31
votes
Accepted
Was ATC overstepping its boundaries when advising a pilot to ignore a cell warning?
The controller didn't overstep his boundaries, and he didn't tell the pilot to ignore a weather warning.
Shamrock demanded something that's extreme for the NYC airspace: runway heading for 15 miles. ...
- 14.9k
25
votes
Accepted
How many holds to be IR current?
According to this AOPA article, quoting the FAA person who actually wrote 61.57, it’s one hold:
When paragraph 61.57(c)(1)(ii) [i.e., "Holding procedures"] was written it was not intended ...
- 72k
15
votes
Accepted
During the holding procedure is it required that the pax must have the seat belt on?
There are no regulations which require passengers to be seated when the plane is flying a holding pattern, but there are a few practical advantages to keep the seat belt sign on during this phase:
...
- 39.8k
13
votes
Accepted
How frequent are unpublished holding patterns outside general aviation?
Not very frequent at all.
The need to delay traffic toward an airport is quite common. Usually, it is simply a question of fitting someone in a sequence of arriving aircraft, but there can be more ...
- 37k
12
votes
Accepted
Is this a very sloppy holding pattern or something else?
It does indeed look like they are not correcting for wind. The current wind over Belarus at 10km altitude looks like this:
(screenshot from windy.com)
That is consistent with the direction in which ...
- 58.3k
11
votes
How do I fly a direct entry holding pattern when approaching from an awkward angle?
To add to Michael Hall's answer, the direct entry is the one where you get straight on to the "racetrack" with minimum maneuvering and that is possible from anywhere within the direct entry sector. ...
- 136k
11
votes
Accepted
What is meant by "Outbound leg timing begins over/abeam the fix, whichever occurs later" in FAR/AIM 5-3-8?
The text is written that way to take into account the various type of holding entries. In case of a parallel or teardrop entry, the outbound leg starts after passing over the fix. In all other cases ...
- 84.5k
10
votes
Do helicopters fly holding patterns under IFR?
In short, yes, helicopters fly procedure turns, hold, etc. just like airplanes.
Hovering at a fix is not practical, as they do not really have the nav capability to perform that, and it is contrary ...
- 17.8k
10
votes
Why can US deny airspace to commercial flights?
Every country regulates its airspace. You will find the ones for the US airspace on the FAA website.
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/us_restrictions/airspace/
What went wrong is ...
- 321
10
votes
What should you do when the pattern is crowded?
As PIC if you don't feel comfortable entering congested airspace at a beehive airport, dont enter it. It's that simple. Divert to another airfield and attempt to return to the original airfield when ...
- 75.1k
10
votes
Holding entry is counted as a one turn holding?
Personally I have no expectations whatsoever. Sometimes the student (or instructor) requests multiple holds and they end up only doing one, and sometimes it's the opposite. My general technique is to ...
- 17k
9
votes
Accepted
Do helicopters fly holding patterns under IFR?
Indeed helicopters can be put on holding during IFR.
ICAO DOC 8168 VOL II (PANS-OPS) has helicopter specifics in ...
- 7,020
9
votes
Holding *west* on the 090 radial?
Let's break this down to its parts.
HOLD WEST OF THE ONE FIVE DME FIX
Yes, this is why the depicted holds are west of the fix, not west of the VOR.
ON THE ZERO NINE ZERO RADIAL OF ABC VORTAC
This ...
- 697
8
votes
Accepted
What do these clearances by Heathrow Director mean?
Those are both very common clearances given to aircraft that are already in the hold near Heathrow. The controller is just giving instructions on how they want the aircraft to leave the hold. It means ...
- 37.9k
7
votes
Was ATC overstepping its boundaries when advising a pilot to ignore a cell warning?
The controller didn't overstep their boundary but used poor judgment in using "another aircraft just did it..." as justification. That is almost always the last words of a crash as unforeseen weather ...
- 11.5k
7
votes
What is an autopilot washout filter?
A washout filter is used in a yaw damper autopilot to remove the steady state component from the yaw rate sensor. Feedback from the rate sensor is used to damp dutch roll mode, but during turns ...
- 21k
7
votes
Accepted
What are Altitude, Attitude and Heading Hold?
These are generally 3 different auto pilot modes. The first two are related to pitch and the third to heading/roll a nice overview can be found here
Altitude Hold: Generally speaking setting an ...
- 102k
7
votes
Am I required to report entering the hold in lieu, persuant to the IFR mandatory reporting points?
If you're in radar contact with ATC, the answer is no, you will not need to report it unless requested to. If you are not in radar contact (which would be unusual as that is in Class E airspace) you ...
- 75.1k
7
votes
Do helicopters fly holding patterns under IFR?
A. A helicopter uses a LOT more fuel hovering than it does in forward flight.
B. ATC are used to seeing their radar blips moving, so having the helicopter keep on moving complies with radar's ...
- 4,624
7
votes
Accepted
What vertical separation is required in a holding stack to avoid wake turbulence?
The minimum vertical separation in a holding stack is no different from the minimal vertical separation used elsewhere. This is almost universally 1000 feet. In countries where Reduced Vertical ...
- 37k
7
votes
When can I proceed inbound in a hold in lieu of a procedure turn when cleared for the approach?
You don't need to do a full turn around the holding pattern, you can just cross the IAF and proceed inbound. This is from the AIM 5-4-9(a)(5):
The holding pattern maneuver is completed when the ...
- 72k
7
votes
Holding entry is counted as a one turn holding?
The first time you pass over the holding fix is the entry. Each additional time you pass over the holding fix completes one turn.
The first turn is often not a complete racetrack, e.g. a teardrop or ...
- 27.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Holding ***and*** the Procedure turn
If you find yourself in that hold, you're calling ATC for your next steps.
The holding pattern depicted on this chart is not for aircraft on the approach. Once you've completed the PT, or one of the ...
- 4,372
5
votes
Why can US deny airspace to commercial flights?
Overflight privileges are part of what is known as freedoms of the air. In this case it would be the 1st freedom of the air, which is overflight without landing. These freedoms are negotiated between ...
- 28.7k
5
votes
How do I fly a direct entry holding pattern when approaching from an awkward angle?
The answer is yes, you would enter holding just as you depicted.
- 27.3k
5
votes
When a hold is distance based, do you still used a timed entry?
I haven't found any specific guidance for hand flying entries to RNAV (RNP) holding patterns. But part of the concept of RNAV is that the navigation system can provide the complete desired path ...
- 20.2k
5
votes
How precise must a pilot be when flying a holding pattern?
Flying holds does not have to be rocket science and the holds do not have to be perfect ovals. In fact when applying proper wind correction the pattern will not be a perfect oval. There are two main ...
- 5,839
5
votes
What is happening with this aborted flight?
It wasn't "circling around a built up area" - it was placed into a holding pattern.
At this point we can only speculate, but holding patterns are exactly as the name implies - aeroplanes obviously ...
- 9,378
5
votes
Accepted
What is happening with this aborted flight?
Looking at the flight path the airplane departed consistent with a flight direct to Spain, then returned and was put into the holding pattern (I've flown that hold enough, it's where I do my recurrent ...
- 54.4k
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