Missoula Montana Airport to Los Angeles International MSO → LAX
803 nautical miles (924 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 196°, about 183° magnetic at the departure end (variation 13E). At 120 knots that is 6 h 55 min at the quickest height in today's winds (8,500 ft, a 4-knot headwind), arriving about 6:59 am PDT (13:59 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: 331 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 SIERRA 4E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the first 178 nm of the route.
- AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the first 109 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 1W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 36,000 ft. Over the first 337 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the first 545 nm of the route.
- AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the route from 119 to 516 nm out.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Near the route, 595 nm along the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 3W: strong surface winds (30 knots or more) (due to sustained surface winds greater than 30 knots). Near the route, 645 nm along 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 MSO.
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 6 forecast points nearest it (DLN, BOI, BAM, BIH, WJF, ONT). 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 | 230° at 6 kt | +5 kt | 3 °C | 115 kt | 6 h 59 min | 7:03 am PDT (14:03 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 230° at 7 kt | +6 kt | 3 °C | 114 kt | 7 h 03 min | 7:07 am PDT (14:07 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 240° at 5 kt | +4 kt | -1 °C | 116 kt | 6 h 55 min | 6:59 am PDT (13:59 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 230° at 11 kt | +9 kt | -3 °C | 111 kt | 7 h 14 min | 7:18 am PDT (14:18 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 220° at 18 kt | +16 kt | -7 °C | 104 kt | 7 h 43 min | 7:47 am PDT (14:47 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 210° at 25 kt | +24 kt | -10 °C | 96 kt | 8 h 22 min | 8:26 am PDT (15:26 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 210° at 33 kt | +32 kt | -14 °C | 88 kt | 9 h 08 min | 9:12 am PDT (16:12 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 210° at 39 kt | +38 kt | -17 °C | 82 kt | 9 h 48 min | 9:52 am PDT (16:52 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 210° at 54 kt | +53 kt | -26 °C | 67 kt | 11 h 59 min | 12:03 pm PDT (19:03 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 220° at 60 kt | +56 kt | -30 °C | 64 kt | 12 h 33 min | 12:37 pm PDT (19:37 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 220° at 60 kt | +55 kt | -34 °C | 65 kt | 12 h 21 min | 12:25 pm PDT (19:25 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 220° at 53 kt | +47 kt | -42 °C | 73 kt | 11 h | 11:04 am PDT (18:04 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DLN | used from 0 nm out; 104 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 99 nm out; 100 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° | |
| BAM | used from 297 nm out; 78 nm from the line | 310/7 0° | 270/19 -7° | 200/38 -17° | 190/49 -28° | 220/69 -29° | 220/63 -33° | 230/48 -41° | ||
| BIH | used from 496 nm out; 92 nm from the line | L/V | 240/7 1° | 190/13 -3° | 200/26 -16° | 210/43 -26° | 220/54 -28° | 220/51 -35° | 220/47 -43° | |
| WJF | used from 694 nm out; 35 nm from the line | 200/28 6° | 210/28 3° | 210/29 -4° | 210/28 -14° | 220/41 -20° | 220/47 -29° | 220/46 -37° | 220/53 -44° | |
| ONT | used from 793 nm out; 39 nm from the line | 190/8 | 190/19 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
| Airport | Where | Conditions | Wind | Visibility | Ceiling | Elevation | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSO Missoula, MT | departure | no report just now | 3,205 ft | ||||
| HRF Hamilton, MT | 40 nm out, 9 nm east of the line | no report just now | 3,635 ft | ||||
| BAM Battle Mountain, NV | 397 nm out, 21 nm west of the line | no report just now | 4,536 ft | ||||
| TMT Austin, NV | 466 nm out, 19 nm west of the line | no report just now | 5,735 ft | ||||
| TPH Tonopah, NV | 545 nm out, 6 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 5,430 ft | ||||
| IYK Inyokern, CA | 694 nm out, 5 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 2,457 ft | ||||
| WJF Lancaster, CA | 754 nm out, 2 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 2,350 ft | ||||
| LAX Los Angeles, CA | destination | no report just now | 127 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 5,735 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, 6:59 am PDT (13:59 UTC)
LAX has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8783 38NM NE BAKERSFIELD, CA, Saturday, October 10, 2026 through Friday, October 23, 2026 UTC 18 nm from the route, 694 nm along the route · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · until 23 October · ZLA
- 4/3635 DISNEYLAND THEME PARK, ANAHEIM,, CA 23 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · ZLA
Daylight
Sunset at MSO 6:53 pm MDT (00:53 UTC), at LAX 6:22 pm PDT (01:22 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:47 pm PDT (01:47 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: Missoula Montana Airport, Los Angeles International.