The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 2:45 am PDT (09:45 UTC)

Los Angeles International to Billings Logan International LAX → BIL

844 nautical miles (971 statute miles) northeast on a straight line, true course 029°, about 017° magnetic at the departure end (variation 12E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 37 min at the quickest height in today's winds (30,000 ft, a 63-knot tailwind), arriving about 8:22 am MDT (14:22 UTC). Right now LAX is marginal VFR, wind from the west-southwest (250°) at 7 knots; BIL is marginal VFR, wind from the north-northwest (340°) at 8 knots. 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 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 W18W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 30,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 20 knots, until 3:55 am PDT (10:55 UTC). Over the route from 288 to 476 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS33 KKCI 120903 CCA
    MKCW WST 120903 COR
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 18W
    VALID UNTIL 1055Z
    UT ID NV
    FROM 30E TWF-10W MLD-10SE ILC-50WSW ILC-60NE OAL-30E TWF
    AREA TS MOV FROM 24020KT. TOPS TO FL300.
    ***COR PTS***
  • SIGMET W18W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 30,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 20 knots, until 3:55 am PDT (10:55 UTC). Over the route from 328 to 437 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS33 KKCI 120855
    MKCW WST 120855
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 18W
    VALID UNTIL 1055Z
    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 SIERRA 2E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the first 50 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 1W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 12,000 ft. Over the route from 60 to 476 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the last 427 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the last 407 nm of the route.
  • 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 last 248 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 LAX.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

  • B744 at 1,700 ft, 0 nm east, 2:24 am PDT (09:24 UTC): a few clouds above 1,700 ft, remarks: during the descent runway 25L lax. At the departure end, 0 nm east of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    LAX UA /OV KLAX/TM 0924/FL017/TP B744/SK FEW017/RM DURD RY25L LAX
    Report
    a routine report filed through LAX
    Where
    over KLAX
    Time
    09:24 UTC
    Height
    at 1,700 ft
    Aircraft
    B744
    Sky
    a few clouds from 1,700 ft
    Remarks
    during the descent runway 25L lax

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 eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd 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 (WJF, LAS, ELY, SLC, PIH, LND, BIL). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
5,500 ft210° at 11 kt−11 kt6 °C131 kt6 h 27 min10:12 am MDT (16:12 UTC)
7,500 ft210° at 19 kt−19 kt3 °C139 kt6 h 04 min9:49 am MDT (15:49 UTC)
9,500 ft210° at 23 kt−24 kt1 °C144 kt5 h 52 min9:37 am MDT (15:37 UTC)
11,500 ft220° at 28 kt−28 kt-2 °C148 kt5 h 42 min9:27 am MDT (15:27 UTC)
13,500 ft220° at 31 kt−31 kt-6 °C151 kt5 h 35 min9:20 am MDT (15:20 UTC)
15,500 ft220° at 34 kt−34 kt-10 °C154 kt5 h 29 min9:14 am MDT (15:14 UTC)
17,500 ft220° at 37 kt−37 kt-14 °C157 kt5 h 23 min9:08 am MDT (15:08 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180220° at 38 kt−37 kt-15 °C157 kt5 h 23 min9:08 am MDT (15:08 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240210° at 51 kt−51 kt-24 °C171 kt4 h 56 min8:41 am MDT (14:41 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300220° at 64 kt−63 kt-31 °C183 kt4 h 37 min8:22 am MDT (14:22 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340220° at 62 kt−62 kt-37 °C182 kt4 h 38 min8:23 am MDT (14:23 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390220° at 58 kt−58 kt-44 °C178 kt4 h 44 min8:29 am MDT (14:29 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
WJFused from 0 nm out; 27 nm from the line210/26 4°210/28 2°230/23 -4°240/28 -13°220/47 -23°220/57 -30°220/65 -37°220/59 -45°
LASused from 149 nm out; 75 nm from the line210/20 8°210/29 4°200/32 -3°200/51 -15°210/64 -21°220/70 -30°220/66 -38°220/55 -44°
ELYused from 248 nm out; 93 nm from the line210/34 1°220/40 -4°220/39 -17°210/51 -24°220/65 -30°220/60 -37°220/56 -44°
SLCused from 447 nm out; 62 nm from the line200/16210/23 4°220/34 -3°210/40 -16°220/66 -23°220/64 -31°220/57 -36°220/50 -43°
PIHused from 546 nm out; 55 nm from the line070/8150/19 1°180/32 -4°210/44 -17°210/37 -28°210/74 -31°220/68 -35°220/60 -43°
LNDused from 695 nm out; 102 nm from the line240/10 3°240/30 0°220/42 -13°230/52 -23°220/54 -33°220/52 -36°220/53 -44°
BILused from 744 nm out; 74 nm from the line300/14270/19 -2°260/26 -2°220/28 -13°210/51 -25°220/56 -33°220/61 -39°220/72 -45°

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
LAX Los Angeles, CA departure marginal VFR Sky: a few clouds at 1,600 feet, a broken layer at 2,900 feet, overcast at 4,000 feet from the west-southwest (250°) at 7 knots 10+ mi 2,900 ft 127 ft 2:14 am PDT (09:14 UTC)
PMD Palmdale, CA 40 nm out, 8 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 4,700 feet from the west (260°) at 10 knots 10+ mi none 2,542 ft 08:53 UTC
BTY Beatty, NV 189 nm out, 19 nm northwest of the line no report just now 3,169 ft
ELY Ely, NV 367 nm out, 16 nm west of the line VFR Sky: scattered clouds at 8,500 feet from the south-southwest (210°) at 20 knots, gusting to 31 10+ mi none 6,259 ft 08:53 UTC
MLD Malad City, ID 576 nm out, 10 nm west of the line no report just now 4,503 ft
AFO Afton, WY 635 nm out, 22 nm southeast of the line VFR Sky: scattered clouds at 1,500 feet, overcast at 5,000 feet calm 10+ mi 5,000 ft 6,220 ft 09:35 UTC
JAC Jackson, WY 685 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR Sky: overcast at 4,900 feet calm 10+ mi 4,900 ft 6,451 ft 08:56 UTC
RED Red Lodge, MT 794 nm out, 3 nm north of the line no report just now 5,762 ft
BIL Billings, MT destination marginal VFR Sky: overcast at 1,900 feet from the north-northwest (340°) at 8 knots 9 mi 1,900 ft 3,662 ft 3:39 am MDT (09:39 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 6,451 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At BIL when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:22 am MDT (14:22 UTC)

Wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, showers nearby, a few clouds at 300 feet, overcast at 800 feet IFR

The whole forecast for BIL
  • From Mon 12:00 am MDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the north-northwest at 10 knots, visibility 5 miles, light rain snow ice pellets, mist, a few clouds at 300 feet, overcast at 1,000 feet
  • At times between Mon 12:00 am MDT (06:00 UTC) and 4:00 am MDT (10:00 UTC): visibility 2 miles, light rain snow ice pellets, mist, a broken layer at 300 feet, overcast at 800 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 am MDT (13:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, showers nearby, a few clouds at 300 feet, overcast at 800 feet
  • From Mon 12:00 pm MDT (18:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 800 feet, a broken layer at 2,000 feet
  • From Mon 8:00 pm MDT (02:00 UTC): wind from the east at 8 knots, visibility 5 miles, mist, a few clouds at 300 feet, overcast at 1,500 feet
The forecast for LAX, the departure
  • From Mon 1:00 am PDT (08:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, light rain, overcast at 2,500 feet
  • From Mon 3:00 am PDT (10:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 3,000 feet
  • At times between Mon 3:00 am PDT (10:00 UTC) and 7:00 am PDT (14:00 UTC): visibility 5 miles, light rain, overcast at 2,500 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am PDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 15 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 3,500 feet
  • From Mon 6:00 pm PDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the west at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 4,000 feet

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

  • 4/3635 DISNEYLAND THEME PARK, ANAHEIM,, CA 23 nm from the route, at the departure end · security · ZLA

Daylight

Sunset at LAX 6:22 pm PDT (01:22 UTC), at BIL 6:32 pm MDT (00:32 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:02 pm MDT (01:02 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 Pacific Southwest
Radar now, the Pacific Southwest · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the Pacific Northwest
Radar now, the Pacific Northwest · 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: Los Angeles International, Billings Logan International.