Originally Posted by
JaxUAviator
So I'm curious...how's the schedule at NKS for someone who lives in base? What is the length of most trips (how many days)? Are there a lot of turns?
I'd say the QOL for someone living in base is very high. There is a mix of turns, 2-day, 3-day, 4-day trips. Some bases have more red-eye flying than others (as some mentioned above)
Originally Posted by
JaxUAviator
How much flexibility do you have in your scheduling (i.e. how hard is it to drop trips on days you don't want to fly and pick up trips on your days off)?
There is a fair amount of flexibility. We use Flica and provided there is adequate reserve coverage, you can drop, swap trips with a stroke of a computer key. It's real nice.....hasn't worked too well over the summer, however (due to poor reserve coverage).
Originally Posted by
JaxUAviator
How long does one generally stay on reserve? How is the schedule for a typical reserve guy (again how easy or hard is it to drop/pick up reserve days)?
Varies base by base. Some bases you'll be on reserve for a couple months....others much, much longer. See above for the ease of dropping/ picking up trips.....it's very easy, provided, there is adequate coverage.....see above Soooo, YMMV.
Originally Posted by
JaxUAviator
I know these are a lot of questions, but I'm trying to get a good feel for what the QOL is like in regards to the typical pilot's schedule.
Thanks!
There are a few huge nuggets in the CBA here. One being the month-to-month transition language and the 4-day off between trips (includes reserve as well). Those two alone improve everyone's QOL.....although, I'd venture to say the 'transition' benefits fewer people, on average, than the '4-day'..