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Instrument rating · ACS IR.III.B · Instructor lesson plan

Holding Procedures

Student pack: Train: Holding Procedures · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain holding procedures in their own words, apply it in a realistic situation, and fly it to the ACS standard for IR.III.B.

Why it matters for safety: Holding is where weather and fuel meet. A hold that was meant to last 10 minutes can stretch to 40 as the destination gets worse, and the pilot who keeps circling hoping it improves can end up with no fuel for the alternate. Holding well is half the task; knowing when to stop holding is the other half.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Holding Procedures. Entries, timing, wind correction and fuel: how to hold, and when holding means it’s time to go somewhere else.

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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/ifr/holding-procedures · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/ifr/holding-procedures

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

  • A standard hold turns right; a non-standard hold turns left. A holding clearance gives the direction to hold from the fix (one of eight compass points), the fix, the radial, course or airway, the leg length in miles for a DME or RNAV hold (or minutes if not standard), left turns if non-standard, and an EFC time.(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • Recommended entries: direct, parallel or teardrop, chosen by your heading to the fix relative to the holding course (the 70° line).(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • Inbound legs are 1 minute at or below 14,000 feet MSL (1½ minutes above), unless a distance is given. Start outbound timing over or abeam the fix, whichever is later (or when the outbound turn is complete if you can't tell abeam), and adjust the outbound leg so the inbound one comes out right. In a DME or RNAV hold the legs are distances, not times.(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • Maximum holding speed: 200 KIAS up to 6,000 feet MSL, 230 KIAS from 6,001 to 14,000, 265 KIAS above, unless charted otherwise.(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • Slow to holding speed within 3 minutes of the fix.(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • Wind: find the inbound correction, then apply about three times that correction outbound, to the opposite side of the course (into the wind).(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))
  • Report the time and altitude reaching the holding fix and when leaving it. Recompute fuel against the EFC.(AIM 5-3-3)

The pattern and the entry

  • Read the clearance: "Hold northeast of the ABC VOR on the 040 radial, left turns, expect further clearance 1530."(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • Picture the hold, then pick the entry. Direct: at the fix, turn in the holding direction and fly the pattern. Parallel: at the fix, turn to the outbound heading on the non-holding side for 1 minute, then turn more than 180° toward the holding side to intercept the inbound course or return to the fix. Teardrop: at the fix, turn to a heading 30° off the outbound course toward the holding side for 1 minute, then turn in the holding direction to intercept inbound. Each keeps you in protected airspace.(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • Start outbound timing over or abeam the fix, whichever is later; if you can’t tell when you’re abeam, start when the outbound turn is complete.(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • Use the MFD or GPS track to see the pattern drawn, but fly the course and timing.(Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6))

Wind, speed and timing

  • Correct drift inbound, then triple the correction outbound, applied to the opposite side of the course. Adjust outbound time so the inbound leg comes out at 1 minute.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))
  • Turns: 3° per second, 30° of bank, or 25° with a flight director, whichever needs the least bank. An RNAV system that limits bank below 25° may not stay in protected airspace: tell ATC. Fly a steady holding speed for fuel economy.(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)

Fuel, weather and when to leave

  • Holding usually comes from weather or traffic at the destination. Ask early for the reason and the expected delay.(AIM 5-3-8, Holding)
  • When you get an EFC, recompute fuel: holding until the EFC, the approach, a missed approach and the alternate, plus reserve. The EFC is also your lost-communications plan: if the clearance limit is a fix where an approach begins, start the approach as close as possible to the EFC (or your ETA if none); if it isn't, leave it at the EFC (or on arrival if none), go to the approach fix and start as close as possible to your ETA.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A); 14 CFR 91.185(c)(3))
  • "Minimum fuel" is only an advisory: it gets no priority. If you can’t accept any more delay, declare an emergency and report your fuel in minutes.(AIM 5-5-15)
  • If the hold leaves you without enough fuel for the alternate, leave now.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches for the right entry, slowing in time, wind correction that gets better each lap, the reports, and a fuel check after the EFC.

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

  1. Recall · What is the maximum holding speed at 5,000 feet?

    A strong answer: 200 KIAS, unless the chart says otherwise.

  2. Understand · Why triple the wind correction on the outbound leg?

    A strong answer: The outbound leg plus the two turns are exposed to the wind for about three times as long as the correction needs to cover, so tripling it brings me back onto the inbound course.

  3. Apply · You’re holding with an EFC 30 minutes from now, and you’ve just got 50 minutes of fuel left before your reserve. The alternate is 25 minutes away. What do you do?

    A strong answer: Holding 30 minutes plus the alternate leaves too little. Tell ATC and leave now for the alternate, or an approach now if one is available. If I need priority, I declare an emergency and give fuel in minutes; minimum fuel alone gets none.

Scenarios to talk through

  • Inbound, the course is good with a 10° right correction (the wind is from the right). What heading correction do you use outbound?

    Sound decision: About 30° left of the outbound course, into the same wind, then adjust.

  • Your inbound leg is taking 1 minute 20 seconds. What do you change?

    Sound decision: Shorten the outbound leg by about 20 seconds.

  • You’re approaching your clearance limit and ATC hasn’t issued holding instructions or a further clearance. What do you do?

    Sound decision: Ask for instructions before reaching the fix. Only if you can’t get them, hold at the clearance limit as published, or if none is published, on the course you arrived on with right turns, and keep trying.

5 · Common student errors

  • Slowing too late.

    Why it matters: You overshoot the protected airspace.

    How to correct it: Slow within 3 minutes of the fix.

  • Same correction outbound, or the wrong side.

    Why it matters: The pattern drifts.

    How to correct it: Triple it outbound, into the wind.

  • Holding without a fuel plan.

    Why it matters: Hope eats the alternate fuel.

    How to correct it: Recompute fuel when you get an EFC.

6 · Completion standard

  • Maintain airspeed ±10 knots, altitude ±100 feet, selected headings within ±10°, and track a course, radial or bearing within ¾-scale CDI deflection.
  • Change to holding airspeed within 3 minutes of, but before reaching, the holding fix.
  • Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
  • They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
  • They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.

Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on IR.III.B: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=IFR&focus=IR.III.B

7 · References

  • Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Chapters 4, 5 and 6
  • Instrument Procedures Handbook (FAA-H-8083-16B), Departures; en route
  • Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), IFR flight; holding
  • 14 CFR, 91.3, 91.123, 91.183, 91.185
  • Instrument Rating ACS (FAA-S-ACS-8C), Area III
  • Airman Certification Standards, task IR.III.B

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Holding Procedures lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-13). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.