Holding Pattern Entry Calculator
Enter the hold's inbound course, which way it turns and your heading to the fix. See your entry, the heading to fly and a live drawing of the hold, with wind correction and timing in Advanced.
The course you fly towards the fix on the inbound leg.
Your heading as you reach the fix.
Holds turn right unless the chart or ATC says "left turns".
Standard: 1 min at or below 14,000 ft, 1.5 min above.
The outbound leg ends at this distance from the fix, as charted.
Use the same reference (magnetic or true) as the inbound course.
Rule of thumb: triple is the usual teaching figure; some pilots of faster aircraft use double.
How your entry is worked out
Compare your heading with the inbound course, see which of the three sectors you are arriving from, then fly that entry.
- 1
Inbound and turns
inbound 090°right turnsoutbound 270°
- 2
Angle off inbound
230° − 090°measured clockwise= 140°
- 3
Pick the sector
140° is in the110°–180° sectorteardrop
- 4
Fly the teardrop
270° − 30°= 240° for 1 minthen turn right in
Read more: the formula, a worked example, holding speeds and wind rules
A holding pattern is a racetrack flown round a fix: a turn at the fix, an outbound leg, a second turn and an inbound leg back to the fix. Turns are to the right unless published otherwise. To join it neatly, the AIM and ICAO split the area round the fix into three sectors with a line drawn through the fix at 70° to the inbound course. The sector you arrive from decides the entry.
The formula
outbound course = inbound course + 180°
angle = your heading − inbound course (clockwise for right turns, anticlockwise for left turns), 0–360°
110° to 180° → teardrop; 180° to 290° → parallel; anything else → direct
teardrop heading = outbound course − 30° (right turns) or + 30° (left turns)
leg time = 1 min at or below 14,000 ft, 1.5 min above
inbound wind correction = arcsin(crosswind ÷ TAS)
outbound heading ≈ outbound course − 3 × inbound correction
outbound time ≈ leg time − 1 s per knot of inbound headwind per minute of leg
bank for 3°/s = arctan(TAS × 3°/s ÷ g), capped at 30° (FAA) or 25° (ICAO)
Worked example
The hold's inbound course is 090° with right turns, so the outbound course is 090 + 180 = 270°. Your heading to the fix is 230°. The angle is 230 − 090 = 140°, measured clockwise. That is between 110° and 180°, so it is a teardrop entry. Cross the fix, turn onto 270 − 30 = 240°, fly it for 1 minute (you are at 8,000 ft, below 14,000 ft), then turn right onto the inbound course of 090°.
The Advanced example adds a true airspeed of 180 kt and a wind from 120° at 20 kt. The wind is 30° off the inbound course from the right, so the crosswind is 20 × sin 30° = 10 kt and the headwind is 20 × cos 30° = 17.3 kt. The inbound correction is arcsin(10 ÷ 180) = 3.2° right, so fly 093° inbound, at a ground speed of 180 × cos 3.2° − 17.3 = 179.7 − 17.3 = 162 kt. That covers 162.4 ÷ 60 = 2.7 nm in the 1-minute inbound leg.
Triple drift on the outbound leg gives 3 × 3.2° = 9.6° into the wind: 270 − 9.6 = 260.4, flown as 260°. The headwind inbound is a tailwind outbound, so shorten the outbound leg by about 17 s: 60 − 17 = 43 s. A standard-rate turn at 180 kt needs arctan(92.6 m/s × 0.0524 ÷ 9.81) = 26° of bank (the TAS ÷ 10 + 7 rule gives 25°). That is within the FAA's 30° limit, so each 180° turn takes 60 s and the turn radius is 180 ÷ (60 × π) = 0.95 nm. One circuit takes 60 + 43 + 60 + 60 = 223 s, about 3 min 43 s. The maximum holding speed at 8,000 ft is 230 KIAS.
The three entries
- Direct (180° sector): cross the fix and turn the holding way onto the outbound leg.
- Teardrop (70° sector): cross the fix, fly 30° off the outbound course into the holding side for one leg time, then turn the holding way back onto the inbound course.
- Parallel (110° sector): cross the fix, turn onto the outbound heading on the non-holding side for one leg time, then turn the other way (towards the holding side) through more than 180° and fly back to the fix or intercept the inbound course.
Within 5° of a sector line, either entry is acceptable. The entry is a recommendation: ATC only cares that you stay inside the protected airspace.
Maximum holding speeds (check your AIP or AIM)
| FAA (AIM 5-3-8) | Max speed |
|---|---|
| Up to 6,000 ft MSL | 200 KIAS |
| 6,001–14,000 ft | 230 KIAS (210 where charted) |
| 14,001 ft and above | 265 KIAS |
| Any altitude where charted | The charted maximum, e.g. 175 KIAS |
| US Air Force / US Navy airfields | 310 / 230 KIAS |
| ICAO (PANS-OPS) | Normal | Turbulence |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 14,000 ft (4,250 m) | 230 kt (Cat A/B 170 kt) | 280 kt (Cat A/B 170 kt) |
| 14,001–20,000 ft (6,100 m) | 240 kt | 280 kt or M0.8, lower of the two |
| 20,001–34,000 ft (10,350 m) | 265 kt | 280 kt or M0.8, lower of the two |
| Above 34,000 ft | M0.83 | M0.83 |
Holding speeds are indicated airspeeds, while the wind sums on this page use true airspeed. At 8,000 ft your TAS is roughly 12% more than your IAS.
Rules of thumb used here
- Triple drift: the outbound correction is about three times the inbound one, the other way, because the wind also pushes you during both turns. Some pilots of fast aircraft use double. Adjust on the next circuit.
- 1 second per knot: change the outbound time by 1 s for each knot of head- or tailwind on the inbound leg (1.5 s per knot for 1.5-minute legs). The "turn-drift model" figure works the same thing out from the ground speeds and the drift in both turns.
- Timing: start the outbound time over or abeam the fix, whichever comes later. If you can't tell when you're abeam, start it when the turn to outbound is complete.
For training and planning only. Fly the hold as charted and as ATC instructs, and check speeds and procedures in your AIP or the AIM. Rules shown were taken from FAA AIM 5-3-8 and ICAO PANS-OPS (Doc 8168).
Common questions
How do you work out a holding pattern entry?
Take your heading and subtract the inbound course, measuring clockwise for right turns and anticlockwise for left turns. From 110° to 180° fly a teardrop entry, from 180° to 290° a parallel entry, and anything else is a direct entry. These are the three sectors made by the 70° line through the fix.
What heading do you fly on a teardrop entry?
Cross the fix and fly 30° off the outbound course, towards the holding side, for one leg time, then turn back onto the inbound course. For an inbound course of 090° with right turns the outbound course is 270°, so the teardrop heading is 270 − 30 = 240°. With left turns you add 30° instead.
How long are the legs of a holding pattern?
The standard inbound leg is 1 minute at or below 14,000 ft and 1.5 minutes above 14,000 ft, under both the FAA and ICAO rules. A chart or ATC can give a different time, or a distance (DME) leg in nautical miles instead. You adjust the outbound leg so the inbound leg comes out at the right time.
What are the maximum holding speeds?
Under the FAA AIM: 200 KIAS up to 6,000 ft, 230 KIAS from 6,001 to 14,000 ft and 265 KIAS above. Under ICAO: 230 kt up to 14,000 ft, 240 kt up to 20,000 ft, 265 kt up to 34,000 ft and Mach 0.83 above. Charts can set lower limits, so always check your AIP or AIM.
How do you correct for wind in a hold?
On the inbound leg, find the heading that holds the course. On the outbound leg, a common rule of thumb is to apply three times that correction the other way, to allow for the turns. For timing, shorten the outbound leg by 1 second per knot of headwind on the inbound leg, or lengthen it for a tailwind.
What if my heading is right on the line between two sectors?
The AIM allows either entry when you are within 5° of a sector line. The calculator flags this and names the other entry you could use. Pick the one that needs the gentler turns for your aircraft, and tell ATC if you are unsure.
Related calculators
Made by Zulu Calculator, part of AlphaZulu LLC. Formulas are shown in full and rule figures are checked against official sources; see how we build calculators.