Originally Posted by
slowplay
Coming off no fly days you have to check 2 things on the VRU, and I believe it does give you a time stamp on your schedule. One is short call status. The next is "next rotation or training activity". A lot of guys have been burned by only checking one and assuming or skipping the other. If you do it via computer then you'll see it with your schedule check.
Been on reserve my whole life.
Slow is correct except the VRU does not time stamp the "Pilot Last Viewed" block on your schedule. It
will add the period "." in front of a rotation or a short call assignment if you acknowledge.
The VRU definitely is a legal method of checking your schedule. If the scheduler told you they can't tell if you called then they are ... well, let's just say they provided you with incorrect information.
One other thing to be careful of ---> there are a couple ways to check call status. The one that follows "Next rotation or training activity" and asks if you are a reserve pilot can be deceiving. If you have already acknowledged a short call some time earlier then it will say "there are no call statuses which need acknowledgement" but it will
not remind you that you in fact have a short call. To hear your short call assignment you have to hit the button for "more options" (#6 I think) and then it will give you an option to check call status.
I'll second the recommendation to call ALPA. They can pull the computer record to verify if you checked your schedule via VRU and they can see what time that trip was assigned. You (and probably 1 other guy) might be due some extra pay.