IP.III.B — Holding Procedures
IP.III.B for the Instrument Rating Powered Lift ACS: official objective, references, and 14 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.
FAA-S-ACS-3, November 2023. This study page does not replace the current FAA publication or an examiner's plan of action.
Official task context
| Certificate or rating | Instrument Rating |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Powered Lift |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation III. Air Traffic Control (ATC) Clearances and Procedures |
| Task | Task B. Holding Procedures |
| Task code prefix | IP.III.B |
| Official references | 14 CFR parts 91; AIM; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-15, FAA-H-8083-16, FAA-H-8083-25 |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-3 — Instrument Rating – Powered-Lift Airman Certification Standards |
| FAA source library | Open the official ACS library |
Official task objective
To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with holding procedures solely by reference to instruments.
What the ACS code means
- IP identifies the ACS standard family used for this Instrument Rating Powered Lift document.
- III identifies Air Traffic Control (ATC) Clearances and Procedures, the Area of Operation.
- B identifies Holding Procedures, the Task within that Area.
- K, R, and S identify knowledge, risk-management, and skill elements. The number selects the item; a trailing lowercase letter identifies a listed sub-element.
Knowledge elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| IP.III.B.K1 | Elements related to holding procedures, including reporting criteria, appropriate speeds, and recommended entry procedures for standard, nonstandard, published, and non-published holding patterns. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
Risk management elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| IP.III.B.R1 | Recalculating fuel reserves if assigned an unanticipated expect further clearance (EFC) time. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| IP.III.B.R2 | Scenarios and circumstances that could result in minimum fuel or the need to declare an emergency. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| IP.III.B.R3 | Scenarios that could lead to holding, including deteriorating weather at the planned destination. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| IP.III.B.R4 | Holding entry and wind correction while holding. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
Skills elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| IP.III.B.S1 | Use an entry procedure appropriate for a standard, nonstandard, published, or non-published holding pattern. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.III.B.S2 | Change to the holding airspeed appropriate for the altitude when 3 minutes or less from, but prior to arriving at, the holding fix and set appropriate power as needed for fuel conservation. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.III.B.S3 | Recognize arrival at the holding fix and promptly initiate entry into the holding pattern. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.III.B.S4 | Maintain airspeed ±10 knots, altitude ±100 feet, selected headings within ±10°, and track a selected course, radial, or bearing within ¾-scale deflection of the course deviation indicator (CDI). | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.III.B.S5 | Comply with the holding pattern leg length and other restrictions, if applicable, associated with the holding pattern. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.III.B.S6 | Use proper wind correction procedures to maintain the desired pattern and to arrive over the fix as close as possible to a specified time. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.III.B.S7 | Use a multi-function display (MFD) and other graphical navigation displays, if installed, to monitor position in relation to the desired flightpath during holding. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.III.B.S8 | Comply with ATC reporting requirements and restrictions associated with the holding pattern. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.III.B.S9 | Use single-pilot resource management (SRM) or crew resource management (CRM), as appropriate. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
Difficulty data
Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. A difficulty estimate is published only with a sufficiently large, privacy-preserving first directly recorded assessment sample. Any observed difficulty comes from Checkride AI mock-oral practice assessments and is a practice-data proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate.
Difficulty calibration remains ongoing until an item clears the private reporting threshold. Percentages, when available, describe the share who needed review on their first directly recorded assessment. Underlying sample sizes are never published, and historical final states are not backfilled into this measure.
How to use this in a mock oral
A mock examiner can ask you to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport scenario, identify risks, and defend a decision. The prompts are practice scenarios; they are not claimed to be actual FAA examiner scripts or a prediction of the questions you will receive.
Related ACS tasks
- All Instrument Rating Powered Lift ACS tasks
22 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-3.
- IP.III.A — Compliance with Air Traffic Control Clearances
Area of Operation III. Air Traffic Control (ATC) Clearances and Procedures
- IP.IV.A — Instrument Flight
Area of Operation IV. Flight by Reference to Instruments