The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 11:14 pm MDT (05:14 UTC)

Salt Lake City International to Joe Foss Field SLC → FSD

697 nautical miles (802 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 071°, about 060° magnetic at the departure end (variation 11E). At 120 knots that is 3 h 59 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 55-knot tailwind), arriving about 4:13 am CDT (09:13 UTC), after sunset at the destination. 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 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 8C: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 32,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 12:55 am MDT (06:55 UTC). Near the route, 359 nm along the route.
    as issued
    WSUS32 KKCI 120455
    MKCC WST 120455
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 8C
    VALID UNTIL 0655Z
    NE SD WY
    FROM 50WNW RAP-20SSW RAP-60NW BFF-40ENE DDY-50WNW RAP
    DMSHG AREA TS MOV FROM 22040KT. TOPS TO FL320.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the first 259 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 249 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 38,000 ft. Over the route from 40 to 418 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 149 to 319 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 149 to 239 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 408 to 558 nm out.
  • 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). Near the route, 518 nm along 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 7 forecast points nearest it (SLC, RKS, BFF, RAP, PIR, ONL, FSD). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
5,500 ft190° at 24 kt−10 kt18 °C130 kt5 h 22 min5:36 am CDT (10:36 UTC)
7,500 ft200° at 29 kt−18 kt15 °C138 kt5 h 03 min5:17 am CDT (10:17 UTC)
9,500 ft210° at 31 kt−23 kt12 °C143 kt4 h 52 min5:06 am CDT (10:06 UTC)
11,500 ft220° at 31 kt−24 kt7 °C144 kt4 h 50 min5:04 am CDT (10:04 UTC)
13,500 ft220° at 31 kt−25 kt1 °C145 kt4 h 48 min5:02 am CDT (10:02 UTC)
15,500 ft220° at 30 kt−25 kt-4 °C145 kt4 h 48 min5:02 am CDT (10:02 UTC)
17,500 ft220° at 30 kt−26 kt-9 °C146 kt4 h 46 min5:00 am CDT (10:00 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180230° at 29 kt−26 kt-10 °C146 kt4 h 46 min5:00 am CDT (10:00 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240220° at 38 kt−32 kt-22 °C152 kt4 h 35 min4:49 am CDT (09:49 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300220° at 44 kt−38 kt-32 °C158 kt4 h 25 min4:39 am CDT (09:39 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340240° at 51 kt−50 kt-37 °C170 kt4 h 06 min4:20 am CDT (09:20 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390240° at 55 kt−55 kt-45 °C175 kt3 h 59 min4:13 am CDT (09:13 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
SLCused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line200/5230/8 2°220/20 -2°210/40 -12°190/53 -25°210/62 -30°220/69 -34°220/64 -43°
RKSused from 50 nm out; 66 nm from the line200/41220/44 1°220/35 -11°220/46 -24°210/53 -27°220/62 -35°230/61 -44°
BFFused from 249 nm out; 115 nm from the line180/28220/33 15°210/31 7°230/32 -9°220/41 -21°220/40 -33°240/47 -36°250/54 -46°
RAPused from 448 nm out; 88 nm from the line180/23 12°200/38 13°210/38 6°220/28 -10°230/34 -21°230/37 -36°250/52 -38°250/59 -46°
PIRused from 498 nm out; 80 nm from the line170/22 19°190/25 13°210/32 6°240/23 -9°250/32 -21°250/38 -36°260/44 -40°260/52 -47°
ONLused from 548 nm out; 60 nm from the line210/31 20°230/27 13°230/18 7°220/19 -8°240/26 -20°250/44 -35°270/52 -39°260/57 -47°
FSDused from 647 nm out; 25 nm from the line190/9230/30 18°240/23 13°240/20 6°260/22 -9°250/31 -21°250/43 -36°260/49 -43°270/53 -47°

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
SLC Salt Lake City, UT departure no report just now 4,230 ft
EVW Evanston, WY 50 nm out, 14 nm north of the line no report just now 7,142 ft
RKS Rock Springs, WY 139 nm out, 5 nm north of the line no report just now 6,764 ft
RWL Rawlins, WY 219 nm out, 8 nm southeast of the line no report just now 6,816 ft
GUR Guernsey, WY 339 nm out, 8 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 4,401 ft
CDR Chadron, NE 418 nm out, 9 nm northwest of the line no report just now 3,297 ft
GRN Gordon, NE 458 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line no report just now 3,562 ft
SUO Rosebud, SD 518 nm out, 12 nm north of the line no report just now 2,724 ft
ICR Winner, SD 558 nm out, 12 nm north of the line no report just now 2,032 ft
MHE Mitchell, SD 647 nm out, 21 nm north of the line no report just now 1,304 ft
FSD Sioux Falls, SD destination no report just now 1,430 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 7,142 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At FSD when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 4:13 am CDT (09:13 UTC)

FSD 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 6:52 pm MDT (00:52 UTC), at FSD 6:49 pm CDT (23:49 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:17 pm CDT (00:17 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at FSD is before sunrise there (7:37 am CDT (12:37 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 southern Rockies
Radar now, the southern Rockies · 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: Salt Lake City International, Joe Foss Field.