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Flight Planning
Holding Leg Distance Calculator
Estimate holding-leg distance from groundspeed and leg time, with nautical miles per minute and feet traveled.
kt
sec
Leg distance—
NM per minute—
Feet traveled—
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A one-minute leg at 120 knots
120 kt groundspeed is 2 NM per minute. A 60-second straight leg therefore covers 2 NM, or about 12,152 ft.
This is straight-leg distance, not the total length of a holding circuit. Published holding instructions and wind corrections determine the actual path.
Formula and method
Distance = groundspeed × time, with knots converted from nautical miles per hour to nautical miles per second.