Clearance on hold, hold for release

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

will alibrandi wrote:

When you're on tower freq & ready to go at the hold short line,
that's when you'll hear "Hold for release" as that's when the local
controller gets on the land line to the approach facility to activate
your IFR flight plan and get a release.


That's a lousy procedure. Why wait until the aircraft is ready to
takeoff to call for the IFR release? Call for it when the aircraft
begins taxiing and the aircraft can be cleared for takeoff when it's
ready to go.

The former is the procedure at my airport (Class D under a Class B).
After taxi and run-up, you contact tower with "ready for departure" and
they then give you "hold for release" and contact the nearby Tracon to
coordinate. Depending on the traffic at nearby airports the delay can be
signficant.

I've never heard "hold for release" from clearance delivery or ground. I
agree that this sounds like a bad procedure, and unclear on the meaning.
Maybe the (new) controller just wanted to make it clear that his
clearance did not include a release or clearance for takeoff, but that
should have been obvious it seems to me.

Mike