Originally Posted by crewdawg

The day after vacation, you can't be used until 1800 and since you have CQ the day after that, you'd be unusable on reserve day between vacation and CQ. You're not contactable during CQ, so the day after is pretty much gone as well. On the WB, I'd often throw 2 days on either side and kill 4 days of reserve with almost no chance of being used. A few times I even put 3 days on either side and was never used.





Like so many things, it's best to just learn it by doing. Sure you'll screw up here and there just like bidding, but it will be worth it in the long run. If you live local, not taking the time to learn it is a giving up a lot of time getting paid to stay home. The SRH is actually pretty good of a guide with the bullet points for LC pilots and SC pilots. Of course you're on the hook more days per month, which isn't nothing. However, if you're senior and learn the system, you'll want to throw up when you think of bidding a line and having to go to work 12-15 days/month.