Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Transponder Altitude Hold Mode

Asked by: 2027 views , ,
Instrument Rating

What is the purpose of a Transponder Altitude Hold Mode?

Thanks

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. John Scarry on Mar 18, 2017

    The hold mode is something of a misnomer. It is actually a monitoring function that alerts you if you deviate from your cruise altitude.

    My GTX 330 says this “ALTITUDE MONITOR: Controlled by START/STOP key. Activates a voice alarm and warning annunciator when altitude limit is exceeded.”

    To operate the Altitude Monitor:
    1) Climb to assigned altitude.
    2) Press the FUNC key until ALT MONITOR is displayed.
    3) Press START/STOP key to start monitoring altitude.
    4) Press START/STOP key again to cancel Altitude Monitor.

    Other transponders, like the NARCO AT165 call it a hold mode,
    “Pressing the HOLD button will enter the Altitude Hold mode and lock the current altitude as the HOLD altitude. The Altitude display area will now show the altitude difference relative to the HOLD altitude in 100ft increments. The altitude display area will flash if the Altitude Buffer value is exceeded. This is a warning only and is not tied to any navigation systems.”

    I have never used it, and in fact just learned about it a week or so ago. It seems like it could be useful if you fly IFR and don’t have an autopilot.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Charles22 on Mar 18, 2017

    Question answered. Many thanks!

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.