The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 1:18 am EDT (05:18 UTC)

Detroit Metro Wayne County to Los Angeles International DTW → LAX

1,716 nautical miles (1,975 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 265°, about 272° magnetic at the departure end (variation 7W). At 120 knots that is 17 h 10 min at the quickest height in today's winds (10,500 ft, a 20-knot headwind), arriving about 3:28 pm PDT (22:28 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: 4,893 flights in the DOT's last twelve reported months, the route's page.

The return flight

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 7C: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 34,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 2:55 am EDT (06:55 UTC). Over the route from 998 to 1087 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS32 KKCI 120455
    MKCC WST 120455
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 7C
    VALID UNTIL 0655Z
    TX OK CO NM
    FROM 40NNW PUB-70WSW LBL-40NE CME-40ESE RSK-30ENE HBU-40NNW PUB
    AREA TS MOV FROM 22040KT. TOPS TO FL340.
  • 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 170 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: 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 329 to 898 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the route from 908 to 1497 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 38,000 ft. Over the route from 918 to 1277 nm out.
  • 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 998 to 1137 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 1177 to 1497 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 35,000 ft to 45,000 ft. Over the route from 1257 to 1437 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 2E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 1367 to 1447 nm out.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the route from 1407 to 1477 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 1W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 15,000 ft. Over the route from 1536 to 1706 nm out.

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 DTW.

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 15 forecast points nearest it (FWA, MKG, JOT, BRL, DSM, OMA, GRI, GLD, PUB, ALS, FMN, BCE, PRC, LAS, ONT). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft230° at 27 kt+26 kt16 °C94 kt18 h 15 min4:33 pm PDT (23:33 UTC)
6,500 ft240° at 25 kt+25 kt14 °C95 kt18 h 04 min4:22 pm PDT (23:22 UTC)
8,500 ft230° at 21 kt+21 kt10 °C99 kt17 h 20 min3:38 pm PDT (22:38 UTC)
10,500 ft230° at 21 kt+20 kt6 °C100 kt17 h 10 min3:28 pm PDT (22:28 UTC)
12,500 ft230° at 22 kt+21 kt2 °C99 kt17 h 20 min3:38 pm PDT (22:38 UTC)
14,500 ft230° at 25 kt+24 kt-2 °C96 kt17 h 52 min4:10 pm PDT (23:10 UTC)
16,500 ft230° at 29 kt+28 kt-6 °C92 kt18 h 39 min4:57 pm PDT (23:57 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180230° at 31 kt+31 kt-9 °C89 kt19 h 17 min5:35 pm PDT (00:35 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240240° at 38 kt+39 kt-20 °C81 kt21 h 11 min7:29 pm PDT (02:29 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300240° at 49 kt+51 kt-31 °C69 kt24 h 52 min11:10 pm PDT (06:10 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340250° at 55 kt+57 kt-37 °C63 kt27 h 14 min1:32 am PDT (08:32 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390250° at 51 kt+54 kt-47 °C66 kt26 h12:18 am PDT (07:18 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
FWAused from 0 nm out; 92 nm from the line300/17320/20 16°330/20 10°340/15 3°310/27 -8°320/37 -20°330/52 -36°330/65 -43°330/60 -50°
MKGused from 100 nm out; 71 nm from the line260/22290/16 15°300/11 10°290/5 3°300/26 -9°300/32 -20°320/48 -36°320/61 -45°310/74 -53°
JOTused from 150 nm out; 47 nm from the line250/23270/22 15°250/16 10°240/9 4°280/22 -7°280/29 -19°300/29 -34°290/50 -43°300/64 -52°
BRLused from 299 nm out; 51 nm from the line230/24240/29 15°290/16 10°280/15 4°260/23 -7°260/32 -19°260/36 -33°280/48 -41°280/59 -52°
DSMused from 399 nm out; 47 nm from the line230/40250/33 17°250/18 12°240/17 5°260/28 -8°270/34 -19°260/41 -33°260/55 -41°270/62 -51°
OMAused from 499 nm out; 54 nm from the line220/47240/33 19°250/18 11°230/17 6°260/29 -8°250/33 -19°250/51 -33°260/61 -40°270/62 -49°
GRIused from 599 nm out; 67 nm from the line230/35 21°230/23 13°220/20 7°240/25 -8°240/37 -20°250/49 -33°260/57 -38°260/58 -47°
GLDused from 748 nm out; 76 nm from the line230/49230/42 15°220/26 8°240/18 -7°230/27 -21°240/62 -30°240/61 -35°250/57 -47°
PUBused from 948 nm out; 33 nm from the line230/25 13°230/32 6°220/44 -8°230/49 -21°240/70 -28°240/67 -34°240/58 -46°
ALSused from 1048 nm out; 53 nm from the line230/37 4°220/54 -9°230/62 -22°240/77 -26°240/74 -33°230/59 -45°
FMNused from 1147 nm out; 56 nm from the line220/28 9°220/40 2°220/53 -10°220/62 -22°230/79 -28°240/91 -34°230/71 -45°
BCEused from 1297 nm out; 76 nm from the line220/27 -1°210/40 -13°220/54 -21°220/64 -30°220/64 -34°220/52 -44°
PRCused from 1397 nm out; 90 nm from the line210/25 5°200/30 1°220/55 -10°220/61 -21°220/84 -28°230/90 -34°230/73 -45°
LASused from 1447 nm out; 62 nm from the line210/21 10°200/18 5°200/23 -2°210/49 -14°210/63 -21°220/58 -30°220/61 -35°210/56 -44°
ONTused from 1596 nm out; 57 nm from the line190/8190/19 6°210/23 4°210/29 -3°210/47 -13°210/49 -19°220/47 -30°220/50 -36°220/55 -43°

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

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
DTW Detroit, MI departure no report just now 645 ft
ARB Ann Arbor, MI 20 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 839 ft
ARR Chicago/Aurora, IL 229 nm out, 1 nm northwest of the line, tower no report just now 712 ft
CSQ Creston, IA 499 nm out, 5 nm north of the line no report just now 1,299 ft
LNK Lincoln, NE 609 nm out, 20 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 1,218 ft
NRN Norton, KS 758 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line no report just now 2,384 ft
COS Colorado Springs, CO 998 nm out, 8 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 6,187 ft
TEX Telluride, CO 1147 nm out, 12 nm northwest of the line no report just now 9,069 ft
BDG Blanding, UT 1227 nm out, 17 nm northwest of the line no report just now 5,867 ft
IFP Bullhead City, AZ 1516 nm out, 19 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 707 ft
EMT El Monte, CA 1696 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line, tower no report just now 295 ft
LAX Los Angeles, CA destination no report just now 127 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 9,069 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At LAX when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 3:28 pm PDT (22:28 UTC)

LAX has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.

Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it

  • 6/8784 LAKE GEORGE, CO, Sunday, October 11, 2026 through Tuesday, October 13, 2026 UTC 24 nm from the route, 1018 nm along the route · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · until 13 October · ZDV
  • 6/8891 Bullhead City, AZ, Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Local 9 nm from the route, 1516 nm along the route · a VIP movement · starts Wednesday 14 October · ZLA
  • 6/8890 LAS VEGAS, NV, Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Local 16 nm from the route, 1516 nm along the route · a VIP movement · starts tomorrow · ZLA
  • 4/3635 DISNEYLAND THEME PARK, ANAHEIM,, CA 16 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · ZLA

Daylight

Sunset at DTW 6:56 pm EDT (22:56 UTC), at LAX 6:23 pm PDT (01:23 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:48 pm PDT (01:48 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

Radar now, the central Great Lakes
Radar now, the central Great Lakes · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the northern Rockies
Radar now, the northern Rockies · loop National Weather Service
Radar, the whole country
Radar, the whole country · loop National Weather Service
Surface analysis now
Surface analysis now Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center

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: Detroit Metro Wayne County, Los Angeles International.