Flying The Parallel Holding Entry Without Second-Guessing Yourself

The parallel entry is one of three FAA holding pattern entries, and it applies when you cross the holding fix on the holding side of the inbound course while pointed roughly in the outbound direction. You cross the fix, turn to parallel the outbound course on the non-holding (empty) side, fly outbound for your timed leg, then make a turn of more than 180 degrees back toward the holding side to intercept the inbound course. In a standard right-turn hold, that entry turn is a left turn - which is exactly why it feels backwards and trips up otherwise sharp pilots.

What Is a Holding Pattern, and What Are the Three Entries?

A holding pattern is a racetrack in the sky. It has a fix, an inbound course to that fix, and a direction of turns. Standard holds turn right; non-standard holds turn left, and either the chart or the controller will tell you when it’s left. Everything below assumes a standard right-turn hold - the logic simply mirrors for left turns once you understand it.

The racetrack sits entirely on one side of the inbound course. That side is the holding side. The empty side is the non-holding side. Every entry decision comes down to one question: as you arrive at the fix, which side are you coming from, and which way are you pointed?

The FAA defines three entries: direct, teardrop, and parallel. There’s a simple picture behind all three.

How Do I Figure Out Which Entry to Fly?

Draw the inbound course through the fix. Now, at the fix, draw a line 70 degrees off the inbound course. That line splits the sky into entry sectors.

• Direct entry: the large region, roughly 200 degrees of arc. Arrive pointed anywhere in it and you simply turn in the direction of the hold and fly the pattern. This is the easy one, and it’s what you’ll get most of the time.
• Teardrop entry: the smaller wedge on the non-holding side between that 70-degree line and the inbound course.
• Parallel entry: the wedge on the holding side of the course.

The parallel entry happens when you cross the fix on the holding side but pointed such that a simple turn into the pattern would swing you wide or dump you out on the wrong side. Rather than force an ugly turn, you fly something that feels backwards but works cleanly.

How Do I Fly the Parallel Entry Step by Step?

Step 1 - Parallel outbound on the empty side. Cross the holding fix and turn to a heading that parallels the holding course, but fly it outbound and on the non-holding side. You are now flying alongside the racetrack, on the empty side, heading away from the fix.

Step 2 - Time the leg. Hold that outbound heading for the appropriate time. At or below 14,000 feet, that’s one minute. Above 14,000 feet, it’s one and a half minutes. Start timing when you’re abeam the fix or wings level outbound, whichever comes later.

Step 3 - Turn back toward the holding side. This is the key moment. Because you were pointed outbound on the wrong side, this is a turn of more than 180 degrees. For a standard right-turn hold, this turn is a left turn. You turn left, back across the inbound course, and intercept it inbound to the fix - or head straight back to the fix if you’re tight on space.

Step 4 - Cross the fix inbound. You’re now established in the pattern, and every turn from here is a standard right turn. The parallel entry was just the handshake to get you inside.

Why Does the Parallel Entry Exist Instead of Just Turning In?

If you cross the fix already on the holding side, pointed roughly along your outbound leg, and you crank an immediate right turn, you swing away from the pattern and blow through your protected airspace before you ever get established.

The whole purpose of a holding pattern’s protected area is guaranteed obstacle clearance and traffic separation. Stay inside it and those guarantees hold. Fly a sloppy entry that bulges outside it and they start to erode. The parallel entry keeps you inside the box the FAA designed. That - not tradition - is the reason it exists.

What’s the Fastest Way to Identify the Entry in the Cockpit?

The classic method is the thumb or pencil over the heading indicator, but it’s clumsy and most pilots have their own variation.

A cleaner mental model is to ask two questions:

1. What is the inbound course to the fix? Not your heading - the direction you’ll fly toward the fix inside the hold.
2. What’s my heading as I arrive at the fix, roughly?

If you’re arriving pointed nearly the same direction as that inbound course and the pattern is on your side, you’re in parallel territory. If you’re pointed the opposite way, you’re likely a direct. If you split the difference in that small wedge on the non-holding side, that’s your teardrop - cross the fix, angle about 30 degrees onto the holding side, fly outbound, and turn back to intercept.

Best advice: draw the picture every single time. Sketch the fix, the inbound course arrow, the side the turns are on, and where you’re coming from. Two seconds of ink beats twenty seconds of doubt.

Do I Have to Fly the “Correct” Entry?

Here’s a point worth understanding clearly: the FAA does not require you to fly the perfect entry. The Instrument Flying Handbook and the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) both describe the three entries as recommended.

The actual requirement is that you remain within the protected airspace of the holding pattern. If you fly a direct entry where the book suggests a parallel and you stay inside the protected area, you haven’t violated anything. The entries are tools to keep you in the box - not a pass/fail test.

This matters because the fear of choosing the wrong entry causes more blown holds than the wrong entry ever would. Pilots freeze, fixate, and stop flying the airplane while they debate teardrop versus parallel. A confidently flown direct entry that stays protected beats a perfect parallel entry flown while you’ve forgotten you’re descending.

Can You Walk Through a Real Example?

Say the controller gives you: “Hold west of the ABCDE intersection on the 270 radial, standard turns, one-minute legs.”

Decode it. Hold west means the pattern sits west of the fix. The inbound course is the direction you fly toward the fix - so you’re flying eastbound, a heading of 090. Standard turns means right turns in the pattern. The outbound leg runs westbound, 270.

Now suppose you’re arriving from the northwest, headed southeast on roughly a 135 heading, and the geometry has you crossing the fix on the holding side (the west side), pointed close to the outbound direction. That’s your parallel setup.

You cross ABCDE and turn to parallel the outbound course, rolling onto roughly 270 (west), staying on the non-holding side as you track it away from the fix. Start the clock: one minute. At the minute, you turn - and because it’s a standard right-turn hold, this entry turn goes left, back through the inbound course to intercept 090 inbound (or aim straight back at the fix). Cross ABCDE again, and now every turn is a right turn.

Notice the fingerprint: the single left turn in an all-right-turns hold was the parallel entry. When you see a left turn feeding into a right-turn hold (or a right turn feeding a left-turn hold), that’s a parallel entry doing its job.

What Practical Details Matter Once the Airplane Is Moving?

Wind. The parallel entry is unforgiving of a bad wind correction because you have limited room before you turn back. Crab into it, respect a strong crosswind trying to push you off the protected side, and lead your turns. The AIM allows you to adjust outbound timing and heading to compensate for known wind - use it.

Timing. Start the clock abeam the fix or wings level outbound, whichever is later - not when you cross the fix. Starting too early cuts the leg short.

Speed. Slow down. A slower airplane flies a smaller pattern, gives you more time to think, and keeps you inside the protected area with margin. There’s no reward for holding fast.

Fly the airplane first. Altitude, heading, and configuration come before entry philosophy. A hold is one of the lowest-workload tasks under instruments once established - it’s the entry, those first 90 seconds, where pilots load themselves up. Brief it out loud, say the entry to yourself, draw the picture, then fly it like you’ve done it a hundred times.

Key Takeaways

• The parallel entry applies when you cross the fix on the holding side of the inbound course, pointed roughly along the outbound leg.
• Fly it in four steps: parallel outbound on the non-holding side, time the leg (1 minute at/below 14,000 ft; 1.5 minutes above), make the greater-than-180-degree turn back toward the holding side, then cross the fix inbound.
• In a right-turn hold, the parallel entry turn is a left turn - that reversed turn is its signature.
• The only hard FAA requirement is staying inside the protected airspace; the specific entry is recommended, not mandatory.
• Draw the hold every time. A picture beats mental math, and flying the airplane always comes before perfecting the entry.