The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 6:36 am CDT (11:36 UTC)

Quad Cities International to Great Falls International MLI → GTF

961 nautical miles (1,106 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 299°, about 298° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1E). At 120 knots that is 8 h 49 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 11-knot headwind), arriving about 2:25 pm MDT (20:25 UTC). Right now MLI is VFR, wind from the south-southwest (210°) at 5 knots; GTF is low IFR, wind from the northwest (320°) at 6 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: 1 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 C17C: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 36,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 7:55 am CDT (12:55 UTC). Over the route from 485 to 545 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS32 KKCI 121055
    MKCC WST 121055
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 17C
    VALID UNTIL 1255Z
    SD ND
    FROM 20NW BIS-60E BIS-20WNW PIR-20SW DPR-20NW BIS
    AREA TS MOV FROM 22040KT. TOPS TO FL360.
  • 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 20 to 228 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 654 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the route from 674 to 753 nm out.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 18,000 ft. Over the last 188 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 852 to 951 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 MLI.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

  • C340 at 24,000 ft, 39 nm north, 5:59 am CDT (10:59 UTC): light to moderate icing, -22 °C. 654 nm along the route, 39 nm north of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    DIK UA /OV DIK240054/TM 1059/FL240/TP C340/TA M22/IC LGT-MOD CLR /ZLC
    Report
    a routine report filed through DIK
    Where
    54 nm southwest (240°) of DIK
    Time
    10:59 UTC
    Height
    at 24,000 ft
    Aircraft
    C340
    Temperature
    −22 °C
    Icing
    light to moderate clear zlc

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 8 forecast points nearest it (DBQ, MCW, FSD, PIR, DIK, MLS, BIL, GTF). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft250° at 16 kt+11 kt6 °C109 kt8 h 49 min2:25 pm MDT (20:25 UTC)
6,500 ft250° at 16 kt+11 kt12 °C109 kt8 h 49 min2:25 pm MDT (20:25 UTC)
8,500 ft240° at 20 kt+11 kt10 °C109 kt8 h 49 min2:25 pm MDT (20:25 UTC)
10,500 ft240° at 23 kt+13 kt5 °C107 kt8 h 59 min2:35 pm MDT (20:35 UTC)
12,500 ft240° at 26 kt+14 kt1 °C106 kt9 h 04 min2:40 pm MDT (20:40 UTC)
14,500 ft230° at 26 kt+14 kt-3 °C106 kt9 h 04 min2:40 pm MDT (20:40 UTC)
16,500 ft230° at 26 kt+13 kt-7 °C107 kt8 h 59 min2:35 pm MDT (20:35 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180230° at 27 kt+13 kt-10 °C107 kt8 h 59 min2:35 pm MDT (20:35 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240230° at 35 kt+17 kt-23 °C103 kt9 h 20 min2:56 pm MDT (20:56 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300240° at 41 kt+24 kt-34 °C96 kt10 h 01 min3:37 pm MDT (21:37 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340240° at 49 kt+34 kt-38 °C86 kt11 h 10 min4:46 pm MDT (22:46 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390250° at 60 kt+47 kt-46 °C73 kt13 h 10 min6:46 pm MDT (00:46 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
DBQused from 0 nm out; 47 nm from the line250/27260/23 17°240/26 10°260/30 4°280/26 -9°280/36 -21°270/41 -36°280/52 -41°290/67 -48°
MCWused from 99 nm out; 47 nm from the line250/36250/24 19°240/26 11°250/30 5°270/22 -9°260/30 -21°260/31 -36°280/53 -38°280/66 -48°
FSDused from 248 nm out; 33 nm from the line210/20230/23 21°220/25 14°230/30 5°230/26 -9°240/30 -21°270/33 -36°260/47 -37°270/58 -47°
PIRused from 396 nm out; 51 nm from the line230/15 15°220/22 14°220/24 6°200/32 -10°210/48 -22°240/45 -33°240/43 -37°250/55 -46°
DIKused from 545 nm out; 81 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 644 nm out; 59 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°
BILused from 792 nm out; 66 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 891 nm out; 45 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
MLI Moline, IL departure VFR from the south-southwest (210°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 589 ft 5:52 am CDT (10:52 UTC)
CID Cedar Rapids, IA 59 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR from the south (190°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 869 ft 10:52 UTC
ALO Waterloo, IA 109 nm out, 18 nm northeast of the line, tower VFR from the south (170°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 873 ft 10:54 UTC
EGQ Emmetsburg, IA 208 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line no report just now 1,206 ft
FSD Sioux Falls, SD 307 nm out, 12 nm south of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 10,000 feet, a few clouds at 25,000 feet from the north-northeast (030°) at 3 knots 10+ mi none 1,430 ft 10:56 UTC
MKA Miller, SD 416 nm out, 2 nm east of the line no report just now 1,569 ft
BHK Baker, MT 664 nm out, 21 nm northeast of the line IFR Sky: overcast at 600 feet Weather: light rain from the east (080°) at 5 knots 10+ mi 600 ft 2,980 ft 10:59 UTC
MLS Miles City, MT 723 nm out, 5 nm northwest of the line marginal VFR Sky: a few clouds at 600 feet, overcast at 1,300 feet Weather: mist from the north (350°) at 8 knots 4 mi 1,300 ft 2,634 ft 11:24 UTC
LWT Lewistown, MT 882 nm out, 5 nm south of the line no report just now 4,170 ft
GTF Great Falls, MT destination low IFR Sky: overcast at 400 feet Weather: mist from the northwest (320°) at 6 knots 1.75 mi 400 ft 3,680 ft 5:18 am MDT (11:18 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, 2:25 pm MDT (20:25 UTC)

Wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 700 feet IFR

The whole forecast for GTF
  • From Mon 6:00 am MDT (12:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility 6 miles, mist, overcast at 600 feet
  • At times between Mon 6:00 am MDT (12:00 UTC) and 9:00 am MDT (15:00 UTC): visibility 2 miles, light snow, mist, overcast at 400 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am MDT (16:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 700 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 pm MDT (04:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 500 feet
The forecast for MLI, the departure
  • From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 20,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 11 knots, gusting to 21, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 20,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a few clouds at 20,000 feet
  • From Tue 2:00 am CDT (07:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 11 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 MLI 6:26 pm CDT (23:26 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: Quad Cities International, Great Falls International.