200/18 | 210/19 15° | 230/22 13° | 250/18 7° | 270/20 -5° | 280/24 -16° | 280/35 -30° | 290/37 -40° | 300/40 -52° |
| SHV | used from 300 nm out; 98 nm from the line | 190/11 | 230/19 17° | 230/26 12° | 260/15 7° | 280/16 -4° | 300/17 -15° | 300/34 -30° | 300/31 -41° | 310/42 -52° |
| CLL | used from 450 nm out; 69 nm from the line | 160/18 | 190/18 16° | 200/19 12° | 220/14 7° | 260/18 -5° | 250/20 -13° | 290/29 -29° | 290/31 -40° | 300/22 -53° |
| HOU | used from 500 nm out; 45 nm from the line | 160/18 | 160/14 17° | 180/19 12° | 190/11 8° | 260/12 -4° | 260/14 -13° | 310/26 -30° | 310/30 -40° | 320/21 -52° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKC Kansas City, MO | departure | no report just now | 756 ft | ||||
| OJC Olathe, KS | 20 nm out, 6 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,096 ft | ||||
| PTS Pittsburg, KS | 100 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 946 ft | ||||
| JLN Joplin, MO | 120 nm out, 13 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 977 ft | ||||
| TQH Tahlequah, OK | 190 nm out, 7 nm west of the line | no report just now | 874 ft | ||||
| JSV Sallisaw, OK | 220 nm out, 6 nm east of the line | no report just now | 527 ft | ||||
| LBR Clarksville, TX | 330 nm out, 3 nm south of the line | no report just now | 440 ft | ||||
| TYR Tyler, TX | 410 nm out, 12 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 543 ft | ||||
| JSO Jacksonville, TX | 440 nm out, 3 nm north of the line | no report just now | 677 ft | ||||
| CXO Houston, TX | 530 nm out, 6 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 244 ft | ||||
| IAH Houston, TX | destination | no report just now | 95 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,096 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At IAH when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 12:50 am CDT (05:50 UTC)
IAH 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 MKC 6:44 pm CDT (23:44 UTC), at IAH 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:18 pm CDT (00:18 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at IAH is before sunrise there (7:21 am CDT (12:21 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 Downtown/Wheeler Field, George Bush Intcntl/Houston Airport.