Holding Pattern Calculator
FLIGHT PLANNING TOOLKIT
Holding Pattern Calculator
Visualize the entry. Understand the hold.
Schematic, not to scale. Sectors represent arrival headings at the fix; the colored areas are not protected-airspace boundaries. Wind changes heading results, not the schematic track.
Set up your hold
Use the same reference for aircraft heading, hold course and wind direction: all true or all magnetic. Published distance or timing overrides the selected time.
Wind correction
Automatic inbound WCA is rounded to whole degrees before multiplying. 3× is an initial holding correction, not an exact outbound ground track. Adjust using observed drift and inbound timing.
Entry sequence
Once established
How to read this calculator
Direct, parallel and teardrop divide the arrival-heading circle into 180°, 110° and 70° sectors. The left-turn pattern mirrors the right-turn pattern. Within 5° of a dividing line, both adjacent entries are displayed.
The blue dashed line illustrates entry and the dark racetrack illustrates the established hold. Aircraft-up rotates the view with your arrival heading. Switching inbound/outbound preserves the same physical hold.
Parallel entry is drawn using the opposite-direction return turn shown in the diagram. Follow the applicable procedure and your flight training. The drawing does not model turn radius, terrain, protected airspace or wind drift through turns.
Use the aircraft POH/AFM, published hold, applicable speed limits and ATC instructions. This is a planning and training aid, not flight guidance.