Navblue PBS tips & tricks
 

Figured this could be a useful thread.

I'll start - anyone know how to get the entire bid pack to load so the rotations scroll smoothly and seamlessly without lag?

Depends on what you are trying to do. You can select all the rotations and view them as a PDF. Otherwise, no.

Any bid strategies for a guy that’s very close to being able to hold a line? Anything would work other than reserve

Get a trip (yellow slip or assigned) that spills over to next month. Then when you bid next month it will be much easier to get a line as you already have carry in credit and don’t need as many trips to build your line. Then once you have a line bid for carry over trips on your line. Rinse and repeat.

As long as you don't have a line with an "else start next bid group" or "clear schedule and start next bid group", and just leave the generic "award pairings", it will do everything it can to give you a line, including ignoring any preferences you might have in. So if you are willing to sell out your soul to get a line and don't care what that line looks like, do that. You'll still want a RES bid group in under the REG group just in case it can't build you a line and forces you to RES.

Edit: the strategy in the post above works once you can hold a line - keep that carry over credit going to make it easier the following month to get a line. It does not work the first time coming off RES however since the next month's bids will be close and awarded long before you can get a RES trip assigned at the end of the bid period.

Depends on what you want. You can look at the bids of pilots just senior to you and see what, how and the results of their efforts.

Folks will chime in if you say what you're on (so we know what is available) and what you want.

Tip - If you are a commuter and want to avoid late check outs with something like: Avoid checkouts > 1800 remember to also put in Avoid Checkouts < 0300 to filter out those pesky 2345 returns that officially check out at 0015 and other early morning returns.

Been there - done that. :eek:

Scoop

Nope, I have the same problem. It even dumps them sometimes when switching between the pairings and the bid screen. The only thing I have found to do is filter the pairings down a bit so the scrolling/waiting/scrolling doesn't take a decade.

Does anyone know if the "Departing On" means the departing date/time of the first flight? I'm wondering how to avoid trips that check-in on Halloween (the 31st) but depart on the 1st. There isn't a way in NavBlue to enter 10/31.

This is covered directly in the PBS reference guide in Aerodocs. Double check me but off the top of my head I do believe that it is the actual departure time/day of the trip, not the report time/day.