The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC)

General Mitchell International to Great Falls International MKE → GTF

1,025 nautical miles (1,180 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 294°, about 298° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4W). At 120 knots that is 8 h 59 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 6-knot headwind), arriving about 11:59 am MDT (17:59 UTC). Right now MKE is VFR, wind from the southwest (220°) at 12 knots; GTF is low IFR, wind from the north-northwest (340°) at 7 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: 2 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 C14C: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 35,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 4:55 am CDT (09:55 UTC). Near the route, 627 nm along the route.
    as issued
    WSUS32 KKCI 120755
    MKCC WST 120755
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 14C
    VALID UNTIL 0955Z
    SD ND
    FROM 50SE DIK-50ENE DPR-40ENE RAP-50NNW RAP-50SE DIK
    AREA TS MOV FROM 22040KT. TOPS TO FL350.
  • 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 route from 60 to 229 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 4E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the last 687 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the route from 717 to 766 nm out.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 18,000 ft. Over the last 249 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 926 to 1015 nm out.

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 MKE.

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 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 10 forecast points nearest it (GRB, LSE, MSP, AXN, ABR, DIK, MLS, GGW, BIL, GTF). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft240° at 8 kt+6 kt2 °C114 kt8 h 59 min11:59 am MDT (17:59 UTC)
6,500 ft240° at 12 kt+8 kt11 °C112 kt9 h 09 min12:09 pm MDT (18:09 UTC)
8,500 ft240° at 18 kt+11 kt9 °C109 kt9 h 24 min12:24 pm MDT (18:24 UTC)
10,500 ft240° at 21 kt+14 kt4 °C106 kt9 h 40 min12:40 pm MDT (18:40 UTC)
12,500 ft240° at 23 kt+16 kt1 °C104 kt9 h 51 min12:51 pm MDT (18:51 UTC)
14,500 ft240° at 25 kt+17 kt-3 °C103 kt9 h 57 min12:57 pm MDT (18:57 UTC)
16,500 ft240° at 26 kt+19 kt-7 °C101 kt10 h 09 min1:09 pm MDT (19:09 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180240° at 27 kt+20 kt-11 °C100 kt10 h 15 min1:15 pm MDT (19:15 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240240° at 34 kt+24 kt-23 °C96 kt10 h 41 min1:41 pm MDT (19:41 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300240° at 39 kt+27 kt-36 °C93 kt11 h 01 min2:01 pm MDT (20:01 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340250° at 49 kt+40 kt-40 °C80 kt12 h 49 min3:49 pm MDT (21:49 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390250° at 60 kt+53 kt-47 °C67 kt15 h 18 min6:18 pm MDT (00:18 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
GRBused from 0 nm out; 83 nm from the line250/32250/22 17°240/18 8°280/21 6°280/34 -11°280/35 -21°280/39 -37°270/52 -45°290/60 -49°
LSEused from 50 nm out; 82 nm from the line250/25240/21 17°240/28 11°250/28 5°280/24 -10°280/31 -21°260/35 -37°270/45 -43°280/59 -47°
MSPused from 199 nm out; 40 nm from the line250/12250/17 17°240/26 12°250/26 5°280/26 -9°280/32 -22°270/37 -38°280/47 -41°280/55 -48°
AXNused from 299 nm out; 63 nm from the line110/6260/10 16°240/17 12°250/20 5°260/29 -10°260/35 -22°260/29 -38°270/48 -41°270/61 -48°
ABRused from 398 nm out; 55 nm from the line080/12210/12 17°220/22 12°230/26 5°220/28 -10°230/41 -21°250/36 -36°260/47 -39°260/63 -47°
DIKused from 597 nm out; 55 nm from the line190/12 5°230/29 7°220/33 1°220/43 -11°210/47 -23°220/53 -33°240/56 -40°250/72 -47°
MLSused from 746 nm out; 36 nm from the line290/17 -1°250/18 0°230/25 0°220/31 -11°220/32 -24°220/50 -32°220/60 -38°230/71 -46°
GGWused from 846 nm out; 77 nm from the line100/7 -1°070/10 -3°190/6 -4°210/34 -10°230/33 -24°210/48 -37°230/65 -40°230/71 -46°
BILused from 896 nm out; 87 nm from the line300/14270/19 -2°260/26 -2°220/28 -13°210/51 -25°220/56 -33°220/61 -39°220/72 -45°
GTFused from 945 nm out; 55 nm from the lineL/VL/V -7°240/8 -8°240/30 -14°240/40 -28°210/52 -38°210/76 -38°220/72 -43°

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
MKE Milwaukee, WI departure VFR Sky: a few clouds at 19,000 feet, overcast at 24,000 feet from the southwest (220°) at 12 knots 10+ mi 24,000 ft 728 ft 3:52 am CDT (08:52 UTC)
UES Waukesha, WI 20 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line, tower VFR from the south-southwest (210°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 911 ft 08:35 UTC
LSE La Crosse, WI 159 nm out, 5 nm south of the line, tower VFR from the south-southwest (200°) at 9 knots 10+ mi none 655 ft 08:53 UTC
FCM Minneapolis, MN 269 nm out, 17 nm northeast of the line, tower VFR from the southwest (220°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 906 ft 08:53 UTC
AQP Appleton, MN 378 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line low IFR Sky: overcast at 400 feet from the north-northwest (330°) at 7 knots 10+ mi 400 ft 1,021 ft 07:54 UTC
ABR Aberdeen, SD 478 nm out, 13 nm south of the line low IFR Sky: overcast at 400 feet from the north-northeast (030°) at 13 knots 7 mi 400 ft 1,301 ft 08:53 UTC
ASY Ashley, ND 527 nm out, 10 nm northeast of the line no report just now 2,034 ft
DIK Dickinson, ND 677 nm out, 20 nm north of the line low IFR Sky: sky obscured at 300 feet Weather: mist from the east-northeast (060°) at 13 knots 0.75 mi 300 ft 2,592 ft 08:56 UTC
BHK Baker, MT 727 nm out, 20 nm south of the line marginal VFR Sky: a few clouds at 400 feet, a broken layer at 1,100 feet, overcast at 1,800 feet Weather: mist from the east (080°) at 10 knots 4 mi 1,100 ft 2,980 ft 08:51 UTC
JDN Jordan, MT 846 nm out, 17 nm north of the line reported, no category from the north (360°) at 9 knots none 2,667 ft 08:48 UTC
LWT Lewistown, MT 945 nm out, 16 nm south of the line no report just now 4,170 ft
GTF Great Falls, MT destination low IFR Sky: a broken layer at 300 feet, overcast at 1,100 feet Weather: light snow, mist from the north-northwest (340°) at 7 knots 5 mi 300 ft 3,680 ft 2:53 am MDT (08:53 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 4,170 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At GTF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:59 am MDT (17:59 UTC)

Wind from the north at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 600 feet IFR

The whole forecast for GTF
  • From Mon 12:00 am MDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 12 knots, visibility 3 miles, light snow, overcast at 600 feet
  • At times between Mon 12:00 am MDT (06:00 UTC) and 3:00 am MDT (09:00 UTC): visibility 2 miles, light snow
  • From Mon 3:00 am MDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the north at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 600 feet
  • At times between Mon 3:00 am MDT (09:00 UTC) and 5:00 am MDT (11:00 UTC): visibility 2 miles, light snow, overcast at 300 feet
  • From Mon 12:00 pm MDT (18:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 1,000 feet
  • From Mon 9:00 pm MDT (03:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility 6 miles, mist, scattered clouds at 1,000 feet
The forecast for MKE, the departure
  • From Mon 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 10 knots, gusting to 20, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 8:00 pm CDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a few clouds at 4,000 feet, scattered clouds at 11,000 feet
  • From Tue 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 10 knots, 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 MKE 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC), at GTF 6:41 pm MDT (00:41 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:12 pm MDT (01:12 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: General Mitchell International, Great Falls International.