How often do you get a hold while IFR?

lancie00

lancie00

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lancie00
I'm not instrument rated but the talk of hold entry got me to wondering how often you get assigned a hold during IFR? I know a lot of instrument training is dedicated to holds but didn't know how often they come up. Also, when you get a hold, do you slow down to save fuel? It seems like a hold is just to give the controller more time/separation anyway.
 
Can't say I've ever gotten a proper hold outside of training/currency (and a few approaches in the area that have hold-in-loos). I do remember taking an extra turn around the hold-in-loo once for spacing. I've also had a controller tell me that I needed to hold (any way I wanted) because he couldn't clear me for the approach as there was someone ahead who hadn't cancelled.
 
I imagine it's rare, but it happens. A few years ago I was doing a currency run in hard IMC back in Michigan and flew the ILS 4 @PHN to a miss (my first missed for real BTW, I never so much as saw the rabbit). The MA hold used to be at MARGN and I requested it. Once I got there, the controller parked me there for traffic below me, even gave me an EFC time of about 15 minutes from then.
 
In my GA flying, I've never gotten a hold. This first year at the airline I've gotten over 5.
 
I did get to do non-radar reporting however early on. I was bopping along direct to my destination when they said "We're going to have to put you on an airway, Seymor-Johnson's radar is out." Fortunately, hitting EXPN on the airway in the GNS480 gives you the upcoming intersections and ETA. Too easy.
 
I've been given a few, plus I've requested a few (currency).
 
Twice....both times into an uncontrolled field with another aircraft already on the approach ahead of me.
 
None while flying in 17 years. I have held planes as a controller and none have been GA. It's usually airliners because a runway suddenly closed at the airport or more airplanes are being delivered than can fit on the finals. If something happens at the GA airports (below mins, clsd runway, etc) I tell the aircraft and they either try the approach or divert. No airport in our airspace would ever go missed into the published hold unless they go NORDO.
 
Never in a GA airplane. Maybe once every other month at work.
 
As others have said, it's much more common going in and out of major airline airports, but I used to be based out of a fairly busy training airport and had a fair number of holds issued there.

Plus a few at very rural airports just due to timing.

The good news is it's almost always going to be "hold at XYZ on your inbound course," so a direct entry. The others I've done have been teardrop, and I refuse to do parallel entries.
 
Fewer than half a dozen over a long and varied career in GA.

Bob
 
Seems like I always get a delay vector instead of a hold.

In Alaska, out of radar coverage, I have gotten a few holds, and usually it is a DME fix on my present heading.

But again I am on another frequency talking to the plane in front of me and we are working it out.
 
I've gotten one single hold that I didn't request for training in 8 years of instrument flying.

It was going into PHX in an Arrow .
 
In the rare event you get a hold, you will get either a hold as published or a hold on your present course with a direct entry.
 
Once in my last 3 years of flying, but I also put two planes into a holds so I could shoot my approach, so I'm like +1 right ;)
 
Not counting training and currency - never.
 
lancie00 said:
I'm not instrument rated but the talk of hold entry got me to wondering how often you get assigned a hold during IFR? I know a lot of instrument training is dedicated to holds but didn't know how often they come up. Also, when you get a hold, do you slow down to save fuel? It seems like a hold is just to give the controller more time/separation anyway.
Click to expand...

Rarely, but I have gotten a few and once held for an hour in IMC. Frankly, we had Fayetteville approach and I think the controller simply forgot about us. The irony was that I was training a retired controller for his IR. Neither of us had a clue.
 
In recent years in my experience, ATC seem to prefer delaying vectors to holds, at least with slowpoke GA.
 
I get charted holds as course reversal all the time when coming in at an angle greater than say 30 degrees to set me up for the final approach. Anyway, Ive gotten those. Never gotten a hold that wasnt on the enroute chart or the approach plate.
 
Once in the past two years on a published hold but it was just a single lap for spacing on a practice approach in VMC.
 
On my very first IFR flight after I got my instrument rating I got a hold! my friend and I got our instrument ratings the same week, the next week we rented a plane filed IFR and boom got a hold on our very first flight as IFR rated pilots!

In my entire time flying I've gotten them for real flying my Cessna maybe 5 or 6 times. And in the airlines we get them fairly frequently, especially when theres some weather systems moving through the airports or going someplace like LaGuardia, I probably do them flying for work maybe once or twice every other month.
 
SbestCFII said:
Rarely, but I have gotten a few and once held for an hour in IMC. Frankly, we had Fayetteville approach and I think the controller simply forgot about us. The irony was that I was training a retired controller for his IR. Neither of us had a clue.
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I've never liked dealing with Fayetteville approach
 
It's not THAT rare. I've had two real ATC assigned holds in IMC in the last year. Both were associated with busy approaches. One was a pop up with a hold at the IF. The other was a hold at a feeder fix at the end of a short IFR flight.
 
Handful in both GA and airline so far. At work we are told to expect to hold a lot but we typically don't carry enough fuel to do the hold.

I had one going into CLT last week during the storms. We got lucky and had enough fuel for a few turns while they slowly tickled us in.
 
Once, as a GA flyer, since getting my instrument 10 years back - SE of the DC SFRA, coming back to the FRZ. Potomac gave me a heads-up it was gonna happen, so I had time to think it through. Light IMC, and with an A/P, not a big hassle.
 
Here at Ocean City the summer traffic gets busy. Often the wx rolls in just off the ocean and at times it backs up the IFR approaches. It's bizarre, you're in the clear at the hold and then descend to the airport into the layer that sits from 700 foot tops to breaking out around 300 feet. Thankfully the LPV is 261'.

So in answer to the question I've had multiple holds here at the home base KOXB.
 
ARFlyer said:
Handful in both GA and airline so far. At work we are told to expect to hold a lot but we typically don't carry enough fuel to do the hold.

I had one going into CLT last week during the storms. We got lucky and had enough fuel for a few turns while they slowly tickled us in.
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How in the hell can that possibly be consistent with 14 CFR 91.167? Most holds are a hell of a lot shorter than 45 min.
 
ARFlyer said:
Handful in both GA and airline so far. At work we are told to expect to hold a lot but we typically don't carry enough fuel to do the hold.

I had one going into CLT last week during the storms. We got lucky and had enough fuel for a few turns while they slowly tickled us in.
Click to expand...
We land with a lot of fuel. I don't think I've landed with less than 4500 pounds. Maybe 4000 in the 200.
 
SbestCFII said:
Rarely, but I have gotten a few and once held for an hour in IMC. Frankly, we had Fayetteville approach and I think the controller simply forgot about us. The irony was that I was training a retired controller for his IR. Neither of us had a clue.
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What was your EFC?
 
I've gotten five real holds in the last four years in about 700 hours of flying. All were coming into an uncontrolled field waiting for another aircraft to cancel. One once did I have to do more than one circuit.
 
I've never received a hold from a controller in my 2 long years of IFR, until the other day. It was at my request for currency and I really expected her to just say something along the lines of go for it, and let me know when you're done. What I got back was an official hold instruction with an EFC. Very glad she did that, as I had never received that before. I'll definitely be practicing those more than once every six months.
 
It really varies depending on destination. Heading to the NYC area you have a much better chance vs heading to Kearny Nebraska.

Plus it depends what you are considering holding... formal holding pattern or just delaying vectors?
I've had ATC give me a 360. Is that considered holding??

In addition, I've been issued holding numerous times but never actually held. We slowed and by the time we reached the holding fix we were recleared.
 
Probably two holds in the last 5 years, both no more than one turn, both "as charted". Have been given box vectors a few times though.
 
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