The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 8:19 am EDT (12:19 UTC)

Louisville Muhammad Ali International to Eppley Airfield SDF → OMA

505 nautical miles (581 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 295°, about 300° magnetic at the departure end (variation 5W). At 120 knots that is 4 h 43 min at the quickest height in today's winds (8,500 ft, a 13-knot headwind), arriving about 12:02 pm CDT (17:02 UTC). Right now SDF is VFR, wind from the southeast (140°) at 3 knots; OMA is VFR, wind from the south-southeast (160°) at 11 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: 1,167 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 SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the first 59 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 238 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 SDF.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

  • B763 at 26,000 ft, 12 nm southwest, 7:57 am EDT (11:57 UTC): no turbulence, no icing. 69 nm along the route, 12 nm southwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    EVV UA /OV OWB360045/TM 1157/FL260/TP B763/TB NEG/IC NEG
    Report
    a routine report filed through EVV
    Where
    45 nm north (360°) of OWB
    Time
    11:57 UTC
    Height
    at 26,000 ft
    Aircraft
    B763
    Turbulence
    none
    Icing
    none
  • E550 at 8,700 ft, 43 nm southwest, 6:30 am EDT (10:30 UTC): clear from 8,700 ft to 60,000 ft, remarks: visual conditions clear during the climb. 69 nm along the route, 43 nm southwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    EVV UA /OV EVV/TM 1030/FL087/TP E550/SK SKC/RM VMC CLR DURC
    Report
    a routine report filed through EVV
    Where
    over EVV
    Time
    10:30 UTC
    Height
    at 8,700 ft
    Aircraft
    E550
    Sky
    clear
    Remarks
    visual conditions clear during the climb

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 6 forecast points nearest it (LOU, EVV, SPI, BRL, DSM, OMA). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft260° at 26 kt+22 kt98 kt5 h 09 min12:28 pm CDT (17:28 UTC)
6,500 ft260° at 20 kt+17 kt16 °C103 kt4 h 54 min12:13 pm CDT (17:13 UTC)
8,500 ft250° at 16 kt+13 kt11 °C107 kt4 h 43 min12:02 pm CDT (17:02 UTC)
10,500 ft250° at 17 kt+13 kt7 °C107 kt4 h 43 min12:02 pm CDT (17:02 UTC)
12,500 ft260° at 20 kt+16 kt4 °C104 kt4 h 51 min12:10 pm CDT (17:10 UTC)
14,500 ft260° at 22 kt+19 kt0 °C101 kt5 h12:19 pm CDT (17:19 UTC)
16,500 ft270° at 24 kt+22 kt-4 °C98 kt5 h 09 min12:28 pm CDT (17:28 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180270° at 26 kt+24 kt-7 °C96 kt5 h 16 min12:35 pm CDT (17:35 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240270° at 36 kt+33 kt-20 °C87 kt5 h 48 min1:07 pm CDT (18:07 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300270° at 44 kt+42 kt-33 °C78 kt6 h 28 min1:47 pm CDT (18:47 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340280° at 56 kt+55 kt-39 °C65 kt7 h 46 min3:05 pm CDT (20:05 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390290° at 57 kt+58 kt-49 °C62 kt8 h 09 min3:28 pm CDT (20:28 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
LOUused from 0 nm out; 27 nm from the line300/16310/19 15°310/17 9°300/15 4°300/26 -6°280/34 -19°290/30 -34°310/49 -42°310/58 -51°
EVVused from 49 nm out; 42 nm from the line270/25290/17 15°260/10 8°270/16 5°280/29 -6°280/33 -19°290/38 -33°300/53 -41°310/54 -51°
SPIused from 148 nm out; 40 nm from the line260/28250/22 15°250/14 9°260/20 6°280/27 -7°280/34 -19°280/48 -32°280/59 -41°300/60 -49°
BRLused from 247 nm out; 49 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°
DSMused from 346 nm out; 63 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°
OMAused from 445 nm out; 35 nm from the line230/47240/33 21°230/22 13°220/27 5°240/35 -8°250/43 -21°260/47 -33°260/59 -36°270/58 -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

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
SDF Louisville, KY departure VFR Sky: a broken layer at 25,000 feet Weather: mist from the southeast (140°) at 3 knots 6 mi 25,000 ft 500 ft 7:56 am EDT (11:56 UTC)
FRH French Lick, IN 49 nm out, 3 nm east of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 792 ft 12:15 UTC
DCY Washington, IN 69 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line VFR from the east-southeast (120°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 472 ft 11:55 UTC
OLY Olney-Noble, IL 119 nm out, 17 nm south of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 482 ft 11:50 UTC
TAZ Taylorville, IL 188 nm out, 7 nm northeast of the line no report just now 622 ft
SPI Springfield, IL 208 nm out, 18 nm north of the line, tower VFR from the south-southwest (200°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 597 ft 11:52 UTC
UIN Quincy, IL 277 nm out, 4 nm south of the line VFR from the south-southwest (200°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 768 ft 11:54 UTC
IRK Kirksville, MO 337 nm out, 17 nm south of the line reported, no category from the south-southwest (200°) at 9 knots 10+ mi none 966 ft 11:55 UTC
TVK Centerville, IA 366 nm out, 10 nm northeast of the line VFR Sky: a broken layer at 12,000 feet from the south (180°) at 9 knots 10+ mi 12,000 ft 1,023 ft 11:55 UTC
CRZ Corning, IA 445 nm out, 5 nm west of the line no report just now 1,274 ft
RDK Red Oak, IA 475 nm out, 8 nm south of the line VFR from the south (180°) at 9 knots 10+ mi none 1,045 ft 11:55 UTC
OMA Omaha, NE destination VFR from the south-southeast (160°) at 11 knots 10+ mi none 984 ft 6:52 am CDT (11:52 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 1,274 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At OMA when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 12:02 pm CDT (17:02 UTC)

Wind from the south-southwest at 16 knots, gusting to 23, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for OMA
  • From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, low-level wind shear, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 16 knots, gusting to 23, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 8:00 pm CDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the north at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for SDF, the departure
  • From Mon 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility 6 miles, mist, clear skies
  • From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 2:00 pm EDT (18:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Tue 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies

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 SDF 7:09 pm EDT (23:09 UTC), at OMA 6:47 pm CDT (23:47 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:15 pm CDT (00:15 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 central Great Lakes
Radar now, the central Great Lakes · loop National Weather Service
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, 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: Louisville Muhammad Ali International, Eppley Airfield.