Inbound
The magnetic course you fly TO the fix on the inbound leg. This is the number on the plate.
Holding pattern
Direct, teardrop, or parallel — before the examiner asks.
Set the inbound, the turns, and the heading to the fix. The sectors are 180° / 70° / 110°. This trainer has no wind. The checkride will.
How to use it
Three controls. Then the lessons.
Turns
Standard is right. Left is only when the plate says so. The racetrack sits on the holding side.
Heading to the fix
The heading you are flying as you arrive. No wind in this trainer — the examiner will add some.
Trainer
Set it. Read the entry. Say it out loud.
Turns
Entry
Direct
Turn the short way onto the outbound, or roll onto the inbound if you are already there. Fly the racetrack.
Inbound 000° · outbound 180°
- Standard holds are right turns. Left turns are charted.
- Below FL140, inbound is usually one minute. Above, one and a half. DME holds are a distance, not a clock.
- Correct drift on the inbound. The outbound heading is not always the reciprocal in wind.
- Max holding speed is charted. Typical training: 200–230 KIAS below 14,000 ft — check the plate.
- This trainer ignores wind. The examiner will not.
Training aid only. Not a procedure design. Cross-check the plate, the speed, and the wind. Legal. Need the needles first? VOR trainer.
Lessons
Load an example. Then change one number.
01
See the three sectors
Set inbound 360, right turns. Sweep the heading. Direct is the big slice facing the inbound. Teardrop is 70° on the holding side of the outbound. Parallel is 110° on the non-holding side. That 70/110 split is the whole oral.
02
Direct — already on the inbound
Heading 360, inbound 360. You are the inbound. Direct. Turn the short way into the racetrack and time the outbound. Most holds you actually fly start this way after a published arrival.
03
Teardrop — holding side of the outbound
Inbound 360, heading 150. You are in the 70° teardrop sector. From the fix, fly 30° off the outbound on the holding side (150° here), one minute, then turn right to intercept the inbound.
04
Parallel — the one students mix with teardrop
Inbound 360, heading 220. Parallel. From the fix, fly outbound parallel on the non-holding side, one minute, then turn toward the hold and intercept the inbound. Do not teardrop from here.
05
Left-hand hold
The plate says left turns. Inbound 090, heading 090. Direct, but the racetrack is now on the left of the inbound. Mirror the sectors. If you keep turning right out of habit, you are in the unprotected air.
06
Examiner: ‘what is your entry?’
They will give an inbound, a turn, and a heading. Set them. Read the card. Then say the procedure out loud in one breath. Timing starts at the fix, not when you feel ready.