Holding Your Own

Proficiency isn't just about logging time—it’s about staying sharp on the procedures that rarely get used until they suddenly matter. One such procedure is the holding pattern.

Pilots are taught holding procedures early in their IFR training, and most can sketch out a racetrack hold from memory. But when it comes to flying one under real pressure—maybe in busy airspace, bad weather, or after an unexpected clearance—muscle memory can fail. Holding is a classic example of an IFR skill that atrophies without regular use.

GPS direct routing and predictable traffic flow mean most IFR flights today don’t require much holding, but the FAA hasn’t removed the requirement to be proficient in holding procedures just because we don’t do them often.

Holds still show up:

• As part of standard instrument departures (SIDs) and arrivals (STARs)
• At clearance limits when there's a delay
• In non-precision approach missed procedures
• During ATC re-routes or weather diversions

And when they do, a rusty hold can cause confusion, flow control issues, and more work for ATC. It will certainly involve a bruised ego.

So let’s break it down. Everyone knows how a hold looks: racetrack pattern, 180° turns, straight legs, and precise timing for each leg and turn. But where pilots get caught off guard—especially under pressure—is with entry procedures, wind correction, and timing corrections.

This decision often becomes a time drain in the cockpit. You're given a fix and a hold. Now what? Most GPS and modern avionics will suggest an entry, but if you're flying raw data, or ATC wants you to hold at a non-GPS fix, you’ve got to know it cold.

Here’s the cheat sheet, assuming standard right turns.

Entry

• Direct Entry: Easiest. Upon arriving at the fix, turn directly into the hold.
• Teardrop Entry: Starting at the fix, fly approximately 30° off the inbound course on the protected side, then turn back around into the hold.
• Parallel Entry: Fly the outbound leg on the non-holding side, make a turn back toward the fix, and then rejoin the inbound leg.

Instead of overthinking angles, remember this: Entry technique is more about staying on the protected side than doing trigonometry.

Pro tip: The protected area is typically about 8 NM wide on the holding side (varies slightly by altitude and speed) and about 4 NM wide on the non-holding side.

Wind Correction

AIM 5-3-8.j.8(c) states, “Compensate for wind effect primarily by drift correction on the inbound and outbound legs. When outbound, triple the inbound drift correction to avoid major turning adjustments; for example, if correcting left by 8 degrees when inbound, correct right by 24 degrees when outbound.”

Why triple? The reason for this is because when you are making your one-minute turns, they are at standard rate, and do not account for wind drift. Therefore, tripling wind correction on the outbound leg corrects for the wind on the outbound, plus both one-minute standard rate turns in each lap around the hold.  

On the inbound leg, just use normal 1x wind correction. Your ground track will be a bit askew, but this strategy should fly you right to the fix every time and keep you from drifting to the non-holding side on inbound.

Timing

Most pilots don't hold long enough to bother correcting for time. But when you do, here’s the rule:

• Time the inbound leg.
• If it’s more or less than one minute, adjust the outbound leg to compensate (e.g., if the inbound took 1:20, shorten the outbound to 0:40).

The Unexpected Clearance: “...as published”

If you haven’t briefed the approach you were instructed to fly, you’re behind. ATC assumes you’ve already read the plate and won’t ask questions like, “Do I really have to do this hold?”  

Does it say NoPT? Does it instruct an aircraft planning to perform the approach you filed and that was approved? You get the picture.

Most of the success of a flight under IFR is determined before launch by reviewing procedures, both expected and unexpected-but-possible. This goes beyond just briefing approaches at your destination and alternate, but making sure to brief all of the possible approaches, arrivals, and even SIDs.

Pro tip: Always brief the published missed approach procedure and assume you will go missed.

Say It Like a Pro

ATC hates vague readbacks. If you’re cleared for a hold, confirm fix, direction, radial/course, and turns. Example: “N8123K, direct CHIPS VOR, hold northeast CHIPS on the 045 radial, expect further clearance 1420.”

Read back exactly what was said. ATC is listening carefully to make sure you heard them correctly. If you don’t understand something you weren’t required to read back, say so—better to clarify now than bust it later.

Don’t Let GPS Do All the Thinking

Many modern avionics make holding feel like a button press. And that can be dangerous if you don’t verify what the GPS is doing. Some gotchas include wrong direction of turns, inelegant entry pattern, and sloppy leg lengths.

Double-check the hold parameters. Don’t just trust that your box got it right. You fly the airplane, not the magenta line. If the GPS gets confused, revert to basic heading and time.

Practice Without the Pressure

Here’s the truth: You can stay sharp on holding without flying into busy airspace.

Here’s how:

• Practice simulated holds in a home sim or EFB app.
• Load a published hold in your avionics trainer.
• Brief a different hold every week using approach plates.
• Ask ATC for a practice hold on a quiet day (they’re usually happy to oblige).

Also, training flights should include a real-world hold—even if it’s just at a random VOR. Do it often enough and you’ll be comfortable when it happens in real life.

Holding Is a Perishable Skill

The reason pilots feel shaky about holding is because it’s a mental procedure they don’t practice, not a physical one. It requires spatial reasoning, timing, communication, and clarity of thought—all while managing the airplane.

But here’s the payoff: when you master holding, you’re no longer just following the magenta line. You’re truly managing the IFR system. You sound better on the radio, fly smarter, stay ahead, and you’re safer.

Holding isn’t just a backup skill. It’s a mark of a pro.