Hold That Pattern!
Instrument Pilots Game
View Hold Help at the Bottom of this Page
All aircraft will depart KMIA, Miami International IFR to KIAD. Expect the Miami9 Departure, Hedly transition.
Flight Plan: (suggested) - MIAMI9.HEDLY PHK SHEDS VRB J79 MALET OMN BEENO MILIE CHS J55 FLO TUBAS J51 FLOPS FOZZY CREWE FAK.COATT4
Expect the coatt4 arrival into KIAD, Dulles International.
All aircraft will conduct a touch and go, then proceed on the published missed approach for runway in use.
Expect to hold for 5-10 minutes.
Then all aircraft will be vectored in for full stop.
Have fun and good luck!!
The hold is based on three types of entries, depending on the sector from which the airplane arrives at the holding fix. These are the direct, parallel and tear-drop entries.
The sectors are divided by the holding course and a line which crosses the holding fix at a 70 degrees angle to the inbound leg as shown in the adjacent illustration. In a direct entry, a turn into the outbound leg is initiated upon crossing the holding fix. When a parallel entry is desired the airplane is turned into a flight path that is in a opposite but parallel direction to the inbound leg. After one minute the airplane is turned through the holding side to the holding fix. There are two methods of making the fix. One is by flying directly to the fix and the other is by intercepting the inbound leg at an angle of 45 degrees and proceeding to the fix thereafter. After passing the holding fix the airplane is turned to the outbound leg. In a tear-drop entry, the airplane is turned towards the holding side in an angle of 30 degrees from the inbound leg. After one minute it is turned towards the non holding side until the inbound leg is intercepted. When approaching the holding fix exactly on the holding course from the opposite side of the inbound leg, either a parallel or a tear-drop entry can be used.
Reality is that the recommended entry is also the easiest to execute. The problem is how to make a quick determination of the recommended entry without being distracted by it from performing other tasks. The quickest and most efficient way to make this determination is by super-imposing the hold onto the heading indicator. This results in visualization of the position in which the airplane approaches the holding fix and of the holding pattern itself.
This is accomplished by dividing the directional gyro card into three sectors. For a standard holding pattern one sector is between the heading of the airplane and 70 degrees to the right of it. This is the Tear-drop sector. The Parallel sector is between the heading of the airplane and 110 degrees to the left of it. The remainder is the Direct sector. On a non standard hold the 110 and 70 degrees are switched. The 70 degree sector is to the left of the heading while the 110 degree sector is on the right.Once a holding instruction is issued and the airplane is proceeding directly to the holding fix, an imaginary line is super-imposed in the direction of the outbound direction. The recommended entry is determined by the sector that includes this imaginary line
A. Tear Drop Entry
In this example the inbound and outbound legs are 050 and 230 respectively. The airplane approaches the fix at a heading of 180 degrees. The outbound course (red line) falls within 180 and 250 degrees zone which defines the tear-drop sector. Upon crossing the holding fix the airplane should be flown at a heading of 200 degrees for one minute before making a right turn to intercept the inbound course.
B. Direct Entry
In this example the inbound and outbound legs are 130 and 310 degrees respectively. The airplane approaches the fix at a heading of 180 degrees. The outbound course (red line) falls within 250 and 070 degrees zone which defines the direct sector. Upon crossing the holding fix the airplane should be turned right to a heading of 310 degrees which is the outbound course.
C. Parallel Entry
In this example the inbound and outbound legs are 340 and 160 degrees respectively. The airplane approaches the fix at a heading of 180 degrees. The outbound course (red line) falls within the 180 and 070 degrees zone which defines the parallel sector. Upon crossing the holding fix the airplane should be turned left to a heading of 160 degrees for one minute before making a left turn of 225 degrees to intercept the inbound course (or direct towards the fix if feasible).
