Waco Regional to Santa FE Regional ACT → SAF
504 nautical miles (580 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 301°, about 294° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7E). At 120 knots that is 3 h 53 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 10-knot tailwind), arriving about 11:13 pm MDT (05:13 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: 3 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 TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the last 89 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 35,000 ft to 45,000 ft. Over the last 0 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 ACT.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- B38M at 37,000 ft, 35 nm northeast, 5:55 pm CDT (22:55 UTC): light to moderate chop turbulence, remarks: zab fdcs. At the destination end, 35 nm northeast of the line.
as filed, and in English
AXX UA /OV CIM210040/TM 2255/FL370/TP B38M/TB LGT-CONS MOD CHOP/RM ZAB FDCS
- Report
- a routine report filed through AXX
- Where
- 40 nm southwest (210°) of CIM
- Time
- 22:55 UTC
- Height
- at 37,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B38M
- Turbulence
- lgt-cons moderate chop
- Remarks
- zab fdcs
- CRJ7 at 10,000 ft, 0 nm southeast, 6:49 pm CDT (23:49 UTC): remarks: light turbulence, bases above 10,000 ft, vsby 3 miles continuously, during the descent rnav RY20 KSAF. At the destination end, 0 nm southeast of the line.
as filed, and in English
SAF UA /OV KSAF/TM 2349/FL100 /TP CRJ7/RM LIGHT TURBULENCE, BASES ABOVE 100, VSBY 3 MILES CONTINUOUSLY, DURD RNAV RY20 KSAF
- Report
- a routine report filed through SAF
- Where
- over KSAF
- Time
- 23:49 UTC
- Height
- at 10,000 ft
- Aircraft
- CRJ7
- Remarks
- light turbulence, bases above 10,000 ft, vsby 3 miles continuously, during the descent rnav RY20 KSAF
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 (DAL, ABI, LBB, TCC, ABQ). 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 | 180° at 25 kt | −10 kt | 18 °C | 130 kt | 3 h 53 min | 11:13 pm MDT (05:13 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 190° at 24 kt | −8 kt | 17 °C | 128 kt | 3 h 56 min | 11:16 pm MDT (05:16 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 210° at 22 kt | −1 kt | 13 °C | 121 kt | 4 h 10 min | 11:30 pm MDT (05:30 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 220° at 23 kt | +4 kt | 10 °C | 116 kt | 4 h 21 min | 11:41 pm MDT (05:41 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 230° at 24 kt | +7 kt | 6 °C | 113 kt | 4 h 28 min | 11:48 pm MDT (05:48 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 230° at 25 kt | +8 kt | 2 °C | 112 kt | 4 h 30 min | 11:50 pm MDT (05:50 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 230° at 27 kt | +10 kt | -3 °C | 110 kt | 4 h 35 min | 11:55 pm MDT (05:55 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 230° at 28 kt | +11 kt | -6 °C | 109 kt | 4 h 37 min | 11:57 pm MDT (05:57 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 33 kt | +18 kt | -16 °C | 102 kt | 4 h 56 min | 12:16 am MDT (06:16 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 250° at 49 kt | +30 kt | -28 °C | 90 kt | 5 h 36 min | 12:56 am MDT (06:56 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 260° at 48 kt | +36 kt | -38 °C | 84 kt | 6 h | 1:20 am MDT (07:20 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 260° at 43 kt | +35 kt | -50 °C | 85 kt | 5 h 56 min | 1:16 am MDT (07:16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL | used from 0 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 180/21 | 190/24 15° | 230/20 12° | 220/23 8° | 240/22 -5° | 230/18 -15° | 280/33 -29° | 280/36 -39° | 300/33 -52° |
| ABI | used from 49 nm out; 62 nm from the line | 180/26 17° | 220/18 12° | 230/25 8° | 230/28 -5° | 240/29 -14° | 250/35 -28° | 270/37 -39° | 280/37 -51° | |
| LBB | used from 198 nm out; 41 nm from the line | 180/26 20° | 210/21 13° | 230/21 7° | 250/25 -5° | 250/34 -16° | 250/52 -28° | 260/47 -38° | 260/49 -50° | |
| TCC | used from 346 nm out; 34 nm from the line | 200/26 | 200/28 14° | 220/25 7° | 230/28 -7° | 240/41 -19° | 240/62 -28° | 250/61 -37° | 250/49 -49° | |
| ABQ | used from 444 nm out; 60 nm from the line | 200/28 13° | 210/28 5° | 210/44 -7° | 230/46 -20° | 230/80 -28° | 240/74 -35° | 240/58 -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
| Airport | Where | Conditions | Wind | Visibility | Ceiling | Elevation | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACT Waco, TX | departure | no report just now | 516 ft | ||||
| MNZ Hamilton, TX | 40 nm out, 21 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 1,304 ft | ||||
| ETN Eastland, TX | 89 nm out, 5 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 1,467 ft | ||||
| ABI Abilene, TX | 128 nm out, 22 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,790 ft | ||||
| LBB Lubbock, TX | 267 nm out, 9 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 3,282 ft | ||||
| CVN Clovis, NM | 336 nm out, 5 nm north of the line | no report just now | 4,215 ft | ||||
| FSU Fort Sumner, NM | 395 nm out, 20 nm south of the line | no report just now | 4,164 ft | ||||
| SXU Santa Rosa, NM | 425 nm out, 6 nm south of the line | no report just now | 4,791 ft | ||||
| LVS Las Vegas, NM | 464 nm out, 22 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 6,877 ft | ||||
| SAF Santa Fe, NM | destination | no report just now | 6,348 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 6,877 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At SAF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 11:13 pm MDT (05:13 UTC)
SAF has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/0543 MCGREGOR, TX 16 nm from the route, at the departure end · security · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at ACT 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC), at SAF 6:33 pm MDT (00:33 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:58 pm MDT (00:58 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at SAF is before sunrise there (7:08 am MDT (13:08 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: Waco Regional, Santa FE Regional.