The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 4:21 am EDT (08:21 UTC)

Richmond International to St. Pete-Clearwater International RIC → PIE

636 nautical miles (732 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 207°, about 217° magnetic at the departure end (variation 10W). At 120 knots that is 5 h 21 min at the quickest height in today's winds (6,500 ft, a 1-knot headwind), arriving about 9:42 am EDT (13:42 UTC). Right now RIC is IFR, wind from the northwest (310°) at 9 knots; PIE is VFR, wind calm. 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: 192 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

  • AIRMET SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist, fog). Over the first 10 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) from 30,000 ft to 41,000 ft. Over the first 457 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 5W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 10,000 ft. Over the first 129 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 RIC.

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

  • E145 at 800 ft, 1 nm northwest, 2:07 am EDT (06:07 UTC): a routine report with nothing remarked on. At the departure end, 1 nm northwest of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    RIC UA /OV RIC340001/TM 0607/FL008/TP E145
    Report
    a routine report filed through RIC
    Where
    1 nm north (340°) of RIC
    Time
    06:07 UTC
    Height
    at 800 ft
    Aircraft
    E145

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 (RIC, RDU, FLO, CHS, SAV, JAX, PIE). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft290° at 18 kt+2 kt118 kt5 h 23 min9:44 am EDT (13:44 UTC)
6,500 ft290° at 17 kt+1 kt13 °C119 kt5 h 21 min9:42 am EDT (13:42 UTC)
8,500 ft290° at 21 kt+2 kt11 °C118 kt5 h 23 min9:44 am EDT (13:44 UTC)
10,500 ft280° at 23 kt+5 kt8 °C115 kt5 h 32 min9:53 am EDT (13:53 UTC)
12,500 ft270° at 25 kt+10 kt5 °C110 kt5 h 47 min10:08 am EDT (14:08 UTC)
14,500 ft260° at 28 kt+15 kt1 °C105 kt6 h 03 min10:24 am EDT (14:24 UTC)
16,500 ft260° at 32 kt+20 kt-3 °C100 kt6 h 22 min10:43 am EDT (14:43 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180250° at 35 kt+23 kt-6 °C97 kt6 h 33 min10:54 am EDT (14:54 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240240° at 41 kt+32 kt-17 °C88 kt7 h 14 min11:35 am EDT (15:35 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300230° at 55 kt+50 kt-31 °C70 kt9 h 05 min1:26 pm EDT (17:26 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340230° at 64 kt+60 kt-40 °C60 kt10 h 36 min2:57 pm EDT (18:57 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390230° at 53 kt+49 kt-51 °C71 kt8 h 57 min1:18 pm EDT (17:18 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
RICused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line270/23280/19 11°270/18 8°240/22 4°230/39 -7°220/55 -18°220/75 -30°230/83 -39°230/64 -50°
RDUused from 50 nm out; 49 nm from the line280/33300/23 11°300/28 8°290/28 4°260/41 -6°240/52 -18°230/66 -31°230/76 -39°240/52 -49°
FLOused from 199 nm out; 19 nm from the line300/16320/14 12°320/19 7°290/26 5°260/39 -6°250/45 -18°230/62 -32°230/83 -40°230/64 -51°
CHSused from 249 nm out; 34 nm from the line280/21270/23 12°280/28 11°260/35 6°250/41 -5°250/45 -16°230/59 -32°220/74 -40°230/67 -52°
SAVused from 348 nm out; 33 nm from the line280/23300/22 14°290/27 11°270/31 6°260/36 -5°260/38 -17°240/49 -32°230/68 -40°230/59 -51°
JAXused from 398 nm out; 53 nm from the line290/14300/16 17°280/22 14°280/24 8°250/32 -6°250/37 -17°230/50 -31°220/52 -41°220/51 -52°
PIEused from 547 nm out; 65 nm from the line350/6L/V 18°290/6 14°280/9 9°250/18 -6°250/23 -17°240/30 -31°220/31 -41°220/30 -52°

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
RIC Richmond, VA departure IFR Sky: overcast at 700 feet Weather: mist from the northwest (310°) at 9 knots 4 mi 700 ft 167 ft 3:54 am EDT (07:54 UTC)
BKT Blackstone, VA 40 nm out, 16 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR from the north-northeast (030°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 437 ft 12:55 UTC
RDU Raleigh/Durham, NC 119 nm out, 20 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 3,500 feet, a few clouds at 7,000 feet from the west-southwest (240°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 435 ft 07:51 UTC
FAY Fayetteville, NC 169 nm out, 1 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR Sky: scattered clouds at 900 feet from the west-southwest (240°) at 9 knots 10+ mi none 189 ft 08:07 UTC
FLO Florence, SC 229 nm out, 18 nm west of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 500 feet calm 10+ mi none 146 ft 08:13 UTC
CHS Charleston, SC 308 nm out, 1 nm northeast of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 20,000 feet from the west-southwest (250°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 46 ft 07:56 UTC
HXD Hilton Head Island, SC 358 nm out, 12 nm northwest of the line, tower VFR from the west-southwest (250°) at 5 knots, gusting to 11 10+ mi none 19 ft 08:15 UTC
SSI St Simons Island, GA 428 nm out, 18 nm west of the line VFR from the west-southwest (250°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 18 ft 07:55 UTC
CRG Jacksonville, FL 477 nm out, 3 nm west of the line, tower VFR calm 10+ mi none 40 ft 07:53 UTC
OCF Ocala, FL 557 nm out, 8 nm west of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 11,000 feet from the northwest (310°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 90 ft 07:51 UTC
BKV Brooksville, FL 597 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line, tower low IFR Weather: fog calm 0.25 mi none 76 ft 08:14 UTC
PIE St Petersburg-Clearwater, FL destination VFR calm 10+ mi none 10 ft 3:53 am EDT (07:53 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 437 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At PIE when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:42 am EDT (13:42 UTC)

Wind from the north at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for PIE
  • From Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the north at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the north at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 9:00 pm EDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the north at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for RIC, the departure
  • From Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the west at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 600 feet, a broken layer at 3,000 feet
  • At times between Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC) and 6:00 am EDT (10:00 UTC): visibility 5 miles, light rain showers, mist, a broken layer at 900 feet
  • From Mon 6:00 am EDT (10:00 UTC): wind from the west-northwest at 10 knots, gusting to 17, visibility more than 6 miles, showers nearby, a broken layer at 1,000 feet
  • From Mon 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the northwest at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 1,500 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm EDT (23:00 UTC): wind from the north at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet

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

  • 6/8508 Johnsontown, NC 18 nm from the route, 179 nm along the route · security · ZDC
  • 6/8713 Maxton, NC, Friday, October 16, 2026 through Sunday, October 18, 2026 UTC 12 nm from the route, 189 nm along the route · air shows/sports · starts Friday 16 October · ZDC
  • 6/8902 MAYPORT, FL, Tuesday, October 13, 2026 through Saturday, October 17, 2026 Local 1 nm from the route, 477 nm along the route · security · starts tomorrow · ZJX
  • 6/8389 Jacksonville, FL, Thursday, October 15, 2026 through Sunday, October 18, 2026 UTC 3 nm from the route, 487 nm along the route · air shows/sports · starts Thursday 15 October · ZJX

Daylight

Sunset at RIC 6:36 pm EDT (22:36 UTC), at PIE 7:04 pm EDT (23:04 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:28 pm EDT (23:28 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 Southeast
Radar now, the Southeast · 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: Richmond International, St. Pete-Clearwater International.