I have a goal...! :D

Awesome story--thanks for the encouragement!!

Is that due to his contract brilliance, or right-place/right-time? There simply don't seem to be many (if any) GS for the 717B crowd. With the amount of reserve coverage in place, IROPS or last-minute changes seem to be the only time they crop up from what little I've seen. No predicting the IROPS, and last-minute is (will be) a challenge for me as a commuter....

I'm happy to be wrong--is there something I can/should do to improve my chances of joining the GS fraternity??

Believe me, a guy with his juniority makes his own opportunities. Greenslip 3, maybe 10 from the bottom...That is not luck.

FYI, far 117 is a greenslip generator for those that understand how the new far works...especially in international categories.

I think the most important source to learn is the actual contract. As I wrote, start with section 23... know it forwards and backwards... then ask what-ifs when you fly with someone who knows what they're doing.

Most guys just get their pbs bid and that's it... after I get my award, that's when my real work begins... drops, swaps, flips, flops, etc. (Of course I've already set myself up for that work with my initial pbs bid.)

I heavily use widget works: including trip alerts, and easy swap... and that's all I'm going to give out on a public board... as a mid seniority 7ER Capt, I have to protect my artificial seniority!

I do give the full coarse when I fly with someone who wants to learn the system.

Good luck!

There is a PBS command to AWARD/AVOID parings if Line Check Airmen? Does that not do the same thing? (Not a PBS guru by any stretch of the imagination...)

I do believe you. I just don't understand--how does one "make his own opportunities" in this regard? Teach me, please!!

P.s., there absolutely is a way to set yourself up for gs's & irops... even if your junior. I've been doing it for years. That's why I'm completely opposed to changing our current gs system.

Way more work/block hours required to get 1.5hrs for trips flown above some alv, than what I've done for years. (I.e., last year I averaged 100 pay hrs per month on 39 block hrs per month.)

Whenever I read someone advocating the 1.5hrs above, I realize they probably don't fully understand our gs system.

Guess I'll have to look for an opportunity to get in your jumpseat...!

Thanks again for the pointers.

Yes--but it doesn't tell you (so far as I can see) who the LCAs are, which is what you would need mid-period to ID a juicy trip like the one I unknowingly swapped for with the pot (then got bought out of it).

I don't think you'll get the graduate level info your asking for on a public forum... if too many guys learn this stuff, junior guys like me would be dead in the water... luckily, most senior guys are too lazy to learn this stuff.

Once you've learned the basics (contract) ask the guys you fly with (the ones who know and successfully manipulate the contract) and you'll get up to speed very quickly.