Definition
In holding pattern entries, the timing values used to fly the inbound and outbound legs correctly: one minute inbound at or below 14,000 feet MSL, and one and a half minutes inbound above 14,000 feet MSL. The outbound leg is timed and adjusted so that the inbound leg meets the required time.
Plain English
The clock-based rules a pilot uses when flying a holding pattern. Below 14,000 feet, the inbound leg should take one minute. Above 14,000 feet, it should take one and a half minutes. The outbound leg is flown to make that happen.
Context Anchor
Seen when learning standard holding pattern entries and how to fly the outbound and inbound legs of a hold under instrument flight rules.
Derivation
Time comes from Old English words meaning a measured period. Factor comes from Latin facere, meaning “to make or do,” and came to mean something that helps produce a result. In this phrase, time factors are the time-related things that affect how the holding pattern is flown.
Why Pilots Care
Correctly accounting for time factors keeps the aircraft inside the holding airspace and prevents overshooting the fix or straying into terrain or traffic.
Intuition Check
Do not read “time factors” as general schedule pressure or how long the flight will take. Here it means the specific timing rules used inside a holding pattern.
Example Sentence 1
Climbing through 14,000 feet on the way to the holding fix, the pilot adjusted the time factors and planned for a one-and-a-half-minute inbound leg.
Example Sentence 2
Accounting for time factors, the pilot extended the outbound timing by thirty seconds to compensate for the tailwind.