Denver International to Tri-Cities Airport DEN → PSC
740 nautical miles (851 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 306°, about 298° magnetic at the departure end (variation 8E). At 120 knots that is 5 h 55 min at the quickest height in today's winds (24,000 ft, a 5-knot tailwind), arriving about 1:28 am PDT (08:28 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: 1,448 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 above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 36,000 ft. Over the first 600 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the first 360 nm of the route.
- 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 50 to 340 nm out.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 60 to 60 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 140 to 230 nm out.
- AIRMET ZULU 3C: moderate icing up to 22,000 ft. Over the route from 170 to 550 nm out.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 170 to 710 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 320 to 560 nm out.
- AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 16,000 ft. Over the last 170 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 1W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 39,000 ft. Near the route, at the destination end.
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 DEN.
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 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, RKS, LND, PIH, DLN, BOI, LWS). 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 | 210° at 13 kt | −1 kt | 1 °C | 121 kt | 6 h 07 min | 1:40 am PDT (08:40 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 220° at 18 kt | +2 kt | -1 °C | 118 kt | 6 h 16 min | 1:49 am PDT (08:49 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 220° at 24 kt | +5 kt | -4 °C | 115 kt | 6 h 26 min | 1:59 am PDT (08:59 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 220° at 29 kt | +2 kt | -8 °C | 118 kt | 6 h 16 min | 1:49 am PDT (08:49 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 210° at 35 kt | 0 | -11 °C | 120 kt | 6 h 10 min | 1:43 am PDT (08:43 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 210° at 40 kt | −2 kt | -15 °C | 122 kt | 6 h 04 min | 1:37 am PDT (08:37 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 210° at 50 kt | −5 kt | -26 °C | 125 kt | 5 h 55 min | 1:28 am PDT (08:28 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 210° at 54 kt | +3 kt | -30 °C | 117 kt | 6 h 19 min | 1:52 am PDT (08:52 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 220° at 57 kt | +9 kt | -35 °C | 111 kt | 6 h 40 min | 2:13 am PDT (09:13 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 230° at 52 kt | +14 kt | -42 °C | 106 kt | 6 h 59 min | 2:32 am PDT (09:32 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
| 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; 25 nm from the line | 240/21 14° | 250/44 6° | 220/49 -8° | 220/49 -21° | 230/54 -30° | 240/57 -35° | 240/49 -45° | ||
| RKS | used from 100 nm out; 102 nm from the line | 200/41 | 220/44 1° | 220/35 -11° | 220/46 -24° | 210/53 -27° | 220/62 -35° | 230/61 -44° | ||
| LND | used from 250 nm out; 48 nm from the line | 200/23 6° | 220/31 1° | 220/39 -11° | 230/39 -23° | 220/51 -28° | 220/66 -37° | 230/68 -45° | ||
| PIH | used from 350 nm out; 50 nm from the line | L/V | 240/13 1° | 240/15 -3° | 210/42 -15° | 200/70 -25° | 220/74 -29° | 220/71 -36° | 220/62 -43° | |
| DLN | used from 450 nm out; 78 nm from the line | 090/6 -6° | 240/22 -4° | 210/34 -16° | 210/62 -25° | 210/66 -34° | 210/82 -36° | 220/77 -42° | ||
| BOI | used from 500 nm out; 93 nm from the line | 300/7 2° | 280/5 -4° | 210/16 -9° | 210/60 -20° | 210/75 -29° | 210/63 -32° | 220/64 -32° | 220/54 -39° | |
| LWS | used from 600 nm out; 61 nm from the line | 070/10 | 080/12 -2° | 030/12 -6° | 080/7 -10° | 170/34 -21° | 160/46 -32° | 200/33 -35° | 220/22 -35° | 230/18 -38° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN Denver, CO | departure | no report just now | 5,433 ft | ||||
| BJC Denver, CO | 20 nm out, 10 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 5,673 ft | ||||
| SAA Saratoga, WY | 140 nm out, 21 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 7,014 ft | ||||
| DWX Dixon, WY | 150 nm out, 17 nm south of the line | no report just now | 6,548 ft | ||||
| BPI Big Piney, WY | 290 nm out, 6 nm west of the line | no report just now | 6,993 ft | ||||
| AFO Afton, WY | 330 nm out, 16 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 6,220 ft | ||||
| IDA Idaho Falls, ID | 400 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 4,743 ft | ||||
| LLJ Challis, ID | 510 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 5,075 ft | ||||
| MYL Mc Call, ID | 590 nm out, 15 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 5,024 ft | ||||
| JSY Joseph, OR | 650 nm out, 14 nm south of the line | no report just now | 4,126 ft | ||||
| ALW Walla Walla, WA | 700 nm out, 8 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,194 ft | ||||
| PSC Pasco, WA | destination | no report just now | 410 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 7,014 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At PSC when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:28 am PDT (08:28 UTC)
PSC 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 DEN 6:24 pm MDT (00:24 UTC), at PSC 6:15 pm PDT (01:15 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:45 pm PDT (01:45 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at PSC is before sunrise there (7:09 am PDT (14:09 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: Denver International, Tri-Cities Airport.