Giving GPS Holds

M

meritflyer

Well-Known Member
What is the proper procedure for giving an aircraft a hold at a GPS way point?

I was always taught that holds are given in bearings TO the station.

For example -

"Hold west on the 090 bearing to the station"
 
99.9% of the time the hold will be "as published" so you just check the chart. If it's not chances are they will give you either a "radial" to the fix or clear you direct to and then hold off a compass direction in reference to your inbound to the fix.
 
I've never been issues a hold defined with a bearing TO. Usually, it's "hold east on the 090 degree radial 10 dme fix for the most part.

You're LUCKY if you get a hold because you're issued an EFC and a ballpark estimate of how long you have before you start heading towards your plan B. If you're NOT lucky, you'll get vectored around creation with no real idea of how long it's going to last unless you bug hell out of the controller.
 
:yeahthat:

Sometimes I do the vector thing... sometimes the holding pattern A/C can't be seen by approach so if I have one or two I keep vectoring them right on the boundary flashing at approach hoping they will get tired of looking at the A/C flashing and take the hand off. It works more then you think...
 
Fox Xray said:
if I have one or two I keep vectoring them right on the boundary flashing at approach hoping they will get tired of looking at the A/C flashing and take the hand off. It works more then you think...
Click to expand...


sooooo thats what's really going on....... well hey, whatever works
 
When I've had to hold off of a GPS or FMS point, it has usually been given as "Hold present position" or "Upon reaching such and such point, hold". Sometimes they'll add in a leg length and a turn direction, but if not then I just use timed holding and standard right turns. In either of these cases my "inbound" course of my holding pattern is just whatever course I happened to be on when they gave me the hold (for hold present position), or my course TO the point they told me to hold off of.

So if I'm flying from point UMPTY to point FRUMPTY, and I get "hold present position", you use the course from UMPTY to FRUMPTY as your inbound. If instead they tell you to proceed direct to FRUMPTY and hold, then you just use your course from present position to FRUMPTY as your inbound (assuming of course that there are no PUBLISHED patterns at FRUMPTY).
 
I was just instructed to hold for the first time as a 135 pilot the other day. It was over Bowie VOR going into DFW on the Bowie 9 arrival because of a thunderstorm over the airport. I slowed down to 120kts(to conserve fuel) about twenty miles out and by the time I got to two miles out the hold was cancelled and I was cleared to continue the arrival. I was happy because I had an EFC time that was about 45 minutes in out. It was the last leg of the day and I was not in the mood to hand fly a hold for 45 minutes.:nana2:
 
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