Holding Procedures....

flyTotheSky

flyTotheSky

Well-Known Member
This is why pilot's get the chicks right?

Haha, anyway I was wondering if anyone can offer up any advice for the aspiring instrument pilot. I'm just starting holding procedures and it is going ok but I'm getting tripped up on what type of entry procedure to execute (e.g. - teardrop, parallel, direct). My flight instructor said that for him he usually used to draw it out then he was able to visualize. He said that there are some tricks that some pilots do with heading bugs and what not to figure out how to enter a hold. Does anyone know these type of tricks or can anyone offer any general advice?. Thanks
 
flyTotheSky said:
This is why pilot's get the chicks right?

Haha, anyway I was wondering if anyone can offer up any advice for the aspiring instrument pilot. I'm just starting holding procedures and it is going ok but I'm getting tripped up on what type of entry procedure to execute (e.g. - teardrop, parallel, direct). My flight instructor said that for him he usually used to draw it out then he was able to visualize. He said that there are some tricks that some pilots do with heading bugs and what not to figure out how to enter a hold. Does anyone know these type of tricks or can anyone offer any general advice?. Thanks
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Honestly, the best advice, IMO, is to just keep drawing it out until you can visualize.

When you're not flying, you can do a few things. Draw some random holds (spin a pencil and use the eraser as the station and the tip as the radial that you're to hold on) and try to draw/visualize the hold. It's just one of the many things in aviation that's a "picture" that you just have to get used to by doing/seeing it. Just like straight and level, you just have to "figure it out".

Best of luck with the instrument stuff!
 
I was taught the 'thumbs' method. It's hard to explain without drawing, so I'll try to explain without screwing it up...

On your way to the holding fix, look at the heading indicator. Draw an imaginary horizontal line through the middle of it and and a vertical line from the top of the heading indicator to the imaginary horizontal line. If your holding pattern is standard (right turns), tilt the right side of the horizontal line up 20 degrees and the left side down 20 degrees so that it is diagonal on the HI. This divides the heading indicator into 3 "pie pieces," a big one on the bottom, the smallest one on the top right, and a medium-sized one on the top left. Then look on the heading indicator for the heading of the radial you'll be holding on (i.e. if you're holding on the 360 radial, find 360 on the heading indicator). If it's in the largest pie piece, you'll use a direct entry. If it's in the medium sized piece, it's a parallel entry. If it's in the smallest one, it's a teardrop entry (you can remember which is which because the person who ets the smallest pie piece is always sad and cries-hence, teardrop).
If you are told to use left turns, push the left side of the imaginary horizontal line up and the right side down, so that the whole "pie" is reversed.
Like I said, it's hard to explain without drawing so I hope that explanation isn't too confusing.
 
an easy rule of thumb is the "turn" method. visualize the holding pattern, or draw it out if that helps, then think about where you are in relation to the fix. whichever entry requires you to make the smallest heading change, or turn, is the entry you use. works like a charm.
 
Chris_Ford said:
Honestly, the best advice, IMO, is to just keep drawing it out until you can visualize.
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Or even keep drawing it forever. My own technique is to "draw the clearance." Here's "Hold southwest of the XYZ VOR on the 220 degree radial, left turns. Maintain 8 thousand. Expect further clearance at 0000 Zulu" I'm coming in from the northwest.

Personally I found that drawing it out makes the entry obvious. The only other quick tip is an obvious one that a lot of folks miss - the first turn is always outbound (or within 30 degrees of outbound when teardrop)

But there are a bunch of other shortcuts that work very well for other people. The only danger is knowing too many of them and getting them confused. That's one reason I stay away from them. My first CFI taught me one of them. A later CFI during an IPC insisted that it was supposed to be done the exact opposite way and made both techniques useless.
 
I always used that technique where you hold up your index finger and thumb at a 70 degree angle....with the hand opposite of the turns you'll be making. It's foolproof. Well, at least it works for this fool.
 
MidlifeFlyer said:
Or even keep drawing it forever. My own technique is to "draw the clearance." Here's "Hold southwest of the XYZ VOR on the 220 degree radial, left turns. Maintain 8 thousand. Expect further clearance at 0000 Zulu" I'm coming in from the northwest.
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Duh. Forgot the link to the graphic.

draw_hold.gif
 
roundout said:
an easy rule of thumb is the "turn" method. visualize the holding pattern, or draw it out if that helps, then think about where you are in relation to the fix. whichever entry requires you to make the smallest heading change, or turn, is the entry you use. works like a charm.
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I like this method for the real world and you can also expand upon it. Its hard to explain, but I'll try. Draw out a hold on a piece of paper. Now draw a straight line from the theoretical current aircraft position through the fix and beyond as if you didn't turn.

  • If the line slices through the bulk of the hold on the holding-side, it is a teardrop entry.
  • If the line continues into the non-protected (non-holding) side opposite the hold, it is a parallel entry.
  • If the line continues past the fix end (away from the hold in the general direction of the inbound leg), it is a direct entry.
 
ok this helped me a crap load. i was able to nail each hold the first time after my instructor taught me this stuff, so i made it a cross between her graphic and what she told me. remember only the redlines determine boundaries.

holdingcopy.jpg


here's your homework. i already cheated and superimposed it for you, but none the less. what hold entry should i be using if i'm to hold northeast on the 030 radial left turns?

headingindicator.jpg
 
caliginousface said:
ok this helped me a crap load.
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That's the one that screwed me up. If you turn the red lines upside down so that you end up with a right high or left high "T" and locate the inbound course rather than the outbound it works just as well.

Problem was that one CFII taught me one way. Another =insisted= that the other way was the right way. Not knowing any better, I tried to switch and ended up so confused that I wasn't able to use either.
 
MidlifeFlyer said:
That's the one that screwed me up. If you turn the red lines upside down so that you end up with a right high or left high "T" and locate the inbound course rather than the outbound it works just as well.

Problem was that one CFII taught me one way. Another =insisted= that the other way was the right way. Not knowing any better, I tried to switch and ended up so confused that I wasn't able to use either.
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ahhh, i see that would be confusing.

well flytothesky, hope i didnt confuse you!
 
One thing I was taugh was to visualize where you'll be in relation to the inbound holding course after you cross the fix. If its behind you, a direct entry will be used. If its ahead and to the right a teardrop entry will do. If its ahead and to the left, you'd use a parallel. Reverse the right and left part when a non-standard holding patern is used. I doubt anyone will harp on you if you were a couple degrees off of the "proper" entry and did a different one. You'd definetly want to know how figure it out to the exact degree of heading when taking your instrument writen though. But in the air, its really not neccessary. A few degrees arent going to hurt you and honestly, I find the parallel entry a bit disorienting compared to the teardrop. So even if I know Im a few degrees into the area that would normally be a parallel entry, I still do the teardrop. Also, it's probably a good idea to draw out all non-published holding patterns.

To sum that up:
standard pattern
-behind you= direct
-ahead and to the left= parallel
-ahead and to the right= teardrop

non-standard pattern
-behind you= direct
-ahead and to the left= tear drop
-ahead and to the right= parallel

Also, if you feel like "cheating" you can use your instrument plotter to figure this out too. If it has the little illistration on the center portion of it.
 
I described that all wrong. Disregard my previous post. A mod can delete it if they wish to avoid confusion.

Easy way to figure out your holding pattern entry. Just visulize where you'll be after crossing the fix in relation to the inbound holding course. The technique works for both standard and non-standard holding patterns.

Standard Pattern
Behind and to the right: Parallel entry
Behind and to the left: Direct
Ahead and to the left: Teardrop

Non-standard Pattern
Behind and to the right: Parallel
Behind and and to the left: Direct
Ahead and to the left: Teardrop
 
Holding Pattern Entry

It is very important to know the correct entry procedures into a holding patern, particularly for your checkride. BUT, in a real world situation if you get totally confused then just get to the fix and turn outbound, stay on the safe side of the holding pattern and the intercept the radial, bearing, etc. you were instructed to hold on. Correct me if I'm wrong guys but I don't believe any controller is going to get upset at you for that. Good Luck!:sitaware:
 
Kenny C. said:
It is very important to know the correct entry procedures into a holding patern, particularly for your checkride. BUT, in a real world situation if you get totally confused then just get to the fix and turn outbound, stay on the safe side of the holding pattern and the intercept the radial, bearing, etc. you were instructed to hold on. Correct me if I'm wrong guys but I don't believe any controller is going to get upset at you for that.
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I once had a controller tell me that it doesn't matter what you do when you get to the fix. He said sometimes the radar resolution isn't high enough to tell what you're doing anyway. Doing the perfect entry, wind correction, one minute legs, etc. is all nice, but all the controller really wants is for you to wander around close to the fix for a few minutes while they sort out whatever they need to sort out.
 
i tripped over my D?%$ a lot of times trying to figure it out

now i can figure it out like riding a bike

direct entries are abviously the easiest...

but, when in doubt do a teardrop

you can't go wrong




don't read a lot into the whole "protected and unprotected side of a hold" i have had controllers tell me it is a bunch of BS....just keep it close and turn inbound
 
jrh said:
I once had a controller tell me that it doesn't matter what you do when you get to the fix. He said sometimes the radar resolution isn't high enough to tell what you're doing anyway. Doing the perfect entry, wind correction, one minute legs, etc. is all nice, but all the controller really wants is for you to wander around close to the fix for a few minutes while they sort out whatever they need to sort out.
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It will matter on a job interview.
 
B767Driver said:
It will matter on a job interview.
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Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

I agree. I haven't been through the interviews B767driver has but I was just going to chime in and say that even if I was confused about some entries and knew it didn't matter, I'd want to know the proper entry procedure for any hold that was given to me just for the sake of knowing. Plus, as a CFII, I would not want to tell a student it doesn't matter how you enter a hold.
 
UAL747400 said:
I described that all wrong. Disregard my previous post.
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My CFII was able to visualize this stuff perfectly. I hated him!

For some of us, visualizing position comes naturally. If it does, then the entries are easy also. But for others it's pretty difficult. I'm pretty bad at it. That's why I draw the clearance.

But I think that picturing the holding pattern and your relation to it is still the ultimate goal, whether you picture it in your mind's eye or on paper. If you understand the 3 AIM entries, even in a general sense, and can "see" the situation, choosing the correct one becomes easy. I think obvious so long as you don't try to overanalyze it.

I don't teach a lot of instruments, but when I do teach holds, I start with a ground session describing the three types of entries in very general terms - I even leave out any mention of 90 or 70 degrees as even a guideline. But, just by seeing it, the pilots have chosen the "correct " one almost every time.
 
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