By Rory Bennett (ATPL, FI: CPL, IR, ME, UPRT) · Published 25 May 2026
Direct answer
ICAO holding procedures require you to correct for wind in both heading and timing, so that you can regain the inbound track before the fix[1]ICAO Doc 8168 (PANS-OPS), Vol I, Pt I, §6 Chapter 2 (Holding) 2.3.2. The standard method is to apply single drift on the inbound leg, then triple that drift, into wind, on the outbound leg to correct for the drift built up across both turns and the outbound leg, and to adjust the outbound time by one second per knot of headwind or tailwind[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS".
Plan view of a racetrack hold in wind: the inbound leg carries a small single-drift correction to hold the track to the fix, the outbound leg carries a larger triple-drift correction applied into wind, and outbound timing is adjusted by one second per knot of headwind or tailwind.
Wind correction walkthrough
The walkthrough below flies the hold from end to end; the wind correction section comes later in the video. The full transcript is under the player for accessibility and search.
Video transcript
Holding, ICAO PANS-OPS. What is a hold? A hold is an instrument flying procedure defined in Doc 8168 Flight Procedures. It is defined as a predetermined manoeuvre which keeps an aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance. Holding procedures are based on a holding fix, a geographical location that serves as a reference for a holding procedure. The holding fix can be a navigation aid such as a VOR or NDB. It can also be a fix offset from one of these aids at a given radial and distance, or in the case of RNAV holding, it can be a published waypoint. Holding procedures can most commonly be found on approach and arrival charts but also sometimes en route. Occasionally an unpublished hold can be given by air traffic control. You need to know about holding because it is a common feature in instrument flying. It can be given by air traffic control, required as part of a procedure, or even used tactically by pilots. It is an essential skill for any instrument-rated pilot. Aims: by the end of this video, you should know what a hold is, how a hold is defined, how to fly a hold, how to correct for wind in a hold. Holding construction and terminology. The hold is defined by the fix, the inbound track to the fix, and the direction of turn. This comes with some associated terminology such as the hold axis, the outbound leg and the abeam position. The hold axis splits the holding side, where the outbound leg and turns take place, from the non-holding side. Obstacle clearance criteria are based on holding on the holding side. There will also be a published minimum holding altitude which ensures 1,000 ft obstacle clearance within the holding area. There may also be a published limiting outbound distance or radial. If not, it is timed: 1 minute at or below 14,000 ft, 1 minute 30 seconds above 14,000 ft. Flying the hold. When flying the hold, there are a few important rules you must know. First, maximum speeds: this table is given, memorise the speeds for your current type. Secondly, angle of bank: turns are to be flown at 25 degrees angle of bank or rate one, whichever is less. Now for flying the hold, we'll start with the inbound leg. This is a tracked leg using radio navigation or RNAV as appropriate to maintain the published inbound track to the fix. On this leg, you can measure drift to assess the wind. To prepare for passing the fix, check the turn direction and bug the outbound heading. Have a timer ready. The outbound turn at rate one or 25 degrees angle of bank onto the outbound heading. In nil wind, this is the reciprocal of the inbound heading. Next is the outbound leg. This is a dead-reckoned leg that positions the aircraft appropriately for the turn onto the inbound track. It is by default timed. Else there may be a limiting radial or distance published. Timing begins from the abeam position, a QDR 90° to the hold axis. We are required to use established error check procedures, and on the outbound leg we can monitor for something called the gate. The gate is a QDR 30° from the hold axis. In a left-hand hold, outbound plus 30°; right-hand, minus 30°. This is where you would be at the end of a one-minute outbound leg in a light aircraft. Bug the inbound heading before the end of the outbound leg. At the outbound time, distance or radial, make a rate-one turn inbound. The aim of the inbound turn is to establish on the inbound track. Now you know what the gate is, how do you use it to monitor the outbound leg? Monitor for time and gate outbound. If you reach the gate before your outbound time, you are tight. Turn to track up the gate to the time. This puts you in the correct position to turn inbound. If you reach the time before the gate, you're wide. Turn inbound and anticipate an intercept. That leads us to the inbound turn. The goal is to intercept the inbound track. To do this proficiently and accurately, the turn should be monitored. If holding directly over or close to a navigation aid, you can monitor the progress and determine whether you're undershooting or overshooting. Check the turn at 90°, 60°, and 30° to go to the inbound heading. At 90° to go, the needle should be 15° from the inbound track. At 60° to go, the needle should be 10° from the inbound track. At 30° to go, the needle should be 5° from the inbound track. This will result in a smooth intercept. But what if that's not what you see? Here we have reached 90° to go, but the RMI is only 5° off. We have pushed the head of the needle too far. We should not increase angle of bank to chase it; we will overshoot. So pick a heading to reintercept the inbound track and continue through to this. Make sure you stop the turn with the heading on the correct side of the needle to reintercept. Anticipate rate of movement to turn onto the inbound course. In the other case here, we have reached 90° to go but the RMI has not yet reached 15°. It needs to be pushed further. We are wide and need to intercept. It's too late to stop the turn here, so plan to stop at the next check, 60° to go. At 60° to go, roll the wings level and fly until the RMI is in the correct position for this heading, 10° off. Then roll back into the turn. This should again achieve a smooth intercept. Now you're back on the inbound track. Continue in the hold as usual. Correcting for wind in the hold. We are required to correct for the effects of wind with regards to heading and timing such that we are able to establish the inbound track before passing the fix. This helps ensure obstacle clearance and positions us correctly for any associated procedure. Here's some holding patterns with various winds where no correction has been made. You can see that in anything more than a light wind, heading and timing corrections are essential. How to correct? In the hold, we have one tracked leg, the inbound leg, on which drift can be assessed and corrected. We then have the outbound turn, outbound leg and inbound turn. This is approximately 3 minutes of flying where we are subject to drift. We cannot easily correct for drift in the turns, so we have to make the correction on the outbound leg. If we have 3 minutes of drift to correct for and 1 minute in which to correct for it, one solution is to apply triple the drift on this one leg. But how much is single drift? Drift on inbound and outbound legs is approximately equal. Use the clock code to calculate drift, or look at the difference between heading and track when on the inbound leg. Multiply this figure by three to have triple drift. Apply triple drift into wind outbound. Here's an example. In this scenario, flying at 120 knots true airspeed with a hold of 360° left-hand and a wind of 090° at 15 knots. Single drift is approximately 7.5° as seen on the inbound leg. Three times this makes triple drift approximately 22°. Applying this outbound into wind gives an outbound heading of 158°. Let's see how this works out. The outbound turn is stretched by the wind here. Our inbound turn will also be compressed. The outbound leg is spent tracking back towards the hold axis to correct for both these turns and the drift on the outbound leg. The gate would normally be 210°. However, it moves into wind by approximately single drift. Timing is also corrected: 1 second per knot of headwind or tailwind outbound. Add time for a headwind, reduce for a tailwind. You can see triple the drift applied into wind has corrected for drift in the hold and we regain the inbound leg before the fix. The adjustment to timing helps ensure that we remain in the holding area. There is one further consideration. If your triple-drift corrected heading falls within 30° of the wind, reduce to double drift. Here's one more example. Here we have a 090° left-hand hold with a wind of 310° at 30 knots. Single drift is 10°, triple drift 30°. This would make an outbound heading of 300°. However, this is within 30° of the wind, so we reduce to double drift, making an outbound heading of 290° and a time of 1 minute 28 seconds. Let's see how this works. As you can see, it's worked out well. If we hadn't reduced to double drift, we would find ourselves wide and have to correct.
Why do you correct for wind in a hold?
ICAO requires you to make an allowance for the effect of wind, in both heading and timing, so that you establish the inbound track before passing the fix[1]ICAO Doc 8168 (PANS-OPS), Vol I, Pt I, §6 Chapter 2 (Holding) 2.3.2. That is what keeps you inside the holding area and correctly positioned for any procedure that follows. The main objective of the outbound leg is to position the aircraft appropriately to intercept the inbound track.
The difficulty is that a hold gives you only one tracked leg, the inbound leg, on which you can measure and correct drift. The outbound turn, the outbound leg, and the inbound turn together are roughly three minutes of flying that are all subject to drift, and you cannot easily correct drift while you are turning[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS".
A 090° LH holding pattern flown at 120KTAS with wind 180/30 and 360/30 with no wind correction outbound. Note the effect on both the turns and the outbound leg, and how difficult it is to reach the inbound track before the fix.A 090° LH holding pattern flown at 120KTAS with wind 180/30 and 360/30 with triple drift applied outbound, and 1s/kt HW/TW correction. You can see clearly how the wind corrected outbound leg positions the aircraft appropriately to intercept the inbound track.
How do you find single drift?
Drift on the inbound and outbound legs is approximately equal[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS", so you only need to measure it once. Find single drift either by the clock code, or simply by reading the difference between your heading and your track while you are established on the inbound leg.
Watch: Clock Code
Watch: Wind Corrections on the HSI
Why apply triple drift outbound?
You have about three minutes of drift to correct for (outbound turn, outbound leg, inbound turn) and only the one-minute outbound leg in which to correct it. So one solution is to apply triple the drift angle on that single leg, into wind[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS". The outbound leg is then spent tracking into wind, undoing the drift from the stretched or compressed turns, and the leg itself.
Find single drift on the inbound leg.
Multiply by three to get triple drift.
Apply triple drift into wind on the outbound heading.
One side effect worth knowing: the gate (the QDR 30° from the hold axis) moves into wind by approximately single drift, so do not expect to find it on its nil-wind bearing[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS".
A 090° LH holding pattern flown at 120KTAS with wind 180/30 at 120KTAS. See how the QDR at the end of the outbound leg moves into wind by roughly single drift.
How do you correct the timing?
The heading correction is primarily aimed at giving a suitable length inbound leg to the fix. Under ICAO, there is no strict timing requirement. Some people opt to aim for 3 minutes from the abeam position to the fix. A good rule of thumb: Adjust the outbound time by one second per knot of headwind or tailwind on the outbound leg: add time for a headwind, reduce it for a tailwind[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS".
A 090° LH holding pattern flown at 120KTAS with wind 270/30. See how a 60 second outbound leg leaves you almost no time inbound, while a 90 second corrected outbound leg gives more time to intercept inbound.A 090° LH Hold flown at 120KTAS with wind 090 at 30Kts. See how the uncorrected outbound leg extends significantly beyond the holding pattern - reducing obstacle clearance margins. The wind corrected outbound time keeps the hold within the normal nil-wind boundaries.
When do you reduce to double drift?
There is one popular exception to the triple-drift rule. If your triple-drift corrected outbound heading falls within 30° of the wind, consider reducing to double drift instead[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS".
Worked examples
Both examples use the figures from the walkthrough video. The first is fully worked; in the second, work out the answer before you reveal it.
Setup: left-hand hold, inbound track 360°, 120 kt true airspeed, wind from 090° at 15 knots[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS".
On the inbound leg, hold the track to the fix and read the drift. Single drift is about 7.5°.
Triple it: 3 × 7.5° 22°.
The outbound heading in nil wind is the reciprocal of the inbound, 180°. Apply the 22° into wind (toward 090°): 180° − 22° = 158°.
Heading 158 is 68 degrees from the wind, so the wind is 22 degrees from the wingtip, meaning about a third of the wind is a headwind - 5 knots. The wind corrected outbound heading experiences a headwind of about 5 knots.
Answer: fly an outbound heading of about 158° for about one minute and 5 seconds.
Now one for you. Read the setup, work out the outbound heading and time, then reveal to check.
Setup: left-hand hold, inbound track 090°, wind from 310° at 30 knots. On the inbound leg you read 10° of drift.
Question: what is the outbound heading, and roughly what outbound time?
Show the answer
Triple drift = 3 × 10° = 30°. The nil-wind outbound heading is the reciprocal of 090°, so 270°. Applied into wind (toward 310°), the triple-drift heading would be 270° + 30° = 300°.
But 300° is within 30° of the wind (310°), so reduce to double drift (20°): outbound heading = 270° + 20° = 290°.
With a headwind component on the outbound leg, the time is lengthened to about 1 minute 28 seconds. Had you kept the full triple drift, you would have ended up wide and had to correct back[2]Good Flying Made Easy, "Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS".
Where to go next
Wind correction applies on the entries, too. If you are still learning the entries, start with how to determine hold entry. To experiment with different wind corrections, dial a wind into the Hold Visualiser and see how different winds, headings and times work out instantly.
Common mistakes
Applying single drift outbound using track diamond or similar Remember you are not trying to track the inbound reciprocal, you are making an additional correction into wind - triple drift.
Not adapting for changing conditions These calculations are a rule of thumb, monitor how your headings and timings work and adjust them for subsequent holds.
Applying wind correction in the wrong direction. Do a gross error check on turning outbound. Look at the known wind direction on the HSI or DI, is your heading towards this from the nil-wind outbound HDG?
Practise this in the simulator
Reading the theory only goes so far. The simulator lets you fly the scenario in your browser with realistic instruments and wind.
Read each question, work out the answer in your head, then reveal to check. Retrieval beats re-reading.
TAS 120 kt, hold 360° left-hand, wind 090°/15 kt. What outbound heading?
Show answer
Single drift, seen on the inbound leg, is approximately 7.5°. Triple drift is approximately 22°. Outbound is the reciprocal of inbound 360°, so 180°. Apply 22° into wind: heading = 180° − 22° = 158°.
Hold 090° left-hand, wind 310°/30 kt. Single drift 10°. What outbound heading and timing?
Show answer
Triple drift = 30°. Outbound is 270°. Triple-drift heading would be 270° + 30° = 300°. But 300° is within 30° of the wind (310°), so reduce to double drift = 20°. Outbound heading = 290°. Timing corrected to 1 minute 28 seconds.
You are flying outbound and the corrected heading is within 30° of the wind direction. What do you do?
Show answer
Reduce the triple drift correction to double drift. If you keep the triple-drift heading, the outbound leg over-corrects and the next inbound rolls out wide of the inbound track.
Frequently asked questions
Why apply triple drift on the outbound leg?
A hold has one tracked leg (the inbound) on which drift can be assessed and corrected. The outbound turn, outbound leg, and inbound turn together make up approximately 3 minutes of flying subject to drift. Drift in the turns cannot easily be corrected, so the correction is concentrated on the 1-minute outbound leg by applying triple the drift angle.
How do you find single drift in a hold?
Drift on inbound and outbound legs is approximately equal. Use the clock code to calculate drift from the known or estimated wind, or simply look at the difference between heading and track when on the inbound leg.
How do you correct the outbound timing for wind?
Adjust outbound time by 1 second per knot of head or tailwind. Add time for a headwind on the outbound, reduce time for a tailwind.
When do you reduce from triple drift to double drift?
If the triple-drift corrected outbound heading falls within 30° of the wind, consider reducing to double drift.
What happens to the gate when correcting for wind?
The gate (a QDR 30° from the hold axis) moves into wind by approximately single drift.
Sources
International Civil Aviation Organization, Procedures for Air Navigation Services: Aircraft Operations (PANS-OPS), Doc 8168, Volume I, Flight Procedures, Part I, Section 6, Chapter 2 (Holding) 2.3.2. The provisions requiring an allowance for the effect of wind on both heading and timing so the aircraft regains the inbound track before reaching the fix. Not freely distributable; cited by document number and section.
Good Flying Made Easy, Holding: ICAO PANS-OPS (instructional video). Source for the triple-drift method, the one-second-per-knot timing correction, the reduce-to-double-drift case, and the two worked examples. youtube.com/watch?v=3ux5d7xAg3Y
This article does not constitute flight instruction. Always defer to the guidance of your qualified flight instructor and to current charts and procedures or regulations published by your country's aviation authority.
