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2 Answers

entering the hold

Asked by: 4882 views FAA Regulations, General Aviation, Instrument Rating

Im currently a crew chief in Afghanistan and was having a debate/arguement with an equilivent CFII army pilot. The disagreement was over on entering a hold. He stated you had to enter on one of the standard 3(parallel, tear drop, or direct). I stated that statement was incorrect that there is no correct way to enter as long as you stay at the assigned altitude and on the protected side. And that the FAA recommends the standard 3, but are not mandatory. Via AIM 5-3-7. Is my statement true?

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2 Answers



  1. Matthew Waugh on Jul 29, 2010

    You are correct – hold entries are not mandatory (well I guess entering the hold is mandatory, but the entry you use is not).
    As long as you stay within the protected airspace you can split-s into the hold if that floats your boat.

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  2. Ryan on Aug 12, 2010

    You’re both correct in a sense, but technically you are correct. On a check-ride you’d have a hard time passing without using one of the 3 AIM-prescribed techniques, but in actuality there is no “requirement” that it be one of the 3.

    This is true for most any “technique” for which there is not a specific FAR. Adhering to “best practices” will help you out during the investigation process after an incident or accident, however.

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