For future airline pilots...

[RitterKreuz]

... you need to know this  ;D

Most airlines provide a contract perk to their pilots in the form of something called a "Drop request"

Basically how this works is you look on the computer and see how many reserve pilots are on duty for any given day. If the number of reserve pilots is fairly high, and many of them are sitting around without an assignment, you call the scheduling department with your "drop request" which goes a little something like this.

lets say you have a 2 day trip at the end of the month followed by 4 days off as your schedule transitions to the next month. all week long you have been fighting weather and maintenance and what not and you really just dont have the required motivation to work that last 2 day trip....  ;D

thats where the drop request comes in handy... its basically like calling work and telling them that you dont really feel like coming in to work today and you would be willing to let one of the reserve pilots come in and do the flying for you while you take the 2 day trip off  :P

presto! if there are enough reserves, the scheduler approves your drop request for the last 2 days of the month (or any day you wanted to drop for that matter) and your 4 days off in transition have now turned into 6 days off!!

win one for the good guys... Mini-vacation or miller time!!! whatever you want to call it, it comes in handy when you develop a case of anal glaucoma (cant see your arse coming in to work today) and you dont want to call in sick when you're not really sick.

This month, i had a woman defecate in the galley/aircraft entry way, I had a starter-generator fail during starting which stranded me at an out-station for a whole day, I had holding for weather, Memphis center shut down for a while which resulted in delays even in DFW, and i dodged a whole line of thunderstorms in the south central united states... a pretty typical airline pilot experience if you ask me, but as things were winding down my anal glaucoma was getting worse and worse  ;D

so remember, when you get that airline job and things are getting you down or you have some place you would rather be than at work... think "oh yeah! drop the trip!"  ;)

[bok269]

THanks for the advice!  Do you get that dropped time back the next month?  Or is it  money lost?

[beaky]

Somebody "made brown" in the galley?  :D  
Well, it could be worse: you could be a corporate pilot, in which case you'd be the one cleaning it up.

[Mobius]

Yikes, sounds like a heck of a month.  But still, flying everyday can't be too bad. 8-)

[RitterKreuz]

THanks for the advice!  Do you get that dropped time back the next month?  Or is it  money lost?

its money lost... sort of

...you could make it up with a day or two of over time next month if you really wanted too.

but, some times there are just those months where you would almost pay the income value of the trip just to be at home!  ;D so the drop is worth it!

and yes, someone made half liquid half solid "brown" as rottydaddy calls it, right there in the main cabin entry way... fortunately it is not carpet but that no skid rubbery plastic flooring stuff... yikes! we had to abandon ship due to the smell, in hind sight it was hilarious, but at the time it was

whats the word?

Putrid!