Stay in Touch with GTN: User-Defined Hold
Pilots who file IFR flight plans know that very rarely does a flight go exactly according to plan. At any moment’s notice, a call can come down from air traffic control – for a number of reasons including weather or traffic – prompting a change, or at least initiating a holding pattern. In the old days, these holding patterns were often times a best-guess location, based on a non-directional beacon (NDB) or VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) fix.
Today, we’re fortunate enough to fly with GPS accuracy and precision in modern day holding patterns. In our GTN 650/750 touchscreen series, we have, taken the guesswork out of flying these holding patterns by incorporating the option to input user-defined holding patterns via the touchscreen display.
Here is an example of how to execute a user-defined hold on the GTN touchscreen series:
- Select the ‘Flight Plan’ icon from the main menu
- Add/select waypoint in flight plan from the Active Flight Plan.
- Select ‘Hold at Waypoint’ from the Waypoint Options menu
- If required, select the holding course received by ATC using the ‘Course Direction” option
- Select right or left turns if applicable
- Select the ‘Leg Type’ depending on time or distance, and set time/distance
- If an expected further clearance is received, select the ‘Expect Further Clearance’ icon and set the time
- Select ‘Load Hold’ to activate
Please note that this is only a demonstration and not all user-defined holds are executed exactly the same. The user-defined hold feature is only applicable to GTN touchscreen series software V6.11.
