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holding pattern entry calculator

Enter the inbound course and your heading to the fix. The correct entry is named and drawn, with the sectors and the racetrack.

The course published for the hold, tracked towards the fix.

The direction you are travelling, not where you are.

Turns

Direct entry

Cross the fix and turn straight onto the outbound leg in the direction of the holding turns. The simplest entry, and the one you will fly most often.

Outbound course
090°
Your heading
000°, 90° anticlockwise of outbound
Racetrack lies
000° from the fix, the right of the inbound course
DIRECTPARALLELTEARDROPN030060E120150S210240W300330FIX

Shaded sectors are the direction you are arriving from, read off the ring in degrees. The white arrow is your track to the fix, the dashed blue one the inbound course, and the loop is the racetrack.

  • direct: headings 200° to 020° (180°)
  • parallel: headings 090° to 200° (110°)
  • teardrop: headings 020° to 090° (70°)

How the answer is worked out

The only comparison that matters is your heading to the fix against the pattern’s outbound course, which is the reciprocal of the inbound course. Measured from that outbound course, 70° towards the holding side is teardrop, 110° the other way is parallel, and the remaining 180° is direct. A left-turn hold mirrors all three. Where you happen to be on the chart never enters the calculation, though the diagram plots it so the geometry is visible: an aeroplane tracking to the fix always lies on the reciprocal of its heading.

Sectors use the standard 70° / 110° / 180° division, with the usual 5° tolerance either side of a boundary. For training and reference only: fly the entry that keeps you inside protected airspace.

There are three holding pattern entries, direct, parallel and teardrop, and which one you fly depends only on the angle between your heading to the fix and the holding pattern’s outbound course. The sectors are 180° for direct, 110° for parallel and 70° for teardrop.

Key takeaways

  • Direct covers a 180° sector, parallel 110° and teardrop 70°. Direct is the most common by a wide margin.
  • Entry depends on your heading to the fixrelative to the pattern’s course, not on where you happen to be geographically.
  • A ±5° tolerance either side of each boundary is accepted, so borderline cases are a matter of judgement, not error.
  • Standard holds turn right. Non-standard holds turn left and mirror every sector.
  • No controller has ever queried a safe, protected-side entry flown with confidence. Fly the pattern, not the theory.

The three entries, in plain language

Direct entry. You arrive roughly pointing the way the hold goes. Cross the fix, turn in the direction of the holding turns, and fly the outbound leg. Nothing clever required, which is why it covers half the compass.

Parallel entry. Your heading sits within 110° of the outbound course on the non-holding side. Cross the fix, turn to parallel the inbound course but flying outbound, run for a minute, then turn back through more than 180° toward the holding side to intercept the inbound course or return direct to the fix.

Teardrop entry. Your heading sits within 70° of the outbound course on the holding side, so you are already pointing roughly the way the outbound leg goes. Cross the fix, turn onto a heading about 30° off the outbound course on the holding side, fly for a minute, then turn in the direction of the hold to intercept the inbound course.

How the sectors are defined

Draw the inbound course through the fix and extend it. The holding side is whichever side the racetrack sits on, the right side for a standard right-turn hold. Now divide the compass around the fix into three sectors measured from the outbound course: a 70° teardrop sector on the holding side, a 110° parallel sector on the non-holding side, and the remaining 180° for direct entry.

What you compare against those sectors is your heading to the fix. This is the part that trips people up: it is not about which compass quadrant you happen to be sitting in, it is about the direction you are travelling as you approach the fix. Two aircraft in the same place on different headings can legitimately fly different entries.

The diagram above is a plan view, so it plots the other half of that relationship. Its shaded wedges are the direction you are arriving from, which for an aircraft tracking straight to the fix is simply the reciprocal of its heading. That is why the teardrop wedge appears on the far side of the fix from the racetrack: an aeroplane approaching from there is already pointing the way the outbound leg goes.

The 5° tolerance either side of a sector boundary exists because the whole scheme is about staying inside protected airspace, not about geometric purity. If you are within a few degrees of a boundary, either entry keeps you protected, so choose the one that is easier to fly.

Worked example

You are tracking 360° toward a fix. The hold is published on the 270° inbound course with standard right turns.

The inbound course is 270°, so the outbound course is 090°. Because the turns are to the right, the racetrack sits north of the inbound course. Your heading of 360° is 90° anticlockwise of the outbound course, which puts it outside both the 70° teardrop sector and the 110° parallel sector: this is a direct entry. You cross the fix, turn right through 90° onto 090, and fly the outbound leg.

Change nothing except your heading, approaching the same fix on 060° instead, and the answer becomes a teardrop, because 060° is only 30° from the outbound course on the holding side. Approach instead on 120° and you are 30° the other way, on the non-holding side, which is a parallel entry. Same fix, same hold, three different answers.

The mental methods pilots actually use

The most common shortcut is the thumb method. Hold your hand over the heading indicator with your thumb out: for a standard right-turn hold, use your right hand, palm down. Align it with the holding course and your thumb and fingers mark out the parallel and teardrop sectors. Left-hand hold, left hand.

The 70° rule is simpler still: if your heading is within 70° of the outbound course on the holding side, it is a teardrop. Within 110° on the non-holding side, parallel. Everything else, direct.

Whichever you use, brief the entry before you get to the fix. Working it out while crossing the fix is how pilots end up outside protected airspace and behind the aeroplane.

Timing, speed and the practical bits nobody mentions

Outbound legs are one minute at or below 14,000 feet and one and a half minutes above, timed from abeam the fix, or when you cannot identify abeam, from the moment you roll wings level outbound. Adjust the outbound leg on subsequent circuits so that the inbound leg comes out at the correct time.

Maximum holding speeds are 200 knots below 6,000 feet, 230 knots between 6,000 and 14,000, and 265 knots above, with a few category exceptions. Slow down before you reach the fix, not after. Arriving fast makes every entry harder and can push you outside protected airspace.

Finally: wind. A brisk crosswind will drift you off the pattern on the outbound leg, and the standard technique is to triple the inbound drift correction on the outbound heading. The entry gets you into the hold; wind correction is what keeps you there.

Frequently asked questions

How do you determine holding pattern entry?

Compare your heading to the fix against the holding pattern inbound course. Divide the compass around the fix into three sectors relative to the outbound course: 70 degrees on the holding side is teardrop, 110 degrees on the non-holding side is parallel, and the remaining 180 degrees is direct. A calculator or the thumb method gives you the answer in seconds.

What are the three types of holding entry?

Direct, parallel and teardrop. Direct means crossing the fix and turning straight onto the outbound leg. Parallel means paralleling the inbound course outbound on the non-holding side, then turning back through more than 180 degrees. Teardrop means flying outbound about 30 degrees off the outbound course on the holding side before turning to intercept inbound.

Which holding entry is most common?

Direct entry, by a wide margin. Its sector covers 180 degrees of the compass, as much as the parallel and teardrop sectors combined, so on a random arrival heading you are twice as likely to fly a direct entry as anything else.

Is a holding entry mandatory to fly exactly?

The published entries are recommended procedures designed to keep you within protected airspace. Controllers do not normally check which entry you flew, and minor deviations are acceptable provided you remain inside the protected area. What matters is that you stay protected, fly the correct inbound course and hold the correct timing.

What is a non-standard holding pattern?

A non-standard hold uses left turns instead of right. It will be published or issued in the clearance: if the controller says left turns, expect left turns. Every entry sector mirrors: the teardrop sector moves to the other side of the outbound course and the parallel sector with it.

How long is the outbound leg in a hold?

One minute at or below 14,000 feet, and one and a half minutes above 14,000 feet, unless a distance is specified using DME or GPS. Timing starts abeam the fix, or when you roll wings level outbound if you cannot determine abeam. Adjust subsequent outbound legs so that the inbound leg takes the correct time.

What are the maximum holding speeds?

For civil aircraft, generally 200 knots indicated below 6,000 feet, 230 knots from 6,000 to 14,000 feet, and 265 knots above 14,000 feet, with exceptions for certain aircraft categories and specific published holds. Slow to holding speed before reaching the fix.

Do I need to tell ATC which entry I am flying?

No. Report entering the hold and your altitude if required by the clearance or local procedure, but the entry technique itself is your business as pilot in command. Controllers protect the whole holding area, which is why any correct entry works.

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