// Station · 20m ago

KRCA

Ellsworth Air Force Base

CAT VFR

WIND 360° / 8 kt

VIS 10+ SM

CEILING Few/scattered only

T/Td 27.1°C / 4.2°C

ALTIM 30.19 inHg

ELEV 3,276 FT

44.1450°N / 103.1040°W

LOCATION · Rapid City, US

WIND

360°8 kt

KRCA · 3,276 FT

// Current + 24h forecast · METAR loaded · TAF loading…

METRIC

NOW · 17Z

+6H

+12H

+18H

WIND

360°/8

VIS

10+ SM

CEILING

—

LAYERS

FEW150 FEW200

T / Td

27 / 4

ALTIM

30.19"

// Interpretation

VFR with moderate winds at 360°/8 kt. Visibility better than 10 statute miles and a few at 15,000 ft, and a few at 20,000 ft. Would shift to MVFR if the ceiling drops to 3,000 ft or visibility below 5 SM.

Loading TAF forecast narrative…

SOURCES · NOAA Aviation Weather Center METAR (TAF loading…)

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// Raw observation METAR string + decoded

METAR KRCA 251755Z AUTO 36008KT 10SM FEW150 FEW200 27/04 A3019 RMK AO2 SLP200 T02710042 10278 20161 50000

KRCA · day 25 at 17:55 UTC · wind from 360° at 8 kt · visibility 10+ SM · a few clouds at 15,000 ft · a few clouds at 20,000 ft · temp 27°C / dewpoint 4°C · altimeter 30.19" Hg · automated station w/ precipitation discriminator · sea-level pressure 1020.0 mb

// Runway analysis · computed from current METAR wind

Wind 360° @ 8 kt

1 USABLE · 1 AVOID · 1 CAUTION

WIND

360°8 kt

HEADWIND CAUTION · HIGH XW AVOID · TAILWIND

HEADWIND ENDS 1 usable

31★ HDG 310° H5 kt X6 kt RIGHT PRIMARY · 13,497'

TAILWIND ENDS · AVOID 1 ends

13 HDG 130° T5 kt X6 kt LEFT —

Pattern altitude: 4,276 ft MSL (1,000 ft AGL). Verify pattern direction and altitude with the chart supplement before flying. // On calm winds (<3 kt), all runways are usable — favor the longest or whatever the pattern calls for.

// Density altitude · ISA +18°C

5,200FT

+1,924 FT ABOVE FIELD ELEV

// DA · LAST 24 HOURS loading…

FIELD ELEV3,276 FT OAT+27°C ISA DELTA+18°C PRESSURE ALT3,005 FT

// Performance equivalent Operating here right now feels like operating at KCUT (Custer County Airport, Custer, elev 5,602 ft) on a standard ISA day.

// Aircraft performance impact SIGNIFICANT

TAKEOFF ROLL CLIMB RATE

Single-engine propC172, PA-28, Cherokee

+52%

-36%

Turbo / high-perf pistonSR22T, Bonanza, Mooney

+36%

-23%

Light jetCJ4, Phenom 300, M2

+21%

-16%

Approximate using ~10% perf loss / 1,000 ft DA for normally aspirated, scaled by powerplant type. Verify with your aircraft's POH for accurate numbers — especially above 5,000 ft DA where these rules of thumb diverge. Severity rating assumes a standard altimeter setting (29.92" Hg / 1013 hPa); a non-standard setting shifts the effective altitude by roughly 1,000 ft per 1" Hg of deviation.

// Cloud layers · 2 reported · highest to lowest

// Reported layers (highest → lowest)

FEW200

Few · base 20,000 ft AGL · ~1–2 oktas

FEW150

Few · base 15,000 ft AGL · ~1–2 oktas

// Computed

CEILING— HIGHEST LAYER20,000 ft TOTAL COVERAGE~23% (sparse) FREEZING LEVEL16,963 ft VFR MARGINunlimited

// Sun & Moon · times in Z · bar = local day (UTC-7)

12:08ZSUNRISE

18:56ZSOLAR NOON

01:43ZSUNSET

02:13ZCIVIL END

CURRENT18:15Z DAYLIGHT REMAINING7h 27m VFR NIGHT BEGINS02:13Z (7h 58m) DAY LENGTH13h 34m

Waxing Gibbous

ILLUMINATION94% MOONRISE22:15Z MOONSET11:49Z FULL MOON IN2 days

// Nearest reporting stations

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// Area map · 60 NM radius · CartoDB Dark Matter + aeronautical overlay

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