Originally Posted by Extenda

It's extremely easy. I was a CFII MEI, who did a year at Pinnacle before getting picked up to fly heavies for the reserves, then just got back full time with Endeavor a few months ago. Both parties are very accommodating. Now that I am a traditional reservist (until this summer, when I go on 6 months of upgrade orders) I generally go in once or twice a month. My monthly currencies are a takeoff, landing and instrument approach, and you have quarterly, bi-annual, and yearly currencies, which add up, but you can do a lot of them in the simulator. A good reserve unit understands that you have to pay the bills, and your civilian job comes first. My airline understands my military commitment, and will always let you go with no hassle. I get my commander or scheduler to sign a letter detailing what days I need off, but if I can't get it to them in time I just do it when I manage to get to base. They will take my word for it if I need the time in a crunch and adjust my schedule accordingly.

The biggest drawback is total time. I only got 600 or so "loggable" hours in the 3 years I was gone on military leave. Had I stayed at the airline I would have gotten a lot more, granted no military time. I had an Eagle buddy who got hired at United with 4000TT with no PIC. I have pretty "high quality time", and will upgrade with Endeavor likely as soon as I get the 1000 hours at the company, but it would be nice to have 2500 more total hours to make me more competitive with a variety of employers.