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“Cleared direct OCRAP, hold as published, maintain one- six thousand, EFC 2140.” If not to a fix with a published pattern, then to a published fix with follow-on instructions delineating the desired pattern/parameters at the fix. Very seldom is the pattern defined using an antique and inac- curate reference such as a VOR and radial/DME, NDB or Grandma Leyba’s woodshed. But when it is, we need to know how to enter and fly the pattern. Sometimes we need to figure it out quickly due to a short-notice event at our destination with the resulting short-notice hold.
Microburst: A Show-Stopper
Snow plowing, extreme weather and incidents such as a blown tire or a VIP event are the most common reasons for a short-notice runway or airport closure. But I’ve also encountered unusual reasons like earthquakes, forest fires and social unrest. And I once held for a U.S. President getting a haircut on the ramp aboard Air Force One. Closures due to moderate to extreme weather are common and happen every day. ATC knows we don’t like to hold (and are some- times not very precise about it). It’s more work for them to construct multiple patterns, so they normally issue speed assignments and radar vectors in order to avoid holding.
That failing, a published holding pattern is their next choice. But inevitably, a few aircraft may need to hold off the grid or “unpublished.” During our arrival into RDU, a thunderstorm overhead had closed the field. The rain shower and resultant low visibility were not necessarily a show-stopper, but the announcement of microbursts was. At the captain’s discretion (that’s you), wind shear is a “proceed with caution” event if the report is not referenced to the landing runway. However, a microburst alert at any location on the field requires an immediate go-around, diversion to an alternate or a hold. Grit your teeth; here are the holding pattern memory items.
The true art of memory is the art of attention.
– Samuel Johnson
We have to memorize four components to get the hold- ing pattern right: entry procedures, direction of turns in the hold, speed and leg length. In the U.S., the maximum speeds (you can fly slower if you want) are 200 KTS below 6,000, 230 KTS from 6,001 to 14,000 and 265 KTS from 14,001 and up. Timing is one minute inbound below 14,000 and 1.5 minutes inbound above 14,000. If not issued a holding leg-length in distance, they expect you to use time. I will always ask for a distance instead of time because it’s easier. And because holding isn’t confusing enough already, ICAO and military holding speeds are different from each other and from the U.S. So, look them up before you leave the country or climb into your fighter and then put a sticky note with the speeds on your forehead (ICAO= SFC to 14k=230, 14k to 20k=240 and 20k to 34k=265 and desired Mach above 34k).
The big thing that will help with holding is to remember there is a “protected” side, which is on the holding side of
the radial, and an “unprotected” side. If you fumble around on the protected side, it’s mostly okay. Fumbling around on the unprotected side is bad – write down this number and call ATC bad. And for better or worse, GPS has made ATC less tolerant of any holding pattern excursions. Holding speeds, direction of turns, timing or distance and entry techniques are all designed to keep us in the chunk of airspace that is on the protected side.
The HPC-2 is a good aid for holding entries.
Avionics are required because “X” does not mark the spot.
T-D-P
Figuring out how to enter a holding pattern was my nemesis for many years. There are countless manuals, study guides and instructor techniques that explain how to enter a holding pattern. I’ve heard most of them and tried to find one that I could remember...and failed miserably. With hopeful optimism and humility, I offer the one that finally made sense and stuck with me: T-D-P (Teardrop- Direct-Parallel). I bought an HPC-2 from ASA (yes, the 25,000-hour pilot needed a visual aid). It’s a handheld card
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