Happy2behere

Really appreciate all the info. Should be retired from USAF in one year & half UPS schedule for half pay sounds great. I realize during peak I’ll be on the hook for the full schedule, just don’t have much idea how long a New f.o. Would need to be w company to have anything another pilot might want to take from the swap board. Any other anecdotes or best guesses for my pipe dream would be appreciated. Retiring to SDF area for family so it would be great to make Brown work, unless I’m stuck on the road too much to enjoy young kids. Thanks!

BoilerUP

QOL as a SDF based reserve FO can be pretty good, even when junior.

As far as dropping trips via trip board...turns and two-duty period day trips are the most likely to be picked up.

CactusCrew

If you like living in SDF

The MD could send you around the world and back in a 14 day block of RSV, not ideal if you plan to bid RSV to stay home. Probably the same could happen on SDFZ, but its been years since I was RSV on that.

The bus or domestic would be the best bet to maximize time near SDF.

Ray Kinsella

Make sure to highlight this in the interview.

Coming on here looking for info is welcomed.

Coming on here and stating you want a part time job for part time pay is a bit insulting to those of us doing it as a profession. I don’t mean to be a db and bust your balls but maybe a non-flying job is best suited for you.

767pilot

I was sort of thinking the same thing. It's one thing to have been here a while, even a short while, busted your nutz and deciding to take a breather, or even drop what you can to stretch your career into your golden years, but to come here with the goal of working as little as possible in a company that demands as much as possible is a recipe for disaster. With that attitude your probably better off staying in the government sector. May I suggest a job with the post office?

Swedish Blender

Good for them. I didn't come here wanting to bust my *** all the time. I'd be happy to work less for less money, but I can't drop anything or swap it.

Happy2behere

Apologies to those i offended, Really didn’t think that through. Sincerely appreciate all the responses helping me learn what a day in the life looks like. My fear is getting what I ask for only to learn it’s not a good fit for my family-without friends in the company you folks sharing your insights/experiences is very helpful. Sheepishly sorry.

BoilerUP

You don't need to apologize.

We're all pilots, and therefore looking for the 'angles' is in our DNA. Work/life balance is important, especially with children and double-especially considering 'its cheaper to keep her'

As mentioned above, SDF A300 or 757 reserve (where reserve is generally week on/off or three shorter blocks totaling 14 duty days) will provide the best quality of life for you as a newhire living in the immediate Louisville area.

Reserve hasn't been the good deal it once was in the last year or two, but you can still generally 'save' a few days by not getting used each pay period. And once you get senior enough to hold a day flying line, decent base trip line or morning/afternoon turns those are the types of trips most likely to be picked up via Trip Board.

You're a pilot, you're going to be gone, that's a base fact of the profession...but I had 14 hotel stays in 2017 while being in the bottom 1/3 in seat on my fleet so its possible...

SaltyDog

Thought we all wanted to be part timers and never work Wednesdays for full time pay?? We sure wish for it on the line

.. when on active duty, always trying to max the hours to get civilian airline job... military reserve pilots working in the airlines did same thing until working at ABC airline then mantra became "max pay for min hours"

busdriver12

I see you don't retire for quite some time, so obviously you're just in the looking stage and don't have a job offer yet. Might I suggest FedEx. Staffing permitted (that means not always during peak, in December), you can usually drop anything you want as long as you get your 3 takeoffs and landings every 90 days. You can give it away to other pilots or you can straight out drop it. Some people take a couple of months off, even without vacation. I worked about 2/3 of a schedule for 20 years when my kids were at home.

This flexibility may sound unusual, but generally people will use it to work extra, not work less. However, some people work far less than a full schedule. I'd imagine that people call in sick less if they have the flexibility to drop, so it is a win/win scenario for the company. The thing is, during certain times in your life, sometimes you want to work more, and sometimes you want to work less. I am now working more, after all those years at lower time.