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Guard + regional + commuting to both...

Old 03-06-2014, 11:12 AM
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Default Guard + regional + commuting to both...

I am a young c-130 guard pilot who is about to get off the full-time training gravy train with about 800TT. My career goal is to fly with a legacy airline and obviously I have to put my time in somewhere. Guard bumming might net me 200-300hrs max a year. So a regional airline seems like a more viable option to build time. I'm not to worried about the pay if I can move on to something better after 2-3 years because my wife has a great job. However to make that work I would have to commute to my guard job and a regional job.

Is this realistic or am I living in a dream world? Anyone have a similar experience or advice on a different path?

If I'm looking at this correctly would that mean sitting reserve for a airline 20 days a month, staying current at the unit for 4-6 days, which would leave leaving 3-6 days at home... depending on commuting.
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Old 03-06-2014, 11:26 AM
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Originally Posted by FlyinFresh View Post
I am a young c-130 guard pilot who is about to get off the full-time training gravy train with about 800TT. My career goal is to fly with a legacy airline and obviously I have to put my time in somewhere. Guard bumming might net me 200-300hrs max a year. So a regional airline seems like a more viable option to build time. I'm not to worried about the pay if I can move on to something better after 2-3 years because my wife has a great job. However to make that work I would have to commute to my guard job and a regional job.

Is this realistic or am I living in a dream world? Anyone have a similar experience or advice on a different path?

If I'm looking at this correctly would that mean sitting reserve for a airline 20 days a month, staying current at the unit for 4-6 days, which would leave leaving 3-6 days at home... depending on commuting.
Funny you should ask, I did this exact thing and it's pretty difficult. You're never home, especially if you don't have a line. Though, you can drop trips will mil leave to keep both sides of the fence happy. I was fortunate to get semi senior as a FO so I bid wed-sat. I would commute out on Tuesday, hotel airline rate for the night, and finish early on saturday to commute home. Sunday-Monday off and repeat. Though, depends on your commute to both. I'll only live in base now for the airlines (when I finally get hired), much better QOL.

Just my 2 cents.

Correction, I would probably live in base for the one that pays the most. But double commute sucks...actually at the time I commuted to my GF too.....talking about never being home...lol
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Old 03-06-2014, 11:28 AM
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Live near one of them, preferably the Guard unit if you have the opportunity to be on orders frequently.

Double commute is "no bueno."

Moving to a Regional Domicile is less desirable due to the high likelihood that you'll be in in several bases (closure/new contracts) over a typical stop at a regional.
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Old 03-06-2014, 11:31 AM
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Your airline *should* reduce your duty days, typically it's a credit formula that works out to about one less duty day for every two days guard/reserve duty.

They're not supposed to compress a full monthly schedule into the non-military portion of the month.

But a double-commute would not be fun. If you have kids I'd say no way unless you think you'll get a major call inside a year.

If you're on reserve at the airline obviously living in domicile is best. Once you hold a line you'd be better off living at your military location...that way you can jump on emergent opportunities for additional flight time, or even SLJs for the drill pay.
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Old 03-06-2014, 12:06 PM
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Originally Posted by blastoff View Post
Double commute is "no bueno."
Originally Posted by rickair7777 View Post

But a double-commute would not be fun. If you have kids I'd say no way unless you think you'll get a major call inside a year.
I was a USN TAR/FTS (= AGR) and I watched a few guys do the double commute. Most of them eventually moved to one of their commutes. The only one that didn't was pretty senior and moved to the double commute after getting seniority.

There are pluses and minuses with living at either place. You have to weigh what's best for you and yours
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Old 03-06-2014, 02:56 PM
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I am an Army Guard guy (not in aviation) and an FO at RAH. My unit is in Gary, Indiana (near Chicago) and I am based in Indianapolis. I live north of LA so I commute both for Guard and work. I am relatively senior in base and I make it work. That said, I have an airport car in Indiana and a crashpad with a friend (my own room at a very reasonable price, which is very lucky and very rare.) This is financially difficult on senior FO pay, I cannot imagine doing it on first year pay.

It is difficult. I am currently on day 7 of 16, I will only get one day off between my Guard obligations, line flying, and a training event (sim). This is not an atypical month, although some are better than others. My unit has a national and state Logistics inspection coming up, so I've been at the unit a lot. The commute and time commitment essentially ended a five year relationship with my ex-girlfriend. YMMV.

Good luck to you, and thank you for your service!

EM
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Old 03-06-2014, 04:00 PM
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EvilMonkey, why would you not take military leave and get away from the line for a week, so you can just focus on the guard and take a few days off, or is that not how it works? How one does not burn out like this is a mystery to me.
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Old 03-06-2014, 04:04 PM
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Reserve and airline guy here...conventional wisdom is NEVER double commute if you ever want to see your own bed. Unless you can live in your airline base, live at your guard/reserve base then mil drop like a mutha until it no longer pay$ to do so.
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Old 03-06-2014, 04:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Osprey216 View Post
EvilMonkey, why would you not take military leave and get away from the line for a week, so you can just focus on the guard and take a few days off, or is that not how it works? How one does not burn out like this is a mystery to me.
You're right, I could have done exactly that. My schedule worked out like this:

3-day
3-day
2-off
4-day
2-off
1-travel day
2-sim

I chose to come to my unit to square things away on my days off, which were uncommutable anyway (2 days off with a nearly transcon commute=crashpad days off), and to "double dip." I don't sacrifice any of my line credit. I can get paid using RMA funds, square away my unit and make my commander look like a rock star, and not interfere with my schedule (which would cost me money.) If I had a family or any kind of personal life, this would not be a sacrifice I would make.

And you're right. I get burned out really quick doing a schedule like this. I only do it a handful of times a year, but it is a rough patch of work. My seniority allows me to have a week off using zero vacation at the end of the month. So it's a give and take. I put a lot of time in at my unit that I'm not required to, because I know that if I don't things will fall to the wayside.

Probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me, but like I said before, I make it work

EM
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Old 03-06-2014, 04:58 PM
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Originally Posted by EvilMonkey View Post
You're right, I could have done exactly that. My schedule worked out like this:

3-day
3-day
2-off
4-day
2-off
1-travel day
2-sim

I chose to come to my unit to square things away on my days off, which were uncommutable anyway (2 days off with a nearly transcon commute=crashpad days off), and to "double dip." I don't sacrifice any of my line credit. I can get paid using RMA funds, square away my unit and make my commander look like a rock star, and not interfere with my schedule (which would cost me money.) If I had a family or any kind of personal life, this would not be a sacrifice I would make.

And you're right. I get burned out really quick doing a schedule like this. I only do it a handful of times a year, but it is a rough patch of work. My seniority allows me to have a week off using zero vacation at the end of the month. So it's a give and take. I put a lot of time in at my unit that I'm not required to, because I know that if I don't things will fall to the wayside.

Probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me, but like I said before, I make it work

EM
Ha, alright you had me scared. I'm waiting to start IOE on the 145 (different airline) and still have my 3 months of seasoning orders left at the unit. I live where the unit so that's not a big deal. While I don't have a wife or a family I do enjoy living my life and I was kind've worried about what would happen to my life when I was no kidding working for both.

The way I have it figured I'm not going to break guarantee on reserve anyway, and even if it did, for the amount of money it would warrant would probably not even be worth the extra time put in until second year pay.

That said I keep it real cheap, like rent is 300 bucks cheap, so money isn't an issue. I'll trade credit to sit around the unit any day, at least that's where I'm at now. I gotta say you had me scared for a second there.

Good on your for taking care of stuff at the unit. As for the commute, you transcon guys honestly baffle me, but I guess ya'll make it work.
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