Using Holding Pattern Trainer

Holding Pattern Trainer is a training and reference aid. It is not for navigation or flight planning and does not replace instruction from a flight instructor, approved procedures, charts or ATC instructions. Your aircraft and the clearance govern.

The entry drill

Each question gives an inbound course (or a radial, or a compass direction) and the heading you arrive on. Pick Direct, Teardrop or Parallel. The answer shows the path flown on a plan view and the steps in words. The sector overlay on the heading indicator can be switched off once you know the sectors. A round is 10 questions, and a streak counts right answers in a row. Hold entries follow the sectors in the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (5-3-8) and the Instrument Flying Handbook; an answer near a sector line is never asked, because the line is where either entry is accepted.

Reference

The Reference tab has the three entries in short steps, one-minute legs (one and a half minutes above 14,000 ft MSL), the 3 degrees per second or 30 degree bank turn, and the maximum holding speeds. It has no chart data and is not a substitute for the procedure on your chart.

Left-hand holds and radial wording

In the More tab you can turn off left-hand holds or the radial and compass wording while you learn, and turn them on again at any time. The sector overlay switch is on the Drill tab.

Free and Pro

Free includes the 10-question entry drill with the flown path, streaks, the sector overlay, the reference card, left-hand holds and radial wording. Holding Pattern Trainer Pro is one optional one-time purchase that adds wind practice, the timed outbound leg, the 20-question exam that shows your time with a review of the entries you missed, and your accuracy for each entry, what you mixed up, and your last 100 rounds. There is no subscription. Everything included from the start keeps working with or without Pro.

Wind practice and the timed leg

Wind practice gives a hold and a wind. Enter the heading that holds the course on the inbound leg and on the outbound leg; a heading within 2 degrees of the answer counts. The result shows the corrected path against the path the wind would give you. In the timed leg you pick the outbound time that gives a one-minute inbound leg (one and a half minutes above 14,000 ft MSL); within 5 seconds counts. Both use simple still-air turns at 100 knots, so they teach the idea and do not predict your aircraft.

The exam

The exam has 20 mixed questions. When you finish, the results show how long it took you. There is no countdown and no time limit, and the time is shown only on that results screen. After the exam, Review missed asks again only the entries you got wrong.

Restore a purchase

Open the More tab, then Holding Pattern Trainer Pro, and choose Restore purchase. Use the Google Play account that bought Pro and keep the device online while it checks. If checkout was interrupted, choose Restore purchase or Check purchase status before you try to buy again, and do not start another purchase while one is pending.

Storage trouble

Your progress stays on this device. If a save fails, the app tells you and the drill carries on. Check the free storage on the device. Clearing app data removes your progress, and the app has no backup to restore it from.

Contact

Email pierdo.dev@gmail.com with the app version (shown under About Holding Pattern Trainer in the More tab), your Android version, what happened and the steps to reproduce it. Never send passwords or payment-card details.