The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 3:43 am MDT (09:43 UTC)

Rapid City Regional to Quad Cities International RAP → MLI

574 nautical miles (661 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 101°, about 093° magnetic at the departure end (variation 8E). At 120 knots that is 3 h 19 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 53-knot tailwind), arriving about 8:02 am CDT (13:02 UTC). Right now RAP is low IFR, wind from the southeast (130°) at 7 knots; MLI is VFR, wind from the south-southwest (200°) at 5 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 C15C: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 35,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 4:55 am MDT (10:55 UTC). Near the route, 40 nm along the route.
    as issued
    WSUS32 KKCI 120855
    MKCC WST 120855
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 15C
    VALID UNTIL 1055Z
    SD ND
    FROM 50SE DIK-50ENE DPR-40ENE RAP-50NNW RAP-50SE DIK
    AREA TS MOV FROM 22040KT. TOPS TO FL350.
  • 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 first 218 nm of the route.
  • 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 last 356 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 RAP.

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 eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd 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 (RAP, PIR, ONL, FSD, MCW, DSM, DBQ, BRL). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft240° at 30 kt−22 kt142 kt4 h 03 min8:46 am CDT (13:46 UTC)
5,500 ft250° at 24 kt−19 kt18 °C139 kt4 h 08 min8:51 am CDT (13:51 UTC)
7,500 ft240° at 23 kt−16 kt16 °C136 kt4 h 13 min8:56 am CDT (13:56 UTC)
9,500 ft230° at 24 kt−15 kt12 °C135 kt4 h 15 min8:58 am CDT (13:58 UTC)
11,500 ft240° at 26 kt−17 kt6 °C137 kt4 h 11 min8:54 am CDT (13:54 UTC)
13,500 ft240° at 26 kt−17 kt2 °C137 kt4 h 11 min8:54 am CDT (13:54 UTC)
15,500 ft230° at 25 kt−16 kt-3 °C136 kt4 h 13 min8:56 am CDT (13:56 UTC)
17,500 ft230° at 24 kt−16 kt-8 °C136 kt4 h 13 min8:56 am CDT (13:56 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180230° at 24 kt−15 kt-9 °C135 kt4 h 15 min8:58 am CDT (13:58 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240240° at 33 kt−22 kt-21 °C142 kt4 h 03 min8:46 am CDT (13:46 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300250° at 41 kt−35 kt-34 °C155 kt3 h 42 min8:25 am CDT (13:25 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340260° at 48 kt−44 kt-37 °C164 kt3 h 30 min8:13 am CDT (13:13 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390260° at 56 kt−53 kt-47 °C173 kt3 h 19 min8:02 am CDT (13:02 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
RAPused from 0 nm out; 25 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°
PIRused from 50 nm out; 59 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°
ONLused from 149 nm out; 60 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°
FSDused from 248 nm out; 37 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°
MCWused from 347 nm out; 76 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°
DSMused from 396 nm out; 45 nm from the line250/47260/25 20°240/19 11°240/31 5°250/26 -9°260/38 -20°260/47 -34°270/58 -37°270/61 -47°
DBQused from 495 nm out; 57 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°
BRLused from 545 nm out; 47 nm from the line250/32250/19 17°260/15 11°270/16 3°290/23 -7°260/42 -20°270/52 -34°280/63 -39°290/64 -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
RAP Rapid City, SD departure low IFR Sky: sky obscured at 200 feet Weather: light rain, mist from the southeast (130°) at 7 knots 1 mi 200 ft 3,203 ft 3:38 am MDT (09:38 UTC)
PHP Philip, SD 59 nm out, 13 nm north of the line marginal VFR Sky: a few clouds at 500 feet, a broken layer at 1,000 feet, overcast at 1,700 feet from the east-northeast (060°) at 7 knots 10+ mi 1,000 ft 2,209 ft 09:18 UTC
ICR Winner, SD 149 nm out, 9 nm southwest of the line low IFR Sky: overcast at 200 feet Weather: light rain, mist from the north (350°) at 8 knots 2.5 mi 200 ft 2,032 ft 09:38 UTC
AGZ Wagner, SD 218 nm out, 11 nm southwest of the line low IFR Sky: overcast at 300 feet Weather: mist from the north (360°) at 6 knots 3 mi 300 ft 1,477 ft 09:35 UTC
YKN Yankton, SD 257 nm out, 9 nm southwest of the line VFR from the west (280°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 1,305 ft 08:56 UTC
CKP Cherokee, IA 337 nm out, 3 nm north of the line VFR from the south (170°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 1,227 ft 09:35 UTC
SLB Storm Lake, IA 356 nm out, 4 nm west of the line VFR from the south (180°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 1,487 ft 09:35 UTC
MIW Marshalltown, IA 455 nm out, 4 nm east of the line VFR from the south (180°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 974 ft 08:53 UTC
CID Cedar Rapids, IA 515 nm out, 7 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the south (180°) at 6 knots 10+ mi none 869 ft 02:52 UTC
IOW Iowa City, IA 525 nm out, 5 nm south of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 683 ft 08:52 UTC
MLI Moline, IL destination VFR from the south-southwest (200°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 589 ft 3:52 am CDT (08:52 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 3,203 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At MLI when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:02 am CDT (13:02 UTC)

Wind from the south at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a broken layer at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for MLI
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 15 knots, gusting to 22, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 11 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
The forecast for RAP, the departure
  • From Mon 3:00 am MDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the east-southeast at 6 knots, visibility 1 mile, mist, overcast at 200 feet
  • At times between Mon 3:00 am MDT (09:00 UTC) and 6:00 am MDT (12:00 UTC): visibility ½ mile, fog, sky obscured at 200 feet
  • From Mon 6:00 am MDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the north-northwest at 10 knots, visibility 1 mile, mist, overcast at 300 feet
  • At times between Mon 6:00 am MDT (12:00 UTC) and 10:00 am MDT (16:00 UTC): visibility ½ mile, fog, sky obscured at 200 feet
  • From Mon 12:00 pm MDT (18:00 UTC): wind from the north-northwest at 20 knots, gusting to 30, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 2,500 feet

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 RAP 6:12 pm MDT (00:12 UTC), at MLI 6:26 pm CDT (23:26 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:53 pm CDT (23:53 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 northern Rockies
Radar now, the northern Rockies · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley · 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: Rapid City Regional, Quad Cities International.