So I'm curious...how's the schedule at AirWis for someone who lives in base?
Living in base always is a huge benefit, but don't count on any base to always be there. RDU was just shut down and a lot of the pilots there are now commuters.
What about for someone who commutes?
Depends on where you live. ORF would be a 2 leg commute for me (sucks), but the other bases are all single leg. ORF trips are usually less commutable too. LGA trips used to be commutable, but I have heard they are becoming less so. I'm near the bottom of lineholders in DCA and most of my trips are commutable on one end. Not sure about PHL.
What is the length of most trips (how many days)?
Most trips are 4 days. Average 3 off.
Are there a lot of turns?
Range between 2 and 6 legs a day.
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)?
Depends on the month. Some months I have had great luck. Other months not so much. When I was ORF based, I was able to trade 60% of my trips for DCA or PHL trips for easier commuting, but your mileage will vary based on staffing and the schedulers moods.
How long does one generally stay on reserve?
Depends on your willingness to change bases (especially if you don't mind ORF) and on where you are hired in relation to a hiring wave. I was hired a little over a year ago and got a line in ORF in 1 month and a line in DCA within 6 months. Others hired a few months after me are still on reserve in DCA. I would only be halfway up the reserve list in PHL.
How is the schedule for a typical reserve guy (again how easy or hard is it to drop/pick up reserve days)?
Most reserve sequences are 5 on. 2 or 3 off. I never tried trading days on reserve, so I can't help you there.