Kansas City Downtown/Wheeler Field to Blue Grass Airport MKC → LEX
473 nautical miles (544 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 095°, about 094° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1E). At 120 knots that is 2 h 43 min at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 54-knot tailwind), arriving about 9:42 am EDT (13:42 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: 2 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.
- 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 last 118 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
Not fetched just now.
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 08:00–15:00 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 5 forecast points nearest it (MKC, COU, STL, EVV, LOU). 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 | 260° at 25 kt | −24 kt | 144 kt | 3 h 17 min | 10:16 am EDT (14:16 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 270° at 18 kt | −18 kt | 138 kt | 3 h 26 min | 10:25 am EDT (14:25 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 260° at 14 kt | −14 kt | 13 °C | 134 kt | 3 h 32 min | 10:31 am EDT (14:31 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 260° at 13 kt | −12 kt | 9 °C | 132 kt | 3 h 35 min | 10:34 am EDT (14:34 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 260° at 15 kt | −15 kt | 6 °C | 135 kt | 3 h 30 min | 10:29 am EDT (14:29 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 270° at 18 kt | −18 kt | 3 °C | 138 kt | 3 h 26 min | 10:25 am EDT (14:25 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 270° at 22 kt | −22 kt | -2 °C | 142 kt | 3 h 20 min | 10:19 am EDT (14:19 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 270° at 25 kt | −25 kt | -6 °C | 145 kt | 3 h 16 min | 10:15 am EDT (14:15 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 280° at 26 kt | −26 kt | -7 °C | 146 kt | 3 h 14 min | 10:13 am EDT (14:13 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 270° at 33 kt | −32 kt | -19 °C | 152 kt | 3 h 07 min | 10:06 am EDT (14:06 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 280° at 46 kt | −46 kt | -32 °C | 166 kt | 2 h 51 min | 9:50 am EDT (13:50 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 290° at 55 kt | −54 kt | -40 °C | 174 kt | 2 h 43 min | 9:42 am EDT (13:42 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 300° at 56 kt | −52 kt | -50 °C | 172 kt | 2 h 45 min | 9:44 am EDT (13:44 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 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 | 240/49 | 240/21 20° | 220/19 13° | 230/21 6° | 260/26 -7° | 250/37 -19° | 270/66 -31° | 270/65 -38° | 280/60 -48° |
| COU | used from 49 nm out; 39 nm from the line | 250/36 | 260/14 16° | 250/5 12° | 260/12 6° | 260/24 -7° | 260/35 -19° | 280/58 -31° | 280/62 -40° | 290/60 -49° |
| STL | used from 148 nm out; 26 nm from the line | 250/26 | 240/21 15° | 240/22 11° | 250/23 6° | 270/28 -7° | 260/30 -19° | 280/52 -31° | 280/57 -40° | 300/57 -49° |
| EVV | used from 246 nm out; 70 nm from the line | 270/25 | 290/17 15° | 260/10 8° | 270/16 5° | 280/29 -6° | 280/33 -19° | 290/38 -33° | 300/53 -41° | 310/54 -51° |
| LOU | used from 394 nm out; 4 nm from the line | 300/16 | 310/19 15° | 310/17 9° | 300/15 4° | 300/26 -6° | 280/34 -19° | 290/30 -34° | 310/49 -42° | 310/58 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKC Kansas City, MO | departure | no report just now | 756 ft | ||||
| HIG Higginsville, MO | 39 nm out, 3 nm east of the line | no report just now | 840 ft | ||||
| VER Boonville, MO | 89 nm out, 2 nm south of the line | no report just now | 715 ft | ||||
| COU Columbia, MO | 108 nm out, 8 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 889 ft | ||||
| SUS St Louis, MO | 187 nm out, 8 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 463 ft | ||||
| STL St Louis, MO | 197 nm out, 2 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 617 ft | ||||
| SLO Salem, IL | 266 nm out, 2 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 573 ft | ||||
| FOA Flora, IL | 286 nm out, 7 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 472 ft | ||||
| EVV Evansville, IN | 335 nm out, 24 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 421 ft | ||||
| LOU Louisville, KY | 424 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 545 ft | ||||
| FFT Frankfort, KY | 453 nm out, 7 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 812 ft | ||||
| LEX Lexington, KY | destination | no report just now | 979 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 979 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At LEX when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:42 am EDT (13:42 UTC)
LEX 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, 118 nm along the route · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · today · ZKC
Daylight
Sunset at MKC 6:44 pm CDT (23:44 UTC), at LEX 7:05 pm EDT (23:05 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:31 pm EDT (23:31 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, Blue Grass Airport.