Holding Pattern Entry Calculator
Calculate and visualize the recommended direct, parallel or teardrop entry for any standard or non-standard IFR holding pattern.
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SETUP
Free Holding Pattern Entry Calculator
This is a free holding pattern entry calculator for IFR pilots, instrument students and flight simulator pilots. Give it the published inbound course, the heading you are tracking towards the fix and the turn direction, and it names the ICAO entry, direct, parallel or teardrop, then draws the entry sectors and the racetrack around the fix so you can see where the answer came from.
The picture is a control as well as a diagram. Drag the aeroplane around the fix and the entry changes as it crosses each sector boundary, which is the quickest way to build a feel for where those boundaries actually lie, and take hold of the holding pattern itself to turn it, which sets the inbound course without typing it. Press SHOW PATH and the entry is drawn over the pattern as well, so you see the manoeuvre and not only its name. Switch the wind on and the calculator also solves the inbound drift correction, the tripled correction for the outbound leg and the outbound timing, and draws the shape the hold really makes over the ground. Learn how the holding entry calculator works for the reasoning behind each of those numbers.
How to Use the Holding Entry Calculator
Four values, and only the first three change the entry. The answer updates as you type, so there is nothing to submit.
- Enter the published inbound course. This is the course towards the fix that the chart prints or the clearance reads out, not the outbound heading.
- Enter the aircraft heading approaching the fix. The direction you are tracking as you close on the fix. The calculator works the arrival bearing out from it.
- Select right or left turns. Right is the standard hold and the default; left makes it non-standard and mirrors the sectors.
- Read and visualize the recommended entry. The answer appears under the picture, and the aeroplane sits in the sector it came from.
The Three Holding Pattern Entries
ICAO Doc 8168 splits the circle around the fix into three sectors, one per entry, measured from the inbound course. The calculator draws all three and puts your aeroplane in the one you are arriving from. If you want the manoeuvres themselves rather than the decision, learn how to fly a holding pattern in the TrainYourHold guide.
Direct Entry
The direct entry covers the widest sector, 180 degrees of the circle, and is the simplest of the three. You are arriving from a direction that lets you cross the fix and turn straight onto the outbound leg on the holding side. There is no positioning manoeuvre: cross the fix, turn in the holding direction, fly the outbound leg, then turn back onto the inbound course.
Parallel Entry
The parallel entry covers 110 degrees, on the holding side of the inbound course. You are arriving from a direction where turning straight into the pattern would take you outside the protected area, so instead you cross the fix, turn onto the outbound heading on the non-holding side, fly it for the leg time, then turn back through the inbound course to intercept it or return to the fix.
Teardrop or Offset Entry
The teardrop entry covers 70 degrees, on the non-holding side. You cross the fix, turn roughly 30 degrees off the outbound direction towards the holding side, fly that heading for the leg time, then turn in the holding direction to intercept the inbound course back to the fix. It is the entry that trades a little airspace for a clean intercept.
Standard and Non-Standard Holding Patterns
A standard holding pattern turns right. Unless a chart or a clearance says otherwise that is what you assume, and it is what the calculator opens with. A non-standard holding pattern turns left, and a clearance will say so explicitly.
The turn direction decides which side of the inbound course the racetrack lies on, and with it which side each entry sector lies on. In a standard hold the pattern sits to the right of the inbound course, the parallel sector on the holding side and the teardrop sector on the non-holding side. Make the hold non-standard and the whole picture mirrors. The sector sizes never change, 70 degrees and 110 degrees; only the side does.
On terminology: ICAO Doc 8168 calls the third entry the offset entry, while FAA charts and most American training material call it the teardrop entry. They describe the same manoeuvre, and this calculator treats them as one. Which word you use depends on the guidance you were trained under rather than on the geometry, which is identical either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a holding pattern entry?
A holding pattern entry is the manoeuvre that takes you from your inbound track onto the holding racetrack at the fix. Because you can arrive at a fix from any direction, ICAO defines three entries, direct, parallel and teardrop, and which one you fly depends on the angle between the direction you are arriving from and the published inbound course.
Which course should I enter into the calculator?
Enter the inbound course of the hold, the one published on the chart or read to you in the clearance, which is the course you track towards the fix once established. It is not the outbound heading, and it is not your present heading, which goes in the separate heading field.
What is the difference between a teardrop and an offset entry?
They are two names for the same entry. ICAO documentation calls it the offset entry, while FAA charts and most American training material call it the teardrop entry. Either way you cross the fix, turn roughly 30 degrees off the outbound direction towards the holding side, fly that leg, then turn back to intercept the inbound course.
How does a left-turn holding pattern affect the entry sectors?
The sectors mirror. A standard hold turns right and the pattern lies to the right of the inbound course; a non-standard hold turns left and the whole picture flips to the other side. The sector sizes do not change, 70 degrees and 110 degrees, only which side of the inbound course they sit on. Switch the turn direction in the calculator and the drawing mirrors with it.
Is this calculator intended for real-world navigation?
No. It is a training and study aid, and a simplified one. Fly the entry that your clearance, your charts and your operator's procedures call for, and use official publications and a certified instructor for anything operational.
Can I practise the calculated holding pattern?
Yes. The PRACTICE THIS HOLD button hands the inbound course, turn direction, heading, speed, wind and leg over to the free TrainYourHold simulator, so you can fly the entry you just worked out on a working HSI without typing any of it in again.
Fly the Entry You Just Worked Out
Deciding an entry and flying one are different skills, and the second is the one that gets rusty. The hold you have set up here hands straight over: course, turn direction, heading, speed, wind and leg all travel with it.
Practise IFR holding patterns with TrainYourHold
TrainYourHold is a free browser simulator with a working HSI, wind and timing, made by the same people. It also covers radial intercepts, DME arcs and procedure turns.