The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 9:39 pm CDT (02:39 UTC)

Dane County Rgnl/Truax Field to Nogales International MSN → OLS

1,240 nautical miles (1,427 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 243°, about 246° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3W). At 120 knots that is 13 h 03 min at the quickest height in today's winds (10,500 ft, a 25-knot headwind), arriving about 8:42 am MST (15:42 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: 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 6W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 34,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 10:55 pm CDT (03:55 UTC). Over the route from 800 to 1000 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS33 KKCI 120155
    MKCW WST 120155
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 6W
    VALID UNTIL 0355Z
    CO NM
    FROM 50SSW DEN-30NNE TBE-50SSW CME-50E SJN-20NE DVC-50SSW DEN
    AREA TS MOV FROM 23040KT. TOPS TO FL340.
  • SIGMET 7W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 31,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 10:55 pm CDT (03:55 UTC). Over the route from 1060 to 1200 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS33 KKCI 120155
    MKCW WST 120155
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 7W
    VALID UNTIL 0355Z
    NM AZ
    FROM 30NW SJN-30W TCS-60SE SSO-50SE TUS-70S INW-30NW SJN
    DMSHG AREA TS MOV FROM 23040KT. TOPS TO FL310.
  • 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 160 to 710 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the route from 770 to 1070 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 35,000 ft to 45,000 ft. Over the route from 820 to 1180 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 1000 to 1190 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 MSN.

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 9 forecast points nearest it (DBQ, DSM, OMA, SLN, GCK, TCC, ABQ, ELP, TUS). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft220° at 35 kt+34 kt17 °C86 kt14 h 25 min10:04 am MST (17:04 UTC)
6,500 ft230° at 31 kt+31 kt17 °C89 kt13 h 56 min9:35 am MST (16:35 UTC)
8,500 ft230° at 25 kt+26 kt12 °C94 kt13 h 11 min8:50 am MST (15:50 UTC)
10,500 ft230° at 24 kt+25 kt9 °C95 kt13 h 03 min8:42 am MST (15:42 UTC)
12,500 ft230° at 25 kt+25 kt5 °C95 kt13 h 03 min8:42 am MST (15:42 UTC)
14,500 ft230° at 28 kt+28 kt0 °C92 kt13 h 29 min9:08 am MST (16:08 UTC)
16,500 ft230° at 31 kt+32 kt-4 °C88 kt14 h 05 min9:44 am MST (16:44 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180230° at 34 kt+34 kt-7 °C86 kt14 h 25 min10:04 am MST (17:04 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240240° at 42 kt+43 kt-19 °C77 kt16 h 06 min11:45 am MST (18:45 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300240° at 62 kt+62 kt-29 °C58 kt21 h 23 min5:02 pm MST (00:02 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340250° at 64 kt+62 kt-38 °C58 kt21 h 23 min5:02 pm MST (00:02 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390260° at 58 kt+56 kt-49 °C64 kt19 h 22 min3:01 pm MST (22:01 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
DBQused from 0 nm out; 50 nm from the line230/33250/30 16°280/15 9°260/15 5°260/21 -7°260/24 -20°250/37 -33°270/42 -43°280/63 -52°
DSMused from 150 nm out; 41 nm from the line230/40250/33 17°250/18 12°240/17 5°260/28 -8°270/34 -19°260/41 -33°260/55 -41°270/62 -51°
OMAused from 250 nm out; 59 nm from the line220/47240/33 19°250/18 11°230/17 6°260/29 -8°250/33 -19°250/51 -33°260/61 -40°270/62 -49°
SLNused from 400 nm out; 48 nm from the line210/53230/41 20°240/26 14°230/16 8°240/25 -7°240/35 -19°250/61 -30°260/65 -38°260/56 -49°
GCKused from 550 nm out; 31 nm from the line220/48 21°230/37 14°250/30 8°230/37 -6°240/37 -20°240/69 -28°250/67 -37°260/58 -48°
TCCused from 700 nm out; 103 nm from the line210/42230/33 14°230/32 6°220/35 -6°230/49 -19°240/72 -27°250/62 -36°250/52 -48°
ABQused from 850 nm out; 70 nm from the line220/27 11°210/35 5°220/46 -9°230/62 -20°240/78 -25°240/80 -35°240/56 -47°
ELPused from 1050 nm out; 130 nm from the line290/17210/11 13°200/18 5°220/46 -6°230/64 -14°230/63 -27°240/55 -37°240/44 -48°
TUSused from 1100 nm out; 98 nm from the line210/13 13°200/35 9°210/40 5°220/50 -7°220/59 -18°230/79 -26°230/84 -35°230/84 -48°

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
MSN Madison, WI departure no report just now 886 ft
DBQ Dubuque, IA 70 nm out, 12 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 1,076 ft
DSM Des Moines, IA 210 nm out, 10 nm northwest of the line, tower no report just now 957 ft
ICL Clarinda, IA 290 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line no report just now 995 ft
CNK Concordia, KS 430 nm out, 3 nm west of the line no report just now 1,488 ft
GCK Garden City, KS 610 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 2,890 ft
ULS Ulysses, KS 640 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line no report just now 3,071 ft
CAO Clayton, NM 750 nm out, 3 nm south of the line no report just now 4,969 ft
ONM Socorro, NM 990 nm out, 7 nm southeast of the line no report just now 4,875 ft
FHU Fort Huachuca Sierra Vista, AZ 1210 nm out, 10 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 4,718 ft
OLS Nogales, AZ destination no report just now 3,955 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 4,969 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At OLS when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:42 am MST (15:42 UTC)

OLS has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.

Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it

  • 6/8722 ALAMOGORDO, NM, Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Local 24 nm from the route, 950 nm along the route · security · starts tomorrow · ZAB

Daylight

Sunset at MSN 6:19 pm CDT (23:19 UTC), at OLS 5:55 pm MST (00:55 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:19 pm MST (01:19 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 southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the southern Rockies
Radar now, the southern 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: Dane County Rgnl/Truax Field, Nogales International.