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4 Answers

inbound timing start?

Asked by: 3389 views
Instrument Rating, Student Pilot

Hello. 

I have question about the start timing of inbound on holding.

the lots of books saying that "adjust outbound time for inbound 1 minute leg" and they also saying about start timing of outbound but no one saying that when should be start timing for inbound time!

my 1st instructor said "CDI center or wing level whichever comes first" and the 2nd instructor said "start timing at wing level for inbound".

what is the correct answer? please give me the reference of the answer too. 

Thanks.

Student pilot from South Korea.

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4 Answers



  1. John D Collins on Dec 19, 2021

    Timed holds enroute are intended to fly a delay in place. With no wind at low altitudes, they should take 4 minutes a circuit, 1 minute each for the outbound turn, outbound leg, inbound turn, and inbound leg. Winds mess the timing up, so to keep the timing close to the 4 minutes, the inbound leg is timed to be 1 minute. You have to adjust the wind correction angle on the outbound leg and the time on the outbound leg so that the inbound leg is one minute. I would teach to start the inbound timing after the roll out on the inbound turn to have a consistent point to begin the timing. It might take a couple of times around the circuit to get the timing reasonable. It is not a precision maneuver and +/- 15 seconds is probably good enough. No one will be grading your timing in real life.

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  2. Mark Kolber on Dec 19, 2021

    Tagging onto John’s post, there is no “correct answer” to your question. The primary goal is to remain in protected airspace (which is pretty large at the speed in what you are flying). The secondary goal is to get close to that 1 minute inbound leg. And the timing is just a guesstimated way to accomplish the primary goal. Perfection is not a requirement.

    The difference between the two instructors you mention is solely a difference in the *technique* used to accomplish those goals. If you think about them in context, they are really not that different.

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  3. Kris Kortokrax on Dec 23, 2021

    Timing doesn’t have to be a guesstimate. Long ago, I figured out that it is a simple time/speed problem.

    Simply fly a one minute outbound leg and note the inbound time.
    On your trusty E6B, set the speed index on the inbound time, then read (on the inside scale) under “60” (on the outside scale), the time required for the outbound leg, to yield one minute inbound.

    Alternatively, if you have a GPS installed, you could simply ask ATC for 4 mile legs (or whatever would work better for you).

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  4. Warren Webb Jr on Dec 25, 2021

    Your instructors are both using reasonable techniques. I start timing when my groundtrack is moving reasonably directly to the holding fix even when the CDI is not centered, so I rely a lot on a combination of the heading and the CDI position. I.e. on a 360 degree inbound course, if I get to a 350 heading and the CDI stabilizes two dots left, I either didn’t use the correct outbound heading, or I rolled out too quickly for the wind, or a combination. But, I am paralleling and close to the inbound course, so I start the timer, and then adjust the heading to center the CDI as I continue inbound. I couldn’t find any specific reference for you – don’t think there is one. Too many factors. If you’re uncomfortable about what would happen on the flight test, get some feedback from some folks who recently took the checkride or discuss with the examiner if possible.

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