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Why do holding patterns default to right hand turns?

Asked by: 3680 views Instrument Rating

Just curious but is there any specific reason why holding patterns default to right-hand turns?  I know traffic patterns default to left turns for better visibility from the left seat but why would holding patterns default to the right?

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1 Answers



  1. mason sherwood on Jan 23, 2016

    I would say that with almost everything in IFR scenarios, the difference between the left/right default turn is almost negligible. What is important is that both the pilot and ATC are expecting the same thing to happen. Much like lost comms (AVEF/MEA), its more about everyone planning for the same thing.

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