Comparison

Holding Pattern Trainer vs IFR Trainer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Holding Pattern Trainer

Master IFR holding pattern entries on your mobile device to save time and money on instrument flight training. Practice at your convenience to make choosing the correct entry a breeze.

Highlights
  • Entry Trainer for holding pattern drills
  • Holding calculator for scenario visualization
  • Holding tutorial for quick learning
  • Practice at your own pace
  • Save on flight and ground lessons
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Save time and money on your instrument flight training by mastering IFR holding pattern entries at the comfort of your own mobile device. Make IFR flight training easier! Is the following scenario familiar? You receive a holding clearance from ATC, and only have a couple of minutes, sometimes only a few seconds, to choose the correct entry. By the time you've figured out what's going on, you've already passed the holding fix and don't know what to do next. If this sounds familiar, then you need not to worry. Confusion during holding entries happens to practically almost every new instrument student. Even instrument-rated pilots occasionally have the same problem — when they don't get enough practice. Holding Trainer solves this problem and as a result, cuts the time you have to spend on expensive flight and ground lessons. With Holding Trainer, you can practice on your own time and convenience, so that choosing the best holding entry in the air becomes a breeze. Features: -Entry Trainer - Drills you on choosing the best holding entry. Practice until choosing holding entries becomes second nature and impress your flight instructor with your skills. -Holding calculator. Solve and visualize any holding scenario by entering your current bearing to the fix and a outbound or inbound holding radial. -Holding tutorial - learn how to choose the best holding entry quickly and easily. Holding Trainer for iOS is a complete rewrite based on my popular Flash-based desktop Holding Trainer app available on pilotscafe.com. ***Don't get "stuck" next time you receive a holding pattern clearance!*** ---------------------------------- For only a fraction of the cost of one ground lesson with your flight instructor, you can practice this important instrument skill at your own pace and save hundreds of Dollars on figuring out holding entries in the air. This is a great tool for anyone training towards their instrument checkride, CFII, proficiency check, or simply trying to improve their holding patterns. ----------------------------------

About

IFR Trainer

Enhance your instrument flight training with this tool that simulates navigation instruments. Practice course and radial tracking on your iPad or iPhone, saving time and resources during real flight sessions.

Highlights
  • Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI)
  • DME reading and bearing pointers
  • VOR radial and NDB bearing tracking
  • Landscape dual-gauge mode
  • HSI and ADF Indicator display
  • Manually adjustable compass card
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPad or iPhone into a powerful IFR training tool! The IFR Trainer is a simple yet effective tool designed to enhance your instrument flight training. Practice course and radial tracking on your device, saving valuable time during your actual flight training. The IFR Trainer features an Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI) with a DME reading and two bearing pointers. Use the EHSI to intercept VOR radials or track NDB bearings. Alternatively, switch to a landscape dual-gauge mode, displaying both an HSI and a single-needle ADF Indicator with a manually adjustable compass card. For optimal performance, we recommend using the dark appearance mode, which complies with EASA AMC 25-11. The light appearance mode is ideal for classroom presentations.

Screenshots

Holding Pattern Trainer4 screens
IFR Trainer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Holding Pattern Trainer at 77% against IFR Trainer's 33%. Holding Pattern Trainer also leads on update cadence (every 5 months vs every 23 months) and chart position (#14 vs unranked). IFR Trainer's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Holding Pattern Trainer costs $4.99 and IFR Trainer $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Holding Pattern Trainer ships an update every 5 months, IFR Trainer every 23 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Holding Pattern Trainer versus IFR Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHolding Pattern TrainerIFR Trainer
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.1 (114 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings114 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 23 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFLEMINGER MEDIA LLCReparo

Customer experience

Holding Pattern Trainer

All ratings114 ratings
Positive78.9%
Neutral5.3%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral4.4%
Negative18.7%

IFR Trainer

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Holding Pattern Trainer

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Entries are wrong for turns
  • Plan view is incorrect
  • App drawing entries in wrong directions
  • Slicing the fix completely wrong
  • Bearing questions are wrong
Show 10 more
  • App does not apply reciprocal track to 'pod'
  • Giving wrong answers
  • Visualizer is mirrored to map plan view (user confusion)
  • Practice screen plan view incorrect
  • App craps out and goes to a black screen
  • Guide lines separating direct, parallel, and teardrop incorrectly in practice mode visualization
  • Not updated for iOS 11
  • App loads upside down
  • Button sensitivity could be better
  • Cannot change values on hold computer

Requested features

11 requests
  • Include more methods in tutorial
  • Add teardrop heading to fly
  • Allow practice with bearings on/off
  • Show outbound teardrop/inbound parallel correction headings
  • Work in portrait mode
Show 6 more
  • Add voice ATC instructions
  • More variety in questions
  • Larger text for older users
  • More tips for newbies
  • Ability to fly the hold like a nav trainer
  • Use real-life ATC phrases in exercises

IFR Trainer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Holding Pattern Trainer

No in-app purchases

None

IFR Trainer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Holding Pattern Trainer free?
Holding Pattern Trainer costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is IFR Trainer free?
IFR Trainer costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Holding Pattern Trainer or IFR Trainer have ads?
Neither Holding Pattern Trainer nor IFR Trainer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Holding Pattern Trainer or IFR Trainer?
Holding Pattern Trainer ships an update every 5 months, and IFR Trainer every 23 months. Most recently, Holding Pattern Trainer was updated on September 22, 2026 and IFR Trainer on September 15, 2026.

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