Chicago O'Hare International to Scottsbluff/Western Nebraska Rgnl/Wm B Heilig Field ORD → BFF
700 nautical miles (805 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 275°, about 278° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3W). At 120 knots that is 6 h 40 min at the quickest height in today's winds (12,500 ft, a 15-knot headwind), arriving about 8:49 am MDT (14:49 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 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 70 to 580 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 route from 530 to 630 nm out.
- AIRMET TANGO 1W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20 knots or more below 2,000 ft above the ground). Near the route, at the destination end.
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 ORD.
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 6 forecast points nearest it (JOT, DBQ, DSM, OMA, ONL, BFF). 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 | 220° at 30 kt | +21 kt | 20 °C | 99 kt | 7 h 04 min | 9:13 am MDT (15:13 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 230° at 26 kt | +21 kt | 17 °C | 99 kt | 7 h 04 min | 9:13 am MDT (15:13 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 240° at 22 kt | +19 kt | 12 °C | 101 kt | 6 h 56 min | 9:05 am MDT (15:05 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 240° at 19 kt | +16 kt | 9 °C | 104 kt | 6 h 44 min | 8:53 am MDT (14:53 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 230° at 18 kt | +15 kt | 5 °C | 105 kt | 6 h 40 min | 8:49 am MDT (14:49 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 240° at 20 kt | +17 kt | 0 °C | 103 kt | 6 h 48 min | 8:57 am MDT (14:57 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 240° at 21 kt | +20 kt | -4 °C | 100 kt | 7 h | 9:09 am MDT (15:09 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 250° at 23 kt | +21 kt | -8 °C | 99 kt | 7 h 04 min | 9:13 am MDT (15:13 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 250° at 29 kt | +27 kt | -20 °C | 93 kt | 7 h 32 min | 9:41 am MDT (15:41 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 250° at 40 kt | +38 kt | -34 °C | 82 kt | 8 h 32 min | 10:41 am MDT (16:41 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 260° at 50 kt | +50 kt | -40 °C | 70 kt | 10 h | 12:09 pm MDT (18:09 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 270° at 58 kt | +59 kt | -49 °C | 61 kt | 11 h 29 min | 1:38 pm MDT (19:38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOT | used from 0 nm out; 32 nm from the line | 250/23 | 270/22 15° | 250/16 10° | 240/9 4° | 280/22 -7° | 280/29 -19° | 300/29 -34° | 290/50 -43° | 300/64 -52° |
| DBQ | used from 50 nm out; 54 nm from the line | 230/33 | 250/30 16° | 280/15 9° | 260/15 5° | 260/21 -7° | 260/24 -20° | 250/37 -33° | 270/42 -43° | 280/63 -52° |
| DSM | used from 200 nm out; 50 nm from the line | 230/40 | 250/33 17° | 250/18 12° | 240/17 5° | 260/28 -8° | 270/34 -19° | 260/41 -33° | 260/55 -41° | 270/62 -51° |
| OMA | used from 300 nm out; 62 nm from the line | 220/47 | 240/33 19° | 250/18 11° | 230/17 6° | 260/29 -8° | 250/33 -19° | 250/51 -33° | 260/61 -40° | 270/62 -49° |
| ONL | used from 400 nm out; 58 nm from the line | 210/31 20° | 230/27 13° | 230/18 7° | 220/19 -8° | 240/26 -20° | 250/44 -35° | 270/52 -39° | 260/57 -47° | |
| BFF | used from 600 nm out; 75 nm from the line | 180/28 | 220/33 15° | 210/31 7° | 230/32 -9° | 220/41 -21° | 220/40 -33° | 240/47 -36° | 250/54 -46° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago, IL | departure | no report just now | 680 ft | ||||
| RFD Chicago/Rockford, IL | 50 nm out, 10 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 742 ft | ||||
| DBQ Dubuque, IA | 130 nm out, 18 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,076 ft | ||||
| CID Cedar Rapids, IA | 170 nm out, 16 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 869 ft | ||||
| MIW Marshalltown, IA | 220 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 974 ft | ||||
| CIN Carroll, IA | 310 nm out, 9 nm south of the line | no report just now | 1,203 ft | ||||
| SUX Sioux City, IA | 380 nm out, 13 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,098 ft | ||||
| OFK Norfolk, NE | 420 nm out, 12 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 1,572 ft | ||||
| BUB Burwell, NE | 500 nm out, 21 nm south of the line | no report just now | 2,183 ft | ||||
| TIF Thedford, NE | 560 nm out, 8 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 2,925 ft | ||||
| AIA Alliance, NE | 660 nm out, 8 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 3,930 ft | ||||
| BFF Scottsbluff, NE | destination | no report just now | 3,967 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 3,967 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At BFF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:49 am MDT (14:49 UTC)
BFF 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 ORD 6:15 pm CDT (23:15 UTC), at BFF 6:16 pm MDT (00:16 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:44 pm MDT (00:44 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: Chicago O'Hare International, Scottsbluff/Western Nebraska Rgnl/Wm B Heilig Field.