Centennial Airport to San Francisco International APA → SFO
829 nautical miles (954 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 267°, about 259° magnetic at the departure end (variation 8E). At 120 knots that is 7 h 41 min at the quickest height in today's winds (8,500 ft, a 12-knot headwind), arriving about 9:20 am PDT (16:20 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: 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
- SIGMET W17W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 30,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 20 knots, until 3:55 am MDT (09:55 UTC). Over the route from 380 to 470 nm out.
as issued
WSUS33 KKCI 120755 MKCW WST 120755 CONVECTIVE SIGMET 17W VALID UNTIL 0955Z AZ UT NV FROM 20WNW BVL-30N BCE-60SSW BCE-50NNE LAS-60NNW ELY-20WNW BVL AREA TS MOV FROM 24020KT. TOPS TO FL300.
- 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 first 150 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 42,000 ft. Over the first 340 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the first 490 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 80 to 580 nm out.
- AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the route from 90 to 590 nm out.
- AIRMET TANGO 1W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 39,000 ft. Over the last 140 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 APA.
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 08:00–15:00 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 7 forecast points nearest it (DEN, GJT, BCE, ELY, BIH, SAC, SFO). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8,500 ft | 230° at 14 kt | +12 kt | 4 °C | 108 kt | 7 h 41 min | 9:20 am PDT (16:20 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 230° at 18 kt | +14 kt | 0 °C | 106 kt | 7 h 49 min | 9:28 am PDT (16:28 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 230° at 21 kt | +17 kt | -4 °C | 103 kt | 8 h 03 min | 9:42 am PDT (16:42 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 230° at 24 kt | +19 kt | -7 °C | 101 kt | 8 h 12 min | 9:51 am PDT (16:51 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 230° at 28 kt | +22 kt | -11 °C | 98 kt | 8 h 28 min | 10:07 am PDT (17:07 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 230° at 30 kt | +25 kt | -14 °C | 95 kt | 8 h 44 min | 10:23 am PDT (17:23 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 35 kt | +31 kt | -23 °C | 89 kt | 9 h 19 min | 10:58 am PDT (17:58 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 230° at 49 kt | +42 kt | -31 °C | 78 kt | 10 h 38 min | 12:17 pm PDT (19:17 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 230° at 56 kt | +48 kt | -37 °C | 72 kt | 11 h 31 min | 1:10 pm PDT (20:10 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 230° at 56 kt | +47 kt | -44 °C | 73 kt | 11 h 21 min | 1:00 pm PDT (20:00 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN | used from 0 nm out; 38 nm from the line | 270/24 11° | 230/13 5° | 230/48 -8° | 230/46 -20° | 230/63 -30° | 240/78 -36° | 240/78 -48° | ||
| GJT | used from 100 nm out; 50 nm from the line | 220/26 6° | 230/39 0° | 220/55 -13° | 230/60 -23° | 230/78 -31° | 230/80 -35° | 230/74 -44° | ||
| BCE | used from 300 nm out; 86 nm from the line | 200/32 -2° | 210/57 -15° | 220/71 -22° | 220/69 -30° | 220/64 -38° | 220/67 -44° | |||
| ELY | used from 400 nm out; 48 nm from the line | 210/34 1° | 220/40 -4° | 220/39 -17° | 210/51 -24° | 220/65 -30° | 220/60 -37° | 220/56 -44° | ||
| BIH | used from 550 nm out; 90 nm from the line | L/V | 020/6 0° | 140/7 -7° | 210/31 -16° | 230/34 -26° | 220/43 -30° | 220/52 -36° | 220/46 -43° | |
| SAC | used from 699 nm out; 67 nm from the line | L/V | L/V 4° | 340/9 -4° | 340/22 -8° | 360/71 -12° | 360/82 -23° | 350/58 -37° | 310/30 -40° | 270/25 -44° |
| SFO | used from 799 nm out; 15 nm from the line | 090/9 | 050/12 4° | 010/17 -2° | 350/34 -3° | 360/70 -11° | 360/75 -22° | 350/57 -38° | 330/37 -42° | 280/25 -44° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APA Denver, CO | departure | no report just now | 5,884 ft | ||||
| LXV Leadville, CO | 70 nm out, 17 nm south of the line | no report just now | 9,933 ft | ||||
| EGE Eagle, CO | 100 nm out, 11 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 6,547 ft | ||||
| GJT Grand Junction, CO | 170 nm out, 16 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 4,861 ft | ||||
| PUC Price, UT | 270 nm out, 24 nm north of the line | no report just now | 5,957 ft | ||||
| FOM Fillmore, UT | 350 nm out, 7 nm south of the line | no report just now | 4,984 ft | ||||
| HTH Hawthorne, NV | 650 nm out, 17 nm north of the line | no report just now | 4,230 ft | ||||
| CPU San Andreas, CA | 739 nm out, 13 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 1,327 ft | ||||
| LVK Livermore, CA | 799 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 399 ft | ||||
| SFO San Francisco, CA | destination | no report just now | 13 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 9,933 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At SFO when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:20 am PDT (16:20 UTC)
SFO has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8911 DENVER, CO, Monday, October 12, 2026 UTC 19 nm from the route, at the departure end · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · today · ZDV
- 6/7094 45NM NE MERCED, CA, Sunday, October 4, 2026 through Tuesday, October 20, 2026 UTC 22 nm from the route, 709 nm along the route · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · until 20 October · ZOA
Daylight
Sunset at APA 6:23 pm MDT (00:23 UTC), at SFO 6:35 pm PDT (01:35 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:01 pm PDT (02:01 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: Centennial Airport, San Francisco International.