Pointless Ovals in the Sky

Talk about IFR holding patterns in a recurrent training setting and your time will most likely be spent discussing entries, maximum speeds and mandatory reports. There is a need created by the realities of the system for ATC to park you somewhere in the sky until it is time to move on. The reasons for being placed in a hold and held there normally boil down to one of three things: weather, traffic or an abnormal ATC situation.

The specific reason for the hold is important because you must plan ahead. But the fundamental reason for any hold is to delay your progress in the most efficient way possible. When you are in the air using up time you are also using up precious fuel. Both are interchangeable with the only difference between the two is that your fuel supply is finite while time will last only as long as your fuel does.

The more fuel you have in your tanks leaving the hold, the more time you have for options like shooting an extra approach, holding somewhere else, or bugging out to your alternate.

It is important to know how to enter a hold and using one of the three recommended methods (Direct, Parallel and Teardrop) is the way to do it. Even though you are not required to use these entries by regulation, they work well. If you are entering a hold on your instrument rating check ride or a proficiency check, this is no time to get creative. Just do the recommended entry.

Here are some realities of IFR holding that are at least as important as how you enter the racetrack pattern: First, no hold should come as a surprise. Holds are given to us just as soon as ATC knows about them. Controllers also know that fuel equals time and options, and they would rather not have to divert you to an alternate to get more fuel. Good controllers give their pilots a heads-up just as soon as they can about possible future holds.

ATC may say something like: "Barnburner 123, they are holding going into Gotham City today. Expect a hold at BATTY intersection... Gotham Approach has asked us to put everybody twenty in trail." The clearance itself will always contain the holding fix, the direction of the holding pattern, the radial or bearing from the fix and the altitude: "Barnburner 123 hold southeast of BATTY on the 152 radial, maintain 8000." Or, it may simply say "hold as depicted, maintain 8000" if the holding pattern is shown on the enroute chart.

As the reason for the hold at BATTY intersection is to delay, you can ask ATC if you can slow to hold-speed early. For most aircraft this is close to the most efficient clean speed, and you can save fuel by slowing early and using some of your hold time up by getting to the pattern later.

Another way to lessen the impact of a hold would be to re-assess your destination airport. If you are flying into a major hub and another area airport would suit your needs, changing your destination from KATL to KPDK (Atlanta to Peachtree DeKalb) could make a long hold disappear.

There are two tricks that I would not recommend. One is requesting delaying vectors and the second is to fly VFR on top to side-step the system. Vectors would be the first thing that ATC would think of and they would have provided them if they were a viable option. The VFR on top trick will get you out of the hold but it may also take you out of the sequence if the hold is at or near your destination. VFR on top also could result in loss of separation in a dense traffic environment.

Some holding pattern leg lengths are based on DME and that number is published on the chart. If you don't see a DME published it never hurts to ask for ten mile legs in lieu of timing—these are easy to get from ATC under most circumstances.

Right hand turns are always assumed in the pattern unless they are published as left hand turns or the controller issues you them with the hold clearance. The reason for a hold is as important as any aspect. Is this a slight delay or is it the first of many holds? If the hold is due to weather, when can you expect the weather to improve? Is the nasty weather headed toward you or away from you? Your pre-flight planning should have provided this background. In a busy ATC environment, the controller may not have time to tell the reason or it is possible that the controller may not know because the problem is in another sector or center.

An Expect Further Clearance Time (EFC) is part of every holding clearance and if it isn't included, you need to ask for one. An EFC is an important number for you and not just because it tells you approximately how much time you might be in the hold. An EFC only tells you how long it is until you get another clearance—and the next clearance could be another hour in the holding pattern.

The value of an EFC is when you lose communications—you are expected to leave the hold and begin the approach phase or your next enroute segment after your EFC. In this situation, ATC expects you to follow the rule about EFCs unless you are VFR and can expect to maintain VFR—then you are expected to maintain VFR and land at the nearest suitable airport.

Since instrument approaches are set up to function if you lose communications and radar service, they all have a hold of some sort built into their missed approach procedures. The critical aspect of missed approach holds is that you are faced with it just when you didn't want to have to execute one. That is why it is so important to make the post approach holding pattern a part of your pre-approach briefing.

You should plan the location of the holding fix, how you will establish your position there, the type entry to use, the direction of turn, and the altitude. These should all firmly be in your mind before you attempt the approach.

The holding pattern is an important entity in a non-radar environment for keeping you away from other traffic, but in mountainous areas it is also there to keep you from running into the ground. Some holding patterns are established in high terrain to allow engine-out or slow climbing aircraft a way to climb high enough above the ground to exit the area.

Human factors studies have shown that one of the most important things for a pilot, facing an abnormal situation, is to "buy time." If you are dealing with a problem, like a landing gear malfunction, or if for some reason, you feel too hurried and unprepared for the approach you can always buy time by requesting a hold from ATC.

This buying of time is normally done by ATC giving you delaying vectors, but if they are busy or the situation dictates it they will clear you someplace convenient to hold until you sort things out.

If you have an auto flight capability, use it. Holding in the real world in real weather is no time to show off your flying skills if your autopilot can do the work easier and free you for other chores.

With all the talk of holding pattern entries we may have forgotten that most modern aircraft have GPS units and some have flight management systems (FMS) that handle this chore for you. Combine a moving map that has a holding pattern entry capability along with an auto flight system and your work load just got lighter.

You will be asked to hold periodically for bad weather that ATC thinks will clear your destination in a reasonable time. Keep in mind when flying ovals in the sky awaiting better weather, that it might get worse, move or require a longer hold than they initially gave you. You are the PIC and ATC only has a general idea of how much fuel you have on board. They aren't in charge of making sure that you have enough go-juice to complete your flight safely.

Holding is an official clearance from ATC, meaning that you have to follow it unless you have an operational reason not to. If your situation demands a change from what they cleared you to do, tell your friendly controller and work out a safer solution. Holding is just a routine part of any instrument pilot's day. The more boring and uneventful you can make them, the better.

Kevin Garrison, a retired 777 captain for a major carrier, now instructs a little, writes a lot, and enjoys long naps in his official airline lazy boy recliner.

This article originally appeared in the September 2013 issue of IFR Refreshermagazine.

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