The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 6:35 am CDT (11:35 UTC)

Chicago O'Hare International to Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field ORD → BOI

1,246 nautical miles (1,433 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 284°, about 287° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3W). At 120 knots that is 11 h 45 min at the quickest height in today's winds (8,500 ft, a 14-knot headwind), arriving about 5:20 pm MDT (23:20 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: 2,186 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

  • 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 159 to 369 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 428 to 1206 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, 757 nm along the route.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 817 to 1186 nm out.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the route from 857 to 1206 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 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 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 (JOT, DBQ, MCW, FSD, ONL, PIR, RAP, LND, PIH, BOI). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft250° at 18 kt+16 kt13 °C104 kt11 h 59 min5:34 pm MDT (23:34 UTC)
6,500 ft250° at 17 kt+15 kt15 °C105 kt11 h 52 min5:27 pm MDT (23:27 UTC)
8,500 ft240° at 18 kt+14 kt9 °C106 kt11 h 45 min5:20 pm MDT (23:20 UTC)
10,500 ft230° at 22 kt+16 kt5 °C104 kt11 h 59 min5:34 pm MDT (23:34 UTC)
12,500 ft230° at 25 kt+19 kt1 °C101 kt12 h 20 min5:55 pm MDT (23:55 UTC)
14,500 ft230° at 27 kt+20 kt-4 °C100 kt12 h 28 min6:03 pm MDT (00:03 UTC)
16,500 ft230° at 30 kt+21 kt-8 °C99 kt12 h 35 min6:10 pm MDT (00:10 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180220° at 31 kt+21 kt-12 °C99 kt12 h 35 min6:10 pm MDT (00:10 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240220° at 37 kt+25 kt-23 °C95 kt13 h 07 min6:42 pm MDT (00:42 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300230° at 43 kt+35 kt-33 °C85 kt14 h 40 min8:15 pm MDT (02:15 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340240° at 47 kt+42 kt-37 °C78 kt15 h 58 min9:33 pm MDT (03:33 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390250° at 50 kt+47 kt-45 °C73 kt17 h 04 min10:39 pm MDT (04:39 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
JOTused from 0 nm out; 36 nm from the line250/25260/22 14°250/17 9°270/21 5°280/28 -8°280/36 -20°270/41 -35°280/57 -42°290/65 -50°
DBQused from 50 nm out; 53 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 199 nm out; 31 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 349 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°
ONLused from 448 nm out; 57 nm from the line250/31 22°230/27 16°220/25 8°230/25 -9°220/29 -22°250/42 -33°250/48 -36°250/52 -46°
PIRused from 498 nm out; 61 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°
RAPused from 598 nm out; 56 nm from the line250/28 16°260/31 10°240/25 4°210/35 -10°200/45 -23°230/47 -31°230/47 -36°230/51 -46°
LNDused from 797 nm out; 116 nm from the line240/10 3°240/30 0°220/42 -13°230/52 -23°220/54 -33°220/52 -36°220/53 -44°
PIHused from 996 nm out; 86 nm from the line070/8150/19 1°180/32 -4°210/44 -17°210/37 -28°210/74 -31°220/68 -35°220/60 -43°
BOIused from 1146 nm out; 75 nm from the line320/11 1°280/8 -5°220/14 -11°200/60 -19°190/66 -31°210/46 -32°220/50 -33°220/43 -39°

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
ORD Chicago, IL departure no report just now 680 ft
RFD Chicago/Rockford, IL 50 nm out, 5 nm west of the line, tower no report just now 742 ft
DBQ Dubuque, IA 130 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 1,076 ft
SHL Sheldon, IA 359 nm out, 4 nm north of the line no report just now 1,419 ft
FSD Sioux Falls, SD 399 nm out, 20 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 1,430 ft
ICR Winner, SD 528 nm out, 9 nm southwest of the line no report just now 2,032 ft
RAP Rapid City, SD 678 nm out, 20 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 3,203 ft
HSG Thermopolis, WY 907 nm out, 7 nm south of the line no report just now 4,891 ft
JAC Jackson, WY 1006 nm out, 12 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 6,451 ft
SUN Hailey, ID 1166 nm out, 11 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 5,319 ft
BOI Boise, ID destination no report just now 2,871 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 6,451 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At BOI when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 5:20 pm MDT (23:20 UTC)

BOI 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 BOI 7:05 pm MDT (01:05 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:33 pm MDT (01:33 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 now, the Pacific Northwest
Radar now, the Pacific Northwest · 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: Chicago O'Hare International, Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field.