Salt Lake City International to Des Moines International SLC → DSM
828 nautical miles (952 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 081°, about 070° magnetic at the departure end (variation 11E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 46 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 54-knot tailwind), arriving about 7:52 am CDT (12:52 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: 6 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 ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the first 239 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the first 369 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the first 259 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 42,000 ft. Over the route from 40 to 379 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). Over the route from 169 to 349 nm out.
- AIRMET TANGO 5W: strong surface winds (30 knots or more) (due to sustained surface winds greater than 30 knots). Over the route from 219 to 229 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). Near the route, 459 nm along the route.
- 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 last 339 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 SLC.
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 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 (SLC, RKS, DEN, BFF, ONL, GRI, OMA, DSM). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,500 ft | 210° at 27 kt | −15 kt | 20 °C | 135 kt | 6 h 08 min | 9:14 am CDT (14:14 UTC) |
| 7,500 ft | 210° at 28 kt | −17 kt | 15 °C | 137 kt | 6 h 03 min | 9:09 am CDT (14:09 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 220° at 27 kt | −19 kt | 11 °C | 139 kt | 5 h 57 min | 9:03 am CDT (14:03 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 220° at 28 kt | −20 kt | 7 °C | 140 kt | 5 h 55 min | 9:01 am CDT (14:01 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 220° at 29 kt | −22 kt | 1 °C | 142 kt | 5 h 50 min | 8:56 am CDT (13:56 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 230° at 29 kt | −23 kt | -3 °C | 143 kt | 5 h 47 min | 8:53 am CDT (13:53 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 230° at 30 kt | −25 kt | -8 °C | 145 kt | 5 h 43 min | 8:49 am CDT (13:49 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 230° at 30 kt | −25 kt | -9 °C | 145 kt | 5 h 43 min | 8:49 am CDT (13:49 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 230° at 38 kt | −30 kt | -21 °C | 150 kt | 5 h 31 min | 8:37 am CDT (13:37 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 230° at 46 kt | −37 kt | -31 °C | 157 kt | 5 h 16 min | 8:22 am CDT (13:22 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 240° at 54 kt | −50 kt | -37 °C | 170 kt | 4 h 52 min | 7:58 am CDT (12:58 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 250° at 56 kt | −54 kt | -46 °C | 174 kt | 4 h 46 min | 7:52 am CDT (12:52 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLC | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 200/5 | 230/8 2° | 220/20 -2° | 210/40 -12° | 190/53 -25° | 210/62 -30° | 220/69 -34° | 220/64 -43° | |
| RKS | used from 50 nm out; 69 nm from the line | 200/41 | 220/44 1° | 220/35 -11° | 220/46 -24° | 210/53 -27° | 220/62 -35° | 230/61 -44° | ||
| DEN | used from 249 nm out; 107 nm from the line | 240/21 14° | 250/44 6° | 220/49 -8° | 220/49 -21° | 230/54 -30° | 240/57 -35° | 240/49 -45° | ||
| BFF | used from 299 nm out; 63 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° | |
| ONL | used from 499 nm out; 94 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° | |
| GRI | used from 598 nm out; 39 nm from the line | 230/35 21° | 230/23 13° | 220/20 7° | 240/25 -8° | 240/37 -20° | 250/49 -33° | 260/57 -38° | 260/58 -47° | |
| OMA | used from 648 nm out; 58 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° |
| DSM | used from 798 nm out; 15 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° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLC Salt Lake City, UT | departure | no report just now | 4,230 ft | ||||
| HCR Heber, UT | 20 nm out, 22 nm south of the line | no report just now | 5,636 ft | ||||
| SAA Saratoga, WY | 239 nm out, 9 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 7,014 ft | ||||
| CYS Cheyenne, WY | 329 nm out, 17 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 6,159 ft | ||||
| IBM Kimball, NE | 379 nm out, 18 nm south of the line | no report just now | 4,925 ft | ||||
| OKS Oshkosh, NE | 439 nm out, 9 nm south of the line | no report just now | 3,394 ft | ||||
| BUB Burwell, NE | 578 nm out, 10 nm north of the line | no report just now | 2,183 ft | ||||
| ODX Ord, NE | 588 nm out, 2 nm east of the line | no report just now | 2,070 ft | ||||
| OMA Omaha, NE | 728 nm out, 18 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 984 ft | ||||
| HNR Harlan, IA | 748 nm out, 4 nm east of the line | no report just now | 1,230 ft | ||||
| DSM Des Moines, IA | destination | no report just now | 957 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 7,014 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At DSM when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 7:52 am CDT (12:52 UTC)
DSM 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 SLC 6:50 pm MDT (00:50 UTC), at DSM 6:38 pm CDT (23:38 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:06 pm CDT (00:06 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: Salt Lake City International, Des Moines International.