Hold Fundamentals
A hold is a defined oval pattern flown over a fix while ATC sorts out what comes next. The fix anchors the pattern; the holding course is what you fly inbound to that fix; the inbound leg is timed (1 minute below 14,000 MSL, 1.5 minutes above) and the outbound leg gets stretched or shortened to make the inbound timing come out right. Standard holds are right turns. Everything else in this topic — entries, the 5 Ts, lost-comm, course reversals — assumes you've internalized the geometry on this page.
Why ATC issues a hold
Five common reasons. Knowing the cause helps you anticipate how long you'll be in the pattern and what your onward clearance will look like.
- Traffic congestion at the destination or en route — too many aircraft converging on the same airspace.
- Waiting for an Expect Further Clearance (EFC) time — the time at which ATC anticipates being able to clear you onward.
- Weather below approach minimums — waiting for ceilings or visibility to improve, or for the next legal approach window.
- Runway unavailability — closed, occupied, or being inspected.
- Course reversal in lieu of a procedure turn (hold-in-lieu-of-PT) — a charted holding pattern used to reverse direction onto final, covered separately on the course reversals page.
Anatomy of a hold
The pieces of the pattern, named the way ATC and your charts name them:
- Holding fix — a VOR, intersection, NDB, outer marker, or DME fix. The anchor point of the pattern.
- Holding course — the course flown inbound to the fix. Always fly toward the fix on this course; never away.
- Inbound leg — 1 minute below 14,000 MSL; 1.5 minutes at or above 14,000 MSL. Unless ATC specifies a different time or a DME distance.
- Outbound leg — adjusted in length so that, after wind correction, the inbound leg comes out at the correct duration.
- Outbound turn — begun at the fix, all turns at standard rate (3°/sec).
- Abeam — the point opposite the fix where outbound timing begins. If you can't determine when you're abeam, start timing when wings are level outbound.
- Holding side — the side of the holding course where the pattern is actually flown. ATC has more protected airspace allocated on this side.
- Standard hold — right turns. Non-standard — left turns. Both at standard rate.
- Maximum holding speed — 175 KIAS for prop-driven aircraft (general). In training, set a power that gives a comfortable, controllable airspeed (typically approach-level power).
Helicopter holding speeds are well below this 175-KIAS ceiling — the reg accommodates faster aircraft, not us. In practice you'll fly the hold at whatever cruise or approach airspeed your aircraft and ATC clearance imply.
The standard timing rule
The thing students miss: the inbound leg is the one that's timed to 1 minute, not the outbound. The outbound leg is the variable — you stretch it or shorten it to make the inbound come out right after wind correction.
Below 14,000 MSL: 1-minute inbound. At or above 14,000 MSL: 1.5-minute inbound. ATC can substitute a different time (or a DME distance) in the clearance, in which case follow what ATC said.
Wind-correction technique covered on the flying the hold page (the "triple drift correction" rule).
Standard vs non-standard, and why it matters
Default to right turns. ATC specifies "left turns" only when the hold is non-standard (often charted that way for terrain or airspace constraints).
The direction of turn determines which side of the holding course is the protected airspace, which determines:
- Which way you tilt the pen for the 70° pen rule entry determination.
- Which way you turn outbound at the fix.
- Which side of the holding course your turns happen on (always the holding side — the protected one).
If the clearance doesn't say "left turns," it's right turns. The mnemonic DFRATE (covered on clearance and entry) explicitly omits T (turns) when standard, and includes it only when ATC needs to specify left.