The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 3:42 am CDT (08:42 UTC)

Chicago O'Hare International to Friedman Memorial ORD → SUN

1,162 nautical miles (1,338 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 283°, about 286° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3W). At 120 knots that is 10 h 58 min at the quickest height in today's winds (8,500 ft, a 14-knot headwind), arriving about 1:40 pm MDT (19:40 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: 535 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 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 397 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 676 nm of the route.
  • 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). Over the route from 695 to 854 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the route from 725 to 894 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 42,000 ft. Over the route from 805 to 844 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the last 318 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the last 308 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 1W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 39,000 ft. Over the last 20 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 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 9 forecast points nearest it (JOT, DBQ, MCW, FSD, ONL, PIR, RAP, LND, PIH). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft250° at 19 kt+16 kt17 °C104 kt11 h 10 min1:52 pm MDT (19:52 UTC)
6,500 ft250° at 18 kt+16 kt17 °C104 kt11 h 10 min1:52 pm MDT (19:52 UTC)
8,500 ft230° at 19 kt+14 kt10 °C106 kt10 h 58 min1:40 pm MDT (19:40 UTC)
10,500 ft230° at 22 kt+17 kt6 °C103 kt11 h 17 min1:59 pm MDT (19:59 UTC)
12,500 ft230° at 26 kt+20 kt2 °C100 kt11 h 37 min2:19 pm MDT (20:19 UTC)
14,500 ft230° at 27 kt+20 kt-3 °C100 kt11 h 37 min2:19 pm MDT (20:19 UTC)
16,500 ft230° at 28 kt+21 kt-8 °C99 kt11 h 44 min2:26 pm MDT (20:26 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180230° at 29 kt+21 kt-11 °C99 kt11 h 44 min2:26 pm MDT (20:26 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240230° at 35 kt+26 kt-23 °C94 kt12 h 22 min3:04 pm MDT (21:04 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300240° at 44 kt+36 kt-33 °C84 kt13 h 50 min4:32 pm MDT (22:32 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340250° at 47 kt+43 kt-37 °C77 kt15 h 05 min5:47 pm MDT (23:47 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390250° at 51 kt+49 kt-46 °C71 kt16 h 22 min7:04 pm MDT (01:04 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; 35 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; 33 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 348 nm out; 36 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 447 nm out; 53 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 497 nm out; 66 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 596 nm out; 60 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 795 nm out; 114 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 993 nm out; 83 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°

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 129 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 1,076 ft
HPT Hampton, IA 238 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line no report just now 1,176 ft
FSD Sioux Falls, SD 397 nm out, 24 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 1,430 ft
ICR Winner, SD 536 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line no report just now 2,032 ft
CUT Custer, SD 695 nm out, 7 nm northwest of the line no report just now 5,619 ft
ECS Newcastle, WY 725 nm out, 14 nm north of the line no report just now 4,177 ft
HSG Thermopolis, WY 904 nm out, 2 nm northwest of the line no report just now 4,891 ft
JAC Jackson, WY 1003 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 6,451 ft
IDA Idaho Falls, ID 1063 nm out, 6 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 4,743 ft
SUN Hailey, ID destination no report just now 5,319 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 SUN when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:40 pm MDT (19:40 UTC)

SUN 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 SUN 6:57 pm MDT (00:57 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:26 pm MDT (01:26 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, Friedman Memorial.