Can they change your base month?
 

My base months have always been December (the month I took my upgrade check ride) and June (6 months from my check ride)

The last PC I did was in July 2009 (Late Grace) then a PT in January 2010(also Late Grace).

Won't i de-qual at the end of July 2010? Or can the company alter my base month to July (because my last PC was in July, thereby making me legal until Aug 31?

Thanks all!

I thought that you could either take your check in your prior, due, or grace month and that all counted as if you checked in your due month. If you check outside that range it resets your due month. I believe you are correct, by checking in your grace month you did not reset your due month.

The paperwork should say what your base month is.

No, it should not have. They are not allowed to reset your base month using late grace because then every airline would always check you in late grace, reset you, and effectively have 13 month cycle instead of 12 to save money (at the expense of $afety of course).

The only way your base should change is if you checked eithr after or before the grace month. I suppose if the airline wanted to reset your base to early grace that would be allowed, but they could not go the other way.

so even though I dequaled for landings and it got changed up to a PC and then two legs of IOE, my base month would not have changed? What is my recourse here? Should I refuse to fly after July 31? Call FAA? Guess I'll have a chat with the Training Department first. I know what they're trying to do. I'm transitioning to another airframe Aug 30 and they don't want to send me out for a check in July when they're only going to get another month out of me.

Hi!

They CAN change your base month, and might to try and even out their training. I had 2 PC checks 3 mos apart.

cliff
LFW

Of course they can change it, but they cannot use a late-grace PC to do so...they would have to give you an early PC or two PC's.

Sounds like they are using the fact that you dequaled on LDGs, did a PC and some IOE as a reset. Sounds like a grey area to me...IOE does NOT set your base month, but maybe the fact that IOE was involved and you dequaled on LDG's create enough benefit of the doubt.

I would ask training first, then your airlines POI, via email if possible. I'd be curious to know what they say...

Thanks rickair - I will let you know the verdict.

They could reset it unless, and this is an important "gotcha", you flew anything under 121 in July prior to your PT-turned-into-PC.

If you did not fly in July prior to your going non-current and then getting a PC you are in the same position as someone coming back from a medical.

If one the other hand you flew at all under 121 in the month of July before becoming non-qualified and doing the PC, then it would have to be considered to be your grace month so that you were qualified for the early July flying. (And before anyone jumps on the keyboard, someone could be flying as a the non-flying pilot for any number of reasons.)

Which leads to the big trap of using the grace month. Someone has a base month of June. The company schedules a grace month check ride on July 20th. The pilot does 121 flying early in July and then quits/gets sick/dies on the 19th. With no check ride actually taken on the 20th that can be shown as "June grace month" he is now retroactively illegal for the flying that was done in early July.

Very interesting, and makes perfect sense. No, I did not fly at all in July except for the 2 legs of IOE. So I guess that is why they can reset it.

Ok, but wait a minute - going off of your logic (which is good) accepting that my base month has been reset to July, then they still cannot technically use me this august (my new late grace) if they have no intention of giving me a check-ride in August because they are transitioning me off the equipment on Aug 30. This would be an abuse of the late grace, and retroactively I will not have been legal for any flying I end up doing in August - Correct? Thanks for chiming in 742Dash, and rickair.

That is correct -- you must have the check ride once you have operated in a grace month. However your employer would not be the first one to make this mistake.