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Senior NB vs Junior WB

Old 04-18-2019, 07:56 AM
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Default Senior NB vs Junior WB

Weighing the options. I know it comes down to mostly personal parameters but I wanted some input.
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Old 04-18-2019, 09:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Al Czervik View Post
Weighing the options. I know it comes down to mostly personal parameters but I wanted some input.
I'm a junior WB FO and have been so for the past five years. I live in base and that makes all the difference. I can sit short call from my house and I make every effort to avoid flying when I get assigned a reserve month. I get lines during the heavy vacation months (July/Aug) and the holidays. I try to fly my ass off during those months, so I'm happy to return to a reserve month to lay around and go to the gym. If you can sleep on a plane and can find a rhythm for adjusting your schedule when on the road, WB rocks. I look at domestic lines, even very senior, and I just think "that's like real work!"
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Old 04-18-2019, 10:33 AM
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If you commute then the NB, no question. For me the narrow body wins unless you just want to minimize the days you fly at the expense of what days you want off, vacation, etc. But for that to work you’d have to live in base.
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Old 04-18-2019, 10:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Al Czervik View Post
Weighing the options. I know it comes down to mostly personal parameters but I wanted some input.
Go to Eagle. Bid E190 CA.
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Old 04-19-2019, 08:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Freddriver5 View Post
I'm a junior WB FO and have been so for the past five years. I live in base and that makes all the difference. I can sit short call from my house and I make every effort to avoid flying when I get assigned a reserve month. I get lines during the heavy vacation months (July/Aug) and the holidays. I try to fly my ass off during those months, so I'm happy to return to a reserve month to lay around and go to the gym. If you can sleep on a plane and can find a rhythm for adjusting your schedule when on the road, WB rocks. I look at domestic lines, even very senior, and I just think "that's like real work!"
I commuted as junior WB FO - it wasn't bad. Other than that, I agree with everything else you wrote.
Being able to sleep on a plane and not being a slave to your circadian rhythms are key to enjoying WB flying.
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Old 04-20-2019, 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Andy View Post
I commuted as junior WB FO - it wasn't bad. Other than that, I agree with everything else you wrote.
Being able to sleep on a plane and not being a slave to your circadian rhythms are key to enjoying WB flying.
Defying nature in other words. Not easy to do w/little kids in the house. 100% a slave to their schedules.
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Old 04-21-2019, 07:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Andy View Post
...and not being a slave to your circadian rhythms are key to enjoying WB flying.
Which is also key to all kinds of bad things happening to your long term health.

https://youtu.be/aXflBZXAucQ
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Old 04-21-2019, 07:41 AM
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Originally Posted by crewdawg View Post
Which is also key to all kinds of bad things happening to your long term health.

https://youtu.be/aXflBZXAucQ
That is AWESOME! I was going to suggest listening to the JRE episode 1109 with no other than... Matthew Walker as the guest. It's one of the very few JRE podcasts that I listened to and then saved because it was so good. IMO, unless you can get proper sleep a WB is going to take years and years off the end of your life. I was on Delta's 7er category which is split between 757 and 767s with both international and domestic routes. I felt like a zombie during my international trips and after TOE I never bid another international trip. No desire to ever go back to a WB unless it's sitting RES and rarely flying. I'll work my butt off during normal business hours before I go back to the luxurious international lifestyle of slowly killing myself with high calorie low nutritional value meals and decimated sleep cycles.

That said, to address the OP your question is very dependent upon company, work rules, base, and category. I'm a very junior NB captain but because of those variables I listed, I've only blocked about 300 hours in the last year. I live in base so while SC still sucks, I don't have to commute in for it. My category just happens to have a lot of pilots who are happy to fly their butts off for straight pay, so lots of trips that look like they have my name on them get picked up by line holders depending on the month and day of the week. I also actively manage my schedule to minimize my availability to CS and maximize the chances that my RES days fall during periods of time where it's more likely for somebody to pick up open time.
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Old 04-21-2019, 08:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Han Solo View Post
That is AWESOME! I was going to suggest listening to the JRE episode 1109 with no other than... Matthew Walker as the guest. It's one of the very few JRE podcasts that I listened to and then saved because it was so good.
Thanks for the point out, downloaded and listening to it now.

Originally Posted by Han Solo View Post
IMO, unless you can get proper sleep a WB is going to take years and years off the end of your life. I was on Delta's 7er category which is split between 757 and 767s with both international and domestic routes. I felt like a zombie during my international trips and after TOE I never bid another international trip. No desire to ever go back to a WB unless it's sitting RES and rarely flying. I'll work my butt off during normal business hours before I go back to the luxurious international lifestyle of slowly killing myself with high calorie low nutritional value meals and decimated sleep cycles.
To be fair, I felt the same after my OE trips, but have since figured out what works for me, and feel 10x better. The real question is balance. On the WB, over the last 15ish months, I've averaged 8 days/month gone from home. As a line holder this month, I'll work 9 days for a full month of pay...vs a 717 guy that will work 16 days. Who has more exposure to disrupted sleep and/or high calorie meals? That's not a rhetorical question to prove one side of a conversation, I'm genuinely interested in finding out. Sleep disruptions are part of the business but as I learn more about them, limiting them has slowly become a greater concern of mine.
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Old 04-21-2019, 08:15 AM
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Originally Posted by crewdawg View Post
To be fair, I felt the same after my OE trips, but have since figured out what works for me, and feel 10x better. The real question is balance. On the WB, over the last 15ish months, I've averaged 8 days/month gone from home. As a line holder this month, I'll work 9 days for a full month of pay...vs a 717 guy that will work 16 days. Who has more exposure to disrupted sleep and/or high calorie meals? That's not a rhetorical question to prove one side of a conversation, I'm genuinely interested in finding out. Sleep disruptions are part of the business but as I learn more about them, limiting them has slowly become a greater concern of mine.
I don't disagree. As an east coast 717 pilot it's a lot easier than a west coast. Staying up an extra hour or two to finish the day is never as difficult (for me) as waking up extra early. I can't imagine a poor west coast guy doing a 0430 east coast pick-up. For me, I do a lot better with a ridiculously early wake up than a 6 hour time zone change, especially since I don't sleep well on a plane. More power to those who truly get the required sleep. To those who think they're exceptional and only need 5 hours, listen to the podcast or watch the linked video. Most likely you're not special, are fooling yourself, and are slowly but surely killing yourself.
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