Willow Run Airport to St. Cloud Sky Central Airport YIP → STC
496 nautical miles (571 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 297°, about 303° magnetic at the departure end (variation 6W). At 120 knots that is 4 h 33 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 11-knot headwind), arriving about 12:19 am CDT (05:19 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: 1 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 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 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 YIP.
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 20:00–03:00 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 5 forecast points nearest it (FWA, MKG, GRB, LSE, MSP). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 ft | 240° at 16 kt | +11 kt | 109 kt | 4 h 33 min | 12:19 am CDT (05:19 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 270° at 16 kt | +15 kt | 15 °C | 105 kt | 4 h 43 min | 12:29 am CDT (05:29 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 280° at 16 kt | +15 kt | 11 °C | 105 kt | 4 h 43 min | 12:29 am CDT (05:29 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 290° at 14 kt | +15 kt | 7 °C | 105 kt | 4 h 43 min | 12:29 am CDT (05:29 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 300° at 14 kt | +15 kt | 3 °C | 105 kt | 4 h 43 min | 12:29 am CDT (05:29 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 300° at 17 kt | +17 kt | -1 °C | 103 kt | 4 h 49 min | 12:35 am CDT (05:35 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 300° at 20 kt | +20 kt | -6 °C | 100 kt | 4 h 58 min | 12:44 am CDT (05:44 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 290° at 21 kt | +22 kt | -10 °C | 98 kt | 5 h 04 min | 12:50 am CDT (05:50 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 300° at 31 kt | +31 kt | -21 °C | 89 kt | 5 h 34 min | 1:20 am CDT (06:20 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 310° at 45 kt | +44 kt | -37 °C | 76 kt | 6 h 32 min | 2:18 am CDT (07:18 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 310° at 49 kt | +48 kt | -46 °C | 72 kt | 6 h 53 min | 2:39 am CDT (07:39 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 300° at 68 kt | +69 kt | -51 °C | 51 kt | 9 h 44 min | 5:30 am CDT (10:30 UTC) |
Based on data from the 11th at 18:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 00:00 UTC for use 20:00 to 03:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FWA | used from 0 nm out; 101 nm from the line | 350/9 | 350/24 15° | 360/25 9° | 360/29 4° | 350/31 -10° | 340/39 -22° | 330/40 -37° | 320/38 -43° | 320/48 -48° |
| MKG | used from 50 nm out; 57 nm from the line | 250/5 | 320/10 15° | 310/19 9° | 320/21 3° | 310/23 -10° | 330/37 -22° | 330/51 -38° | 320/44 -47° | 300/60 -49° |
| GRB | used from 199 nm out; 38 nm from the line | 240/24 | 260/18 16° | 270/20 11° | 290/14 4° | 280/24 -9° | 300/34 -21° | 310/51 -38° | 310/54 -48° | 300/71 -51° |
| LSE | used from 298 nm out; 57 nm from the line | 220/33 | 250/29 17° | 250/15 9° | 260/12 6° | 280/21 -9° | 280/33 -20° | 300/43 -36° | 310/56 -45° | 300/79 -53° |
| MSP | used from 397 nm out; 37 nm from the line | 200/28 | 240/30 19° | 240/24 12° | 240/17 5° | 270/24 -10° | 270/33 -20° | 280/48 -35° | 290/55 -45° | 280/84 -54° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YIP Detroit, MI | departure | no report just now | 715 ft | ||||
| JXN Jackson, MI | 40 nm out, 18 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,000 ft | ||||
| GRR Grand Rapids, MI | 99 nm out, 6 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 793 ft | ||||
| MKG Muskegon, MI | 129 nm out, 4 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 628 ft | ||||
| OSH Oshkosh, WI | 248 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 808 ft | ||||
| PCZ Waupaca, WI | 268 nm out, 11 nm north of the line | no report just now | 840 ft | ||||
| CWA Mosinee, WI | 308 nm out, 25 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,277 ft | ||||
| EAU Eau Claire, WI | 377 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 913 ft | ||||
| RNH New Richmond, WI | 427 nm out, 1 nm west of the line | no report just now | 997 ft | ||||
| ANE Minneapolis, MN | 457 nm out, 11 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 912 ft | ||||
| STC St Cloud, MN | destination | no report just now | 1,030 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,277 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At STC when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 12:19 am CDT (05:19 UTC)
STC has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/6656 ANOKA, MN, Monday, October 5, 2026 through Monday, October 19, 2026 Local 10 nm from the route, 467 nm along the route · security · until 19 October · ZMP
Daylight
Sunset at YIP 6:57 pm EDT (22:57 UTC), at STC 6:36 pm CDT (23:36 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:06 pm CDT (00:06 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at STC is before sunrise there (7:28 am CDT (12:28 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: Willow Run Airport, St. Cloud Sky Central Airport.