Holding Procedures

Standard: right turns. Nonstandard: left turns. When ATC issues holding instructions for an uncharted hold, the clearance states the turn direction if left turns are to be made (AIM 5-3-8; IFH ch. 10); a charted nonstandard pattern carries its turn direction on the chart, so "HOLD EAST AS PUBLISHED" may never say "left turns."

No-wind anatomy of a standard pattern:

1. Fly the inbound course to the fix.
2. Turn 180° right.
3. Fly a parallel outbound leg for 1 minute.
4. Turn 180° right.
5. Fly the inbound course back to the fix (IFH ch. 10).

Charted patterns take precedence — hold as depicted unless ATC says otherwise (AIM 5-3-8).

• Direction of holding from the fix — one of the eight cardinal points (N, NE, E…)
• Holding fix (may be omitted if it's already the stated clearance limit)
• Radial, course, bearing, airway, or route to hold on
• Leg length in miles if DME or RNAV is used (in minutes on pilot request or if the controller considers it necessary)
• Direction of turn if left turns apply
• Expect-further-clearance (EFC) time and any additional delay information (AIM 5-3-8; IFH ch. 10)

If the pattern is charted, ATC may shorten this to "HOLD EAST AS PUBLISHED" — and must give complete instructions if you ask (AIM 5-3-8).

Ask ATC before reaching the fix. If you can't get instructions (frequency congestion, stuck mic), enter a standard pattern on the course you approached the fix on, at your last assigned altitude, and request further clearance as soon as possible — your altitude at the clearance limit is protected (AIM 5-3-8; IFH ch. 10).

Exceptions: patterns from 6,001–14,000 ft may be restricted to 210 KIAS (icon); any pattern may carry a charted restriction such as (175); USAF fields 310, Navy fields 230; climb-in-holding allows 310 KIAS unless a lower maximum is published. Unable to comply? Notify ATC (AIM 5-3-8).

Start the reduction when 3 minutes or less from the holding fix, so you cross the fix initially at or below the maximum holding airspeed — the protected airspace is sized for compliant entries, and excess speed at the fix can carry you outside it, especially where adjacent patterns are close together (IFH ch. 10; AIM 5-3-8). The ACS adds the practical point: set power as needed for fuel conservation once slowed (IR.III.B.S2).

Sector boundaries come from a line at 70° to the holding course on the holding side (AIM 5-3-8):

• Parallel — sector (a): fly to the fix, turn to parallel the holding course outbound on the nonholding side for 1 minute, then turn through more than 180° in the direction of the pattern and return to the fix or intercept the inbound course.
• Teardrop — sector (b): fly to the fix, turn outbound to a heading for a 30° teardrop on the holding side for 1 minute, then turn in the direction of the pattern to intercept the inbound course.
• Direct — sector (c): fly to the fix and turn to follow the pattern.

Determine the entry from your heading arriving at the fix; ±5° is within good operating limits (AIM 5-3-8).

Inbound leg target: 1 minute at or below 14,000 ft MSL, 1.5 minutes above (AIM 5-3-8). Fly the initial outbound leg 1 (or 1.5) minutes, then adjust subsequent outbound legs to make the inbound leg come out right. Outbound timing begins over or abeam the fix, whichever occurs later; if you can't determine the abeam position, start when the turn to outbound is complete (AIM 5-3-8; IFH ch. 10).

Compensate for known wind on the legs, not in the turns (IFH ch. 10). Outbound, triple the inbound drift correction to avoid major turning adjustments — correcting 8° left inbound means 24° right outbound (AIM 5-3-8). Then adjust outbound time so the inbound leg still comes out to 1 (or 1.5) minutes.

Same entries and procedures, but legs are distances instead of times. The controller or the chart specifies the outbound leg length; the end of the outbound leg is determined by the DME or along-track-distance readout. Watch the geometry: inbound toward the NAVAID with the fix at 10 DME and 5-mile legs, the outbound leg ends at 15 DME; inbound away from the NAVAID with the fix at 28 DME and 8-mile legs, it ends at 20 DME (AIM 5-3-8).

• The time and altitude at which you reach the holding fix or clearance limit
• When you leave the holding fix (AIM 5-3-8; IFH ch. 10)

ATC needs your departure time from the fix before the vacated airspace can be given to anyone else (IFH ch. 10).

The expect-further-clearance time in your holding instructions — ATC's estimate of when you'll be cleared beyond the fix, along with any pertinent additional delay information (AIM 5-3-8; IFH ch. 10). It matters twice: it's your lost-comm exit time from the clearance limit (91.185(c)(3)), and it's the number you plug into a fuel recalculation the moment it's assigned (IR.III.B.R1).

Whichever requires the least bank (AIM 5-3-8):

• 3° per second, or
• 30° bank angle, or
• 25° bank when a flight director is used

One more cue for the classic case: holding at a VOR, start the turn outbound at the first complete reversal of the TO/FROM indicator (AIM 5-3-8).

Recalculate fuel (IR.III.B.R1). You planned under 91.167 with fuel to the destination, then the alternate (if required), then 45 minutes at normal cruise — an unanticipated hold spends that margin. Compare fuel remaining at the EFC against what the approach, the missed, and the trip to the alternate will need, and decide now what EFC you can't accept (91.167) — the endurance arithmetic is worked under Task I.C.

Advising "minimum fuel" tells ATC that upon reaching the destination you can't accept any undue delay. It is not an emergency and confers no priority — it's a heads-up that an emergency is possible if delay occurs. State it on initial contact after your call sign. If you actually need priority to land safely, declare an emergency due to low fuel and report fuel remaining in minutes (AIM 5-5-15).

1. When ATC issues further clearance en route or approach clearance
2. As prescribed by part 91 — the lost-comm rules of 91.185 or PIC emergency authority under 91.3
3. After canceling IFR, if you're holding in VFR conditions (IFH ch. 10)

If ATC instead specifies a time to depart the fix, adjust your pattern within the hold to cross the fix at that exact time (AIM 5-3-8) — that's the ACS skill of arriving over the fix as close as possible to a specified time (IR.III.B.S5).

Yes — established in a published pattern above the published minimum holding altitude, approach clearance lets you descend to that published minimum holding altitude. Where no minimum holding altitude is published, maintain the last assigned altitude until you leave the hold established on the inbound course; then the route segment's published minimum applies (AIM 5-3-8).

Deteriorating destination weather is the classic scenario — everyone arrives, everyone needs the approach, and the stack forms (IR.III.B.R3). ATC also holds you when weather is reported below your minimums while you wait for improvement, and issues instructions when a delay will exceed 1 hour or a revised EFC is needed (IFH ch. 10). If the destination trend is down, expect the hold, know your holding fuel burn, and have the alternate decision pre-made.

That the retrieved pattern matches the assigned or charted hold in turn direction, speed limit, timing, and distance — multiple different holds can exist at the same fix, and many systems store only one, or store everything as standard right turns. For an ATC-assigned uncharted hold, you're responsible for programming course, turn direction, and leg length or time yourself. Changes made near the fix may not take effect until the next circuit (AIM 5-3-8).

• Reduced bank angles — if the bank limit is pilot-selectable, use at least 25°, or advise ATC you need more room
• Fly-by turns at the fix on entry instead of flying over it
• Turning outbound beyond the design turn point when a leg distance is coded as an inbound-leg maximum — worst with a strong headwind outbound
• Wrong speed/timing parameters — a hold loaded above 14,000 ft can retain 1.5-minute legs after you descend below it

Slowing to holding speed at least 3 minutes out and monitoring the outbound leg length are the defenses (AIM 5-3-8).