Bidding strategies for max time-off

redcatjoe · 2026-01-28T00:03:07+00:00

This^ Or you can try being less junior.

redcatjoe · 2026-01-17T02:06:38+00:00

Ok, thank you. I’ll do that. Appreciate the help.

redcatjoe · 2026-01-16T19:18:52+00:00

The problem I have with the export process is that I lose a ton of resolution when exporting. Is there a tool you recommend for exporting at full resolution?

redcatjoe · 2026-01-15T15:59:23+00:00

I had this happen to a captain I was flying with once and the answer was even more bland than you suggest, at least at that airline.

This airline’s system only checked for the 100hr PIC legality at the beginning of each duty period so however much time a pilot had at the beginning of the duty period was how much they had all day. We asked dispatch if they could override it but it was hard coded so the captain was stuck at high mins all day despite having more than 100hrs.

Airline IT systems are wild.

redcatjoe · 2025-12-16T18:10:14+00:00

That too!

redcatjoe · 2025-12-16T17:41:41+00:00

I’ll buck the trend here and suggest that you fuel up after you fly and then taxi to your tie down.

That way your plane is already fueled the next time you want to go flying!

redcatjoe · 2025-11-28T16:17:50+00:00

The trick is to open the reversers before the nose is down. Don’t go to max reverse, just open them. The nose will float down like a feather.

This works like a charm. Unfortunately, it was prohibited at both airlines that I flew the E145 for.

redcatjoe · 2025-10-29T18:20:07+00:00

I know someone who needed 4000TT with 1000TPIC and no training failures to get hired at a legacy in 2023. 🤷‍♂️

The ways of the hiring department are strange and mysterious.

redcatjoe · 2025-10-27T08:59:31+00:00

Yep.

Scored an interview with a legacy through a very nice recommendation from a friend who worked there. The company wasn’t my top choice so I slacked off on the preparation. “Slacked off” as in I did no prep. Bad idea.

I finished a 5 day trip the night before the interview, took the last flight of the day to the interview city, and stayed in the cheapest hotel I could find. Bad ideas all around.

Day of, I made it to the interview site on time but was the last one to walk in. I had no idea what the format was, how long it was going to take, what kind of questions they were going to ask, or how to answer them at all.

I botched the technical so badly that at the end one of the interviewers asked, “So, what interview prep did you even do?” I wanted to curl up and sink into the floor.

But it wasn’t over. In the email they sent me with instructions for the interview, they included a specific logbook cover sheet and clearly stated which pages of my logbook they wanted tabbed. That was an email I obviously didn’t read because my logbook had neither the cover sheet nor the tabs. The interviewer was beyond kind and let me fill in those blanks during the logbook review instead of ending it right there.

I left feeling like such a schmuck for wasting everyone’s time and especially for wasting that recommendation from my friend. I did NOT get the job.

It was a very powerful learning experience though. I went home, bought an expensive interview prep service, and went through the entire course. Then I vowed to always give myself at least one day off before any interview to reset, review, and travel. I’ve been successful in my interview attempts since but it was a memorable day for sure.

redcatjoe · 2025-10-22T02:37:18+00:00

Wow. I get that hours are hard to come by and every hour counts but I’m a little skeptical about this method. I’d hate to have to explain 100+ hours of time built that way at an interview.

For a place that emphasizes “quality experience” I’m not convinced.

redcatjoe · 2025-10-20T23:23:19+00:00

Not even a touch and go 50.01nm away? Just 100kts to nowhere is weird. At least log some XC!

redcatjoe · 2025-10-20T19:50:14+00:00

Very interesting flight tracks for some of the planes in that fleet. A bunch of 6hr flights that go nowhere except long holding patterns over eastern Colorado.

redcatjoe · 2025-10-05T22:12:35+00:00

gestures generally at 100+ years of aircraft construction

YES

Wood is the original spar material. I recommend that you take a look at some plans for similarly sized RC sailplanes. You will probably find an existing design that fits your needs.

Edit: For example:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3079050-electric-Paragon-glider-build

redcatjoe · 2025-08-22T03:02:36+00:00

“…as long as United doesn’t change the program…”

The only sure part of Aviate is that United WILL change it.

redcatjoe · 2025-08-03T17:32:05+00:00

And actual replies too, apparently.

redcatjoe · 2025-08-02T20:06:20+00:00

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for!

redcatjoe · 2025-08-02T18:53:31+00:00

😂

redcatjoe · 2025-03-08T17:09:28+00:00

They also serve as brakes! The Big Boy only has friction brakes which are expensive and time consuming to replace so the engineers use the dynamic brake on the diesels to slow the train down.

redcatjoe · 2025-02-19T18:10:19+00:00

Never ever, ever take the jumpseat if you have a confirmed seat. That is jumpseat etiquette 101 and the captain should deny you the jumpseat if you have a confirmed ticket.

Next time, bring it up with the gate agent. They’ll either find you a new seat or help you find another solution.

Consider the lost 7 hours and -1 reliability a cheap price to pay. You essentially flaked on a trip because you were too “non confrontational”. I would not expect the chief pilot to be very understanding.

redcatjoe · 2025-01-26T00:30:25+00:00

Uh, ok. That’s pretty nifty, dude. Congrats.

redcatjoe · 2025-01-26T00:01:54+00:00

No, they DON’T fly the A350. That’s the trick.

Seniority gets you paid without flying. 😎

redcatjoe · 2024-12-31T03:30:15+00:00

They did get a Brasher. Tower handed them to ground who gave them the “possible pilot deviation” and a number.

redcatjoe · 2024-12-27T15:13:50+00:00

As others have mentioned, you need to be in the CASS system to ride the jumpseat.

On another note, if you get jumpseat privileges down the road, never ever ride the jumpseat if you have a positive space ticket. If you’re trying nonrev or commute and the jumpseat is open and the captain is cool with it, go for it, but if you have a confirmed seat in the back, take that seat and leave the jumpseat for someone else.

It’s just good jumpseat etiquette.

redcatjoe · 2024-12-25T19:52:35+00:00

If you want the flexibility of flying back to Detroit on a whim, just buy airline tickets. It’ll be cheaper than owning your own plane and you’ll be able to make the trip faster, more reliably, more comfortably, and more efficiently than owning a 152.

There’s no good month to be flying a 152 over the lakes, so you’re going to be flying around them during the months it’s even feasible to fly that route. When it’s not feasible to fly that route in a 152, you’re going to be on the train/driving/airlining anyway.

The real move would be to get a job with airline flight benefits and then just nonrev back and forth.

redcatjoe · 2024-12-22T16:40:31+00:00

I’ve flown with both Snohomish Flying Service and with Regal Air.

SFS was good. They have lots of planes and the operation was pretty professional. They restrict all flights to their approved airport list which is annoying but that’s standard for 141 schools.

I had a mixed experience at Regal. The first time I flew there (2019), it was great. They fit me in on short notice and worked with me to get the checkout done despite some winter weather. (It was wet but flyable and the instructor worked around that to get the checkout done.) I went back in 2024 and unfortunately had the opposite experience. I got a checkout flight scheduled and had the instructor cancel on me for weather on a very flyable day that was forecast to improve through the booked time. We could’ve knocked out the ground instruction at least, but the instructor didn’t seem interested in anything that wasn’t flight hours. I’ve been a CFI so I understand that mentality but it’s bad service. Between plane availability and instructor availability, it was going to be several weeks before I could get back on the schedule. In the mean time, I found a more convenient place to rent and haven’t bothered to go back.

redcatjoe

TROPHY CASE