SocialD

For all the non-airline guys still learning/looking at the airlines, not all airlines have separate short call and long call lines, like AAL. At DAL, we are all long call unless specifically converted to short call (max of 6 or 7 a month). We also don't get paid extra (yet) for short calls, here's hoping it changes in the next contract. Dedicated short call lines sucked donkey balls as a commuter, but would be pretty awesome if you can sit short call from home and get paid extra. But yes sitting reserve on a WB is pretty awesome, especially during the winter. I generally bid a line because I enjoy the layovers, but the last time I bid reserve, I didn't turn a wheel.

Clearly his circumstances were different, but I know lots of guys who've left one major for another (myself included). I met a Delta new hire a year ago that had been at FedEx for 5 years. I left AAL, and I know quite a few guys who've left various majors for other majors. One common element amongst them all was the option for home basing. Don't commute! If you absolutely have to, I'd probably go FedEx.

Last time I heard talk about a DSG bonus, it was something like 5k/yr. While it will be welcomed, I doubt that will do much. It's nowhere near enough to keep me in past my 20, but would help make up a little of the money I lose by dropping trips/reserve days.

Eh, I found that being a chameleon is helpful. I don't have a "valid" reason for where I put the heading bug, so I just do whatever keeps the Captain (or other FO), from freaking out. As long as it's not dumb or dangerous, then life is too short to worry about such bullshit. If either of the others pilots are dickheads, then I may screw with them and do whatever they don't like, just for my entertainment. 1 degree off for the OCD types is pure entertainment.

That's a bit much. Dude is just going with what he sees/hears a huge majority of the ARC guys doing after getting hired at the airlines. Guys openly talk about this stuff all the time and although I wouldn't want to do it, I get it. In same cases, my squadron included, these dudes are needed to fill vital spots in the squadron. The airlines have gutted many squadrons of a huge majority of their experienced guys...and it's only going to get worse. If some of our guys hadn't gone back on orders it would be nearly impossible to fill the alert schedule without outside help. I'm glad these guys are willing to jump on that sword, because have I have absolutely ZERO desire to go back full time. Even if I weren't still under my UPT ADSC, the current bonus isn't even half of what it would require for me to consider full time. Also, don't act as if any airline wouldn't hesitate to drop any one of us if they could/needed. Having run the numbers myself, if you're only going to get a part time retirement, I don't see much gain in going full time just pad your points. The $$$ I would lose by going full time, coupled with the time value of money, significantly dwarfs what little gain in (part time) retirement I would get. Obviously if you're going to be able to make it to a full time retirement, that changes everything. I'm just to far away from a full time retirement and I enjoy part time way too much.

Deployed on title-10 and my flight pay is still fucked up! But not to worry, they worked expeditiously to take back an overpayment due to their fuck up. It's a good rehack of my distain for being full time.

Holy shit, 2.5-3 years of "seasoning???" What the fuck are you flying, the millennium falcon? Sounds more like the squadron just wanting to ensure a full timer for a few years before they lose you to the airlines. I've ran the numbers a bit, and if you're just "getting close" to a retirement, it's not worth it. Hell, based on what I give up vs what little I gain, it's really not even worth it to stick past 20 to get my full 3 years as an O-5. Now if you think you'll be able to actually get a full retirement it's a different story.

I've seen it once circa 2009. Dude was hired to fly Vipers back in the day, but his squadron converted to tankers before UPT. He ended up flying T-1s and spent 4-5 years flying tankers before he got a Viper squadron to sponsor him. They sent him to RND for some sort of condensed 38 program then up to SPS for IFF. Washed out and re-instated at IFF. Ended up washing out toward the end of the B-Course. Good dude that seemed to try hard, just wasn't in the cards. For a grass isn't always greener anecdote, I know quite a few guys that are leaving fighter to go fly tankers/UAVs/etc... Some have to do with toxic leadership within their squadrons, others it's just a general ease of part time life kind of thing. A few more have just bailed on flying all together and filled Academy Liaison or AOC gigs. Either way, goodluck!

- If you think you'll ever go to the airlines then you need to get your seniority number as soon as possible. Seniority is everything! - Dont' double-commute. - Don't commute at all. - Pre-planning 3+ years of MLOA is not something I would ever do. - See the bullet #1. - Many guys say they're not ready to be a part timer, until they become a part timer... Best gig ever! - Seniority is everything.

Hotel pen...clearly a solid airline pilot.

The answer our finance shop got from NGB is essentially "checks in the mail..." Somehow DFAS figured out how to get the AGRs and AD guys the correct pay rates for 2017, not so much for the DSGs or technicians. Somehow the system figured out I was payed the $650 rate for a few AT days and back payed me for the $700 rate. It still hasn't figured out I need back payed for all my UTAs/AFTPs. Now in 2018, I'm due the $800 rate and I'm still being payed at the $650 rate. I was told to expect an additional paycheck every period to pay me the difference until DFAS can unfuck their computers.

Yup, I was aware of the 402g limit of 18.5k applying across all employers, but until your post, I did not realize the 415 limit was per employer. After doing some research, the bolded text above, and my previously posted example, are correct. Contribution limits do NOT apply when rolling over funds, such as 401a, into a Roth IRA. For example, last year I contributed $5,550 to my Roth IRA (via the backdoor...sts) AND rolled over ~$7,000 from my 401a, for a total of ~12.5k into my Roth IRA. I do this because 401a is after tax money in which gains are taxed, which is obviously not ideal. I just wait for my 401a money to post into my account then immediately roll it into my Roth IRA. I only pay taxes on the small gains it makes in the day it sat in the account before being rolled. It's often referred to as the "Mega backdoor Roth IRA." https://momanddadmoney.com/mega-backdoor-roth-ira/ https://thecollegeinvestor.com/17561/understanding-the-mega-backdoor-roth-ira/

Lol, I spend plenty...especially since starting the process of building a plane. I also spent a decent amount of time in Europe last year (and will again this year), not including my layovers in Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, etc... I'm just thinking this plan could allow me to funnel a decent amount of cash into a SDIRA (via the 401a -> Roth IRA), while still taking advantage of the 18.5k tax deduction for my TSP contributions. I plan on using this money to fund another rental property anyway, might as well do it with tax sheltered money. This is still a relatively small percent of my income. Being single with no kids helps.

Wait...what? So you're saying, for me the 415c limit is 55k for Delta and 55k for TSP? If I'm reading this correctly, I could contribute 18.5k to my TSP which would max my 402(g) benefit. Then I could contribute to my Delta savings plan via 401(a) contributions, which carries a limit of 55k. So even if I don't deploy to a tax free zone (which has been the last 2 deployments for me), I could still do the following? Delta Pay: $200,000 Company 401k contributions: $32,000 Personal 401(a) contributions: $23,000 TSP: $18,500 Total: $73,500 I have never heard or noticed the "per employer" limit wrt 415(c). I'm going to have to run this by the tax attorney, but if true this could be a total game changer for my savings plan.

I just started an order on the 2nd and already have my first paycheck on mypay. It shows my flight pay still at $650, I should be at $800 based on the chart above...Go figure.

Last I talked to finance, the AD and AGR guys were already updated and getting the new flight pays. If you're a technician or DSG...well, it might be a while. Apparently, they wrote the code for flight pay with punch cards and everything has to be completely redone. I was promised we'd be back payed to the FY...so checks in the mail.

They may be expensive but it's a damn nice jacket. Very warm and MUCH easier to move around in the the jet. Was glad I had it, considering it was colder here today than it was in Barrow, AK.

I can't speak to the heavy community, other than what my buddies pass along, but this would not surprise me one bit. On our last TSP, we had a chance to sit down with Gen Welsh, in a pilots only, "bar talk" style setting. At the time we were already tasked with our next "deployment," which was another TSP (we're now tasked with our 3rd TSP in a row), so one of our guys asked why we were doing things and not going to desert to fight ISIS. His response..."your TAGs are asking for these TSPs..." Yes TAGs, we all would much rather spend time away from our families and take a 35-40% pay cut, to go sit on our asses and fly training lines. TSPs are what have guys in our squadron leaning toward punching. We've already had one bail to preds, and even our young guys have become jaded...some have even bailed to the regionals to get their hours boosted for the majors. What is COMREL?

Not all that new, but like Evil said, it's not made it's way to Ops or MX yet. This is in the Guard...I've heard it's already made it to OPS in the AF Reserve. Yup, and they think they have a pilot shortage problem now! Just wait until they start telling guys they're going to take a $100k paycut to go build powerpoint slides/fight off being cheifed at the Deid. I'm guessing we'd lose ~25% (minimum) of the squadron over night, if this shit started.

No, and I can assure you we've all contemplated the consequences...

Well technically speaking, all our deployments, including TSPs, are group involuntary mobilizations (not just Bama). However, not every pilot is required to go, we just have to fill the trip, which could even come from outside help. The individual just gets to decide if they want to go voluntary or involuntary...which is like picking between the fat one or the the ugly one (wrt to benefits received). Also, if you look outside of ops, there are actually quite a few individual involuntary mobilizations. We've recently had troops from Supply, Medical, CE and likely soon a Chief, get mobilized for 6 months to a year. On the plus side, they leave it up to the base to decide who goes from that section, and they're usually filled with a volunteer.

Ehh...I guess it depends upon your leadership. I can assure you, you will never see a pilot being a green dot facilitator in our squadron. We have a MSgt, ops admin chick for that. She also does A LOT of DTS, orders generation, and many other things that make our lives easier. Pretty much worth her weight in gold.

This is an easy 4 step process I follow. 1. Don't have a wife. 2. Send all your married friends as many videos/pics of naked chicks, as you can. 3. Enjoy being single. 4. Give zero fucks about the wives club or what they think.

As you said, it depends. At DAL, it varies wildly by base and aircraft, depending on the staffing. Aside from certain holidays, I'm easily able to drop or swap my trips/reserve days, in the winter. In the summer it can be a little harder (sts), again depending on staffing. It's much easier on my WB than it was on the NB. Some categories are staffed well and it's super easy, while others are perpetually short and almost impossible (cough...NYC). We have quite a few avenues to adjust your schedule. You can just drop trips, as long as there are enough reserves. You can swap trips with open time (trips with no pilots). You can swap trips with friends, or just have them take it off your line. You can also post it on a board for anyone to pickup. It was eye watering watching my SWA buddies manipulate their schedules, even when very junior.

The way I understand it, is that you could have 7200 "retire" points and still not qualify for a AD retirement. Log into vMPF and go to your points summary that has the breakdown by year. It has multiple columns like IDT, AD, Retire and Total. You need the AD column to total 7,200 to get a full AD retirement. Anything short of that and you get a Guard retirement at 60 which will be calculated off the number in your retire column. At least that's the way it was explained to me. This is all from a briefing many years ago so don't quote me on this. I also think, once you hit 7200 AD points, they count all the points in your "retire" column, toward that retirement, which could be a bit higher.