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 28 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 1-knot tailwind), arriving about 10:35 am MDT (16:35 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 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 40 to 179 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 667 nm of the route.
- AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Near the route, 746 nm along the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the last 109 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 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 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 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.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 ft | 190° at 10 kt | −1 kt | 4 °C | 121 kt | 8 h 28 min | 10:35 am MDT (16:35 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 210° at 12 kt | +3 kt | 12 °C | 117 kt | 8 h 46 min | 10:53 am MDT (16:53 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 220° at 15 kt | +6 kt | 9 °C | 114 kt | 8 h 59 min | 11:06 am MDT (17:06 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 220° at 21 kt | +10 kt | 5 °C | 110 kt | 9 h 19 min | 11:26 am MDT (17:26 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 230° at 26 kt | +15 kt | 1 °C | 105 kt | 9 h 46 min | 11:53 am MDT (17:53 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 240° at 28 kt | +19 kt | -3 °C | 101 kt | 10 h 09 min | 12:16 pm MDT (18:16 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 240° at 31 kt | +22 kt | -7 °C | 98 kt | 10 h 28 min | 12:35 pm MDT (18:35 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 240° at 33 kt | +25 kt | -10 °C | 95 kt | 10 h 47 min | 12:54 pm MDT (18:54 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 36 kt | +26 kt | -21 °C | 94 kt | 10 h 54 min | 1:01 pm MDT (19:01 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 240° at 37 kt | +26 kt | -36 °C | 94 kt | 10 h 54 min | 1:01 pm MDT (19:01 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 250° at 48 kt | +38 kt | -43 °C | 82 kt | 12 h 30 min | 2:37 pm MDT (20:37 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 250° at 60 kt | +52 kt | -49 °C | 68 kt | 15 h 04 min | 5:11 pm MDT (23:11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRB | used from 0 nm out; 83 nm from the line | 250/36 | 270/23 16° | 270/14 9° | 240/18 4° | 280/26 -9° | 280/29 -20° | 290/42 -36° | 290/51 -45° | 290/72 -55° |
| LSE | used from 50 nm out; 82 nm from the line | 230/40 | 240/24 17° | 240/13 10° | 250/13 6° | 280/22 -9° | 250/28 -21° | 250/41 -34° | 260/42 -44° | 270/62 -53° |
| MSP | used from 199 nm out; 40 nm from the line | 230/26 | 240/30 17° | 240/24 12° | 250/22 5° | 250/35 -10° | 260/36 -21° | 250/41 -36° | 250/49 -45° | 260/58 -52° |
| AXN | used from 299 nm out; 63 nm from the line | 100/14 | 250/21 14° | 240/24 12° | 240/31 5° | 260/36 -10° | 260/40 -21° | 250/42 -36° | 260/48 -45° | 260/53 -50° |
| ABR | used from 398 nm out; 55 nm from the line | 070/14 | 250/10 17° | 270/16 11° | 260/28 5° | 260/36 -10° | 260/41 -22° | 270/33 -37° | 260/42 -42° | 260/50 -48° |
| DIK | used from 597 nm out; 55 nm from the line | 150/24 7° | 200/38 6° | 220/53 0° | 230/51 -9° | 230/49 -21° | 240/37 -37° | 240/47 -44° | 250/65 -48° | |
| MLS | used from 746 nm out; 36 nm from the line | 150/23 2° | 190/29 4° | 210/44 2° | 220/32 -10° | 210/36 -21° | 200/48 -37° | 230/63 -40° | 240/71 -47° | |
| GGW | used from 846 nm out; 77 nm from the line | 110/23 0° | 130/20 -2° | 170/24 -3° | 230/44 -11° | 220/51 -21° | 210/52 -39° | 220/64 -44° | 240/85 -48° | |
| BIL | used from 896 nm out; 87 nm from the line | 080/13 | 180/9 -2° | 210/38 0° | 220/51 -11° | 210/46 -22° | 210/58 -35° | 230/73 -39° | 230/72 -45° | |
| GTF | used from 945 nm out; 55 nm from the line | 070/11 | 080/15 -7° | 110/19 -9° | 190/25 -14° | 200/34 -23° | 200/54 -39° | 220/66 -40° | 220/77 -44° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKE Milwaukee, WI | departure | no report just now | 728 ft | ||||
| UES Waukesha, WI | 20 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 911 ft | ||||
| LSE La Crosse, WI | 159 nm out, 5 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 655 ft | ||||
| FCM Minneapolis, MN | 269 nm out, 17 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 906 ft | ||||
| AQP Appleton, MN | 378 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 1,021 ft | ||||
| ABR Aberdeen, SD | 478 nm out, 13 nm south of the line | no report just now | 1,301 ft | ||||
| 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 | no report just now | 2,592 ft | ||||
| BHK Baker, MT | 727 nm out, 20 nm south of the line | no report just now | 2,980 ft | ||||
| JDN Jordan, MT | 846 nm out, 17 nm north of the line | no report just now | 2,667 ft | ||||
| LWT Lewistown, MT | 945 nm out, 16 nm south of the line | no report just now | 4,170 ft | ||||
| GTF Great Falls, MT | destination | no report just now | 3,680 ft |
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, 10:35 am MDT (16:35 UTC)
GTF 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 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
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.