Holding Pattern Entries

A holding pattern is a racetrack the aircraft flies over a fixed point while ATC sorts something out — traffic, weather, a delay. The shape is simple. The tricky part is joining it cleanly from wherever you happen to be flying when the call comes in.

There are only three ways to join a hold. Pick the right one and it's a one-second decision.

The three entries — ICAO definitions

ICAO Doc 8168 (PANS-OPS) Vol I divides the airspace around the holding fix into three entry sectors, separated by a line drawn through the fix at 70° to the inbound holding track, measured on the holding side. The sector the aircraft arrives from dictates the entry procedure.

Direct Entry (Sector 3)

"On reaching the fix, the aircraft shall turn and follow the holding pattern." — ICAO Doc 8168, Vol I, Part II, §4.3.1

Used when the aircraft arrives from Sector 3 — the 180° sector bounded by the inbound course on the holding side and the 70° separation line. In plain terms: you're already pointing roughly in the direction the hold is flown, so you simply cross the fix and commence the standard racetrack with a turn in the holding direction.

Parallel Entry (Sector 1)

"On reaching the fix, the aircraft shall be turned onto an outbound heading for the appropriate period of time, then turned in the direction of the holding pattern through more than 180° and return to the holding fix or intercept the inbound track." — ICAO Doc 8168, Vol I, Part II, §4.3.1

Used when the aircraft arrives from Sector 1 — the 180° sector on the non-holding side of the inbound course. In plain terms: you're coming in from the wrong side. Cross the fix, fly parallel to the outbound leg (on the non-holding side) for the outbound timing, then turn the "long way round" (>180°) in the holding direction to rejoin.

Teardrop / Offset Entry (Sector 2)

"On reaching the fix, the aircraft shall be turned onto a heading to make good a track making an angle of 30° from the reciprocal of the inbound track on the holding side; then, after the appropriate period of time, the aircraft shall be turned in the direction of the holding pattern to intercept the inbound holding track." — ICAO Doc 8168, Vol I, Part II, §4.3.1

Used when the aircraft arrives from Sector 2 — the narrow 70° sector on the holding side, between the outbound course and the 70° boundary line. In plain terms: you're on the correct side but at a sharp angle to the outbound track. Cross the fix, fly a 30° offset leg into the holding side, then turn onto the inbound course.

At a glance

• Direct — you're already pointing at the fix from a good angle. Cross the fix, turn into the hold, done.
• Parallel — you're coming in from the wrong side. You cross the fix, fly out on the "wrong side" for a minute, then swing back around to rejoin.
• Teardrop — you're coming in from the hold's side but at a sharp angle. You cross the fix, fly a short leg angled 30° into the hold, then curve back.

Flying each entry — exact procedure

Timing and angles assume a standard-rate turn (3° per second, so 180° of turn takes 60 seconds) and a maximum bank of 25°–30°. All outbound legs are timed one minute at or below 14,000 ft MSL and one minute thirty seconds above 14,000 ft. The examples below are for a right-turn hold with inbound course 360° (so outbound is 180°). Mirror everything for a left-turn hold.

The standard hold itself

Each of the three entries ends by rejoining the standard hold, which is flown as follows:

1. Outbound turn — at the fix, turn in the holding direction, standard rate, onto the outbound heading (inbound course ± 180°).
2. Outbound leg — fly the outbound heading for 1 minute (1:30 above 14,000 ft MSL). Timing starts when the aircraft is abeam the fix or when wings-level on the outbound heading, whichever is later.
3. Inbound turn — turn in the holding direction, standard rate, through approximately 180° onto the inbound course.
4. Inbound leg — fly the inbound course back to the fix. This leg is the reference — it must time out to 1 minute (1:30 above 14,000 ft).
5. Repeat — adjust the next outbound timing and wind correction so the next inbound leg comes out to exactly 1 minute.

Direct entry — "fly into the hold"

1. Cross the fix on your arrival heading.
2. Turn right in the holding direction, standard rate, onto the outbound heading (180°).
3. From the fix, fly the standard hold.

The direct entry has no special offset leg or reversal — the "entry" ends the moment you begin the first outbound turn. Everything after that is the normal holding pattern (see The standard hold itself above).

Parallel entry — "turn out, fly out, loop back"

1. Cross the fix on your arrival heading.
2. Turn left onto 180° (the outbound heading). For a right-turn hold this turn is to the left — the "wrong" direction — because the shortest turn from a parallel-sector arrival heading to outbound is always a left turn. Use standard rate.
3. Fly heading 180° for one minute from the moment you crossed the fix (not from the end of the turn). You'll drift slightly west of the inbound course line — that's intentional; you're now on the non-holding side.
4. Turn left through more than 180° (typically about 210°–240°) back toward the inbound course. Standard rate. Roll out on a heading that intercepts the inbound course at roughly 30°.
5. Intercept the inbound course (360°) and fly to the fix.
6. From the fix, fly the standard hold (you're now effectively doing a direct entry every lap).

Total time from fix to re-crossing the fix is roughly 2 minutes 20 seconds to 2 minutes 40 seconds.

Teardrop entry — "cross, angle, come back"

1. Cross the fix on your arrival heading.
2. Turn to the teardrop heading — 30° offset from outbound into the holding side. For a right-turn hold with outbound 180°, teardrop heading is 150° (180° − 30°). Standard-rate turn, shortest way.
3. Fly heading 150° for one minute from fix passage.
4. Turn right (in the hold's direction) standard rate, aiming to intercept the inbound course. Typical turn is around 210°.
5. Intercept the inbound course (360°) and fly to the fix.
6. From the fix, fly the standard hold.

Total time from fix to re-crossing the fix is roughly 2 minutes to 2 minutes 20 seconds.

Wind correction (all entries)

Everything above assumes no wind. In reality:

• On the outbound leg, apply a wind correction angle that's triple the inbound wind correction (because you're on outbound + anticipating the turn + rolling out into a wind that's about to push you off the inbound).
• If the outbound leg is flown into a tailwind, shorten the timing (e.g. 45 seconds instead of 60) so the inbound leg comes out to one minute.
• Into a headwind, lengthen the outbound to 75–90 seconds.
• Your final metric is the inbound leg timing — always 1 minute (or 1:30 above 14,000 ft). Adjust everything else to make the inbound come out right.

Which one do I fly? (the 70/110 rule)

Two numbers are all you need: the inbound course (off the chart) and your current heading (off the HSI). Subtract one from the other to get your diff:

diff = heading − inbound — normalise into the range −180° to +180°. Positive diff = heading is clockwise (right) of inbound. Negative = CCW (left).

How to normalise: start with the plain subtraction heading − inbound (this is just the arithmetic answer — it can come out anywhere from −360° to +360°). Then, if it's bigger than +180° subtract 360°; if it's smaller than −180° add 360°; otherwise leave it alone. You're just picking the short way around the compass.

Examples:

• heading 020°, inbound 340°: 20 − 340 = −320°. Below −180°, so add 360° → −320 + 360 = +40°.
• heading 340°, inbound 020°: 340 − 20 = +320°. Above +180°, so subtract 360° → 320 − 360 = −40°.
• heading 150°, inbound 360°: 150 − 360 = −210°. Below −180°, so add 360° → −210 + 360 = +150°.
• heading 240°, inbound 360°: 240 − 360 = −120°. Already between −180° and +180°, so leave it → −120°.

In flight, skip the math. On the HSI, just read how many degrees left or right your heading bug sits from the inbound course arrow — that is the normalised diff.

For a right-turn hold:

• +110° to +180° → Teardrop
• −70° to −180° → Parallel
• anything else → Direct (most of the time)

For a left-turn hold, flip the signs — teardrop is −110° to −180°, parallel is +70° to +180°.

That's it. Two boundary numbers, 70 and 110. Commit them.

The widget above lets you check your answer against the diagram. In the air you won't have the widget — but after a dozen worked examples the rule sticks.

Three things beginners get wrong

1. Over-using teardrop. It's actually the smallest slice of the compass. Most arrivals are direct entries — don't reach for teardrop unless the angle really demands it.
2. Assuming right-turn holds are universal. DGCA exams love non-standard (left-turn) holds. Everything mirrors.
3. Confusing parallel and teardrop. They happen on opposite sides of the inbound course. Parallel = non-holding side. Teardrop = holding side. If you mix them up, you'll fly through the protected area the wrong way.

Why it matters

The wrong entry doesn't crash you, but it wastes fuel, clutters the holding stack, and can cost you an approach slot. On DGCA ATPL and type-rating exams, expect at least one chart-based holding question. On airline sim checks, every hold is graded on entry quality.