Rotation work, Days off?

[Gumby]

I go back and forth in my head about working for a company that does rotational work. 6 weeks on 6 weeks off, 2 months....ect

Curious what some of you guys/gals do with your days off. Other jobs, family, flight instruction, veg out near a beach or on a boat?

Cheers,

[Rowdy]

You spend a good solid week and a bit catching up on everything when you get back and then another week or so trying to do all the things that you missed or wanted to do. Some love it some hate it.

I love having huge chunks of time off to do whatever it is that I want, like camping and road trips, travelling, biking, kayakin' , snowboarding etc etc.

[Liquid Charlie]

I loved my 3 and 3 and would do it again in a heartbeat if I could get that kind of work now -- CARS make rotations a little more restrictive -

The only word of caution - make sure you are aware of the rules the company wants to play by or you will find yourself extending and losing time off -- I worked under a pretty simple rule -- equal time off for equal time north. Extend me if you want but I get those days back -- having said that an extra day for wx was an act of god and I took my lumps but that is why I always liked 3 week tours because 2 weeks tours depending on travel time or if you wanted to go away somewhere exotic was not enough time off.

[fingersmac]

I have a 2 week on, 2 week off schedule and I try to make the most of my days off. I spent this past winter snowboarding in BC and this spring/summer in London and Europe visiting family and friends scattered about. I just use what I would have spent on rent each month to help afford some of the costs of traveling. Luckily we have a reciprocal jumpseat agreement with AC/Jazz so it makes traveling a lot more affordable. I really feel fortunate to have that benefit as it makes my time off that much more enjoyable. I'll say this though, some days it would be nice to have my own place to just veg out. Those thoughts, fortunately, are few and far between! I think, personally, without having things to do, hobbies, small business, etc, those long blocks of days off would get pretty boring.

[Carrier]

Quote: “.....because 2 weeks tours depending on travel time or if you wanted to go away somewhere exotic was not enough time off.”

A good point from Liquid Charlie. For example, for a typical overseas tour to Europe with a budget/vacation carrier (most pilots are unable to pay full fare, let alone business or first class on the legacy carriers) offering two week trips one would leave Vancouver/Calgary/Toronto on a Saturday, arriving in Europe on Sunday. Return would be two weeks later on the Saturday. Allowing a day each side for packing and preparation, travelling to and from the departure airport from another province or territory, and catching up and jet lag recovery on return that means that two and a half weeks away from the job are needed to fit in the two week trip overseas.

Consider also that it need not be an organised vacation tour or to somewhere exotic. Many pilots in Canada are immigrants and just to visit the family overseas takes time and money. With travel each way taking more than two days it is not worth visiting my or Mrs C’s relatives in South Africa for one week. Even two weeks is marginal for time actually available there and for cost effectiveness.

Rowdy’s point about catching up is valid but this can be partly alleviated if the accommodation has good and economical Internet and telephone access.

As an aside, North American general attitudes towards vacations are a problem. Overseas it is quite normal on starting a new job to receive four weeks or more of annual vacation. Six weeks is normal for any managerial position. Contrast this with the miserable North American allowance of two weeks annual vacation to start with, typically reaching four weeks after ten years with the same employer and only some employers offering six weeks vacation after twenty years of employment.

What is an ideal rotation? 2 weeks in/out can be too short, as mentioned. Some companies operating within Canada offer three weeks in/out. Some companies operating overseas offer 8 weeks in/out or 8 weeks in and 4 weeks out. The drawback to the long rotations is that one gets rusty after so long away from the job. After 8 weeks away with not a thought about flying, on return there is a tendency to “How do I get this thing started?” and “What comes next?”

What do readers consider to be an ideal rotation?

[SuperDave]

The 'perfect rotation' can be very subjective, since it will vary for each person. I find 3 weeks on/off works very well for me. It's enough time off to go do something yet not get too rusty, and still provides enough time to get back into the swing of things and fully into the groove at work.

Two weeks on is OK, but as with the cool-down period at the end of a rotation there is also a warm-up period at the beginning of 3-4 days I find, especially with off-strip work. With the two week rotation you usually loose a day at each end for travel so that only leaves 12 days, which, after unwinding for 3-4 days is basically only a week.

I also enjoy the long periods of time off, and do as many do...just travel around, couch-surf, camp, visit people on both coasts, go to Germany/Costa Rica...it's good...but it can get tiring living out of a bag. It's hard to feel grounded when you're always on the move. Part of me can see the attraction of 'settling down', yet I cannot at this point in my life as I have no reason to. So the rotation suits me perfectly, where as others can't stand it for they have a life/wife/kids that they feel they're missing out on which is understandable.

When you're working for 3 weeks, you're completely emersed in aviation as you all know. Flying all day, talking about flying, complaining about flying, and sharing stories. It's great. And it's those good times and the friends we make that somehow keeps us all coming back.

On my time off I try not to do too many things aviation related. Well, to a point. Hanging around the flying club, trading war-stories with the old farts and doing loops and rolls in an RV is different than humping drums and launching on a 500 mile jaunt across the arctic in the spring.

Other than that I find it is key to occupy yourself with other things, especially activities that use the other side of the brain. Aviation is for the most part logic, buttons, numbers, procedures etc, with not much room left for creativity. Well, with the exception of floats/off-strip or helicopters when deciding on a landing site...but even then, you're thinking safety, approach, departure etc. Guitar, photography, books hanging out with hippie-girls at music festivals...vegging on the beach are all good things to balance the things out I find. Also, volunteering is a great way to feel a little more involved and kill some time.

For myself, life is all about balance. 3 weeks of work/3 weeks of life.

As with anything, if we don't use it you loose it...so toward the end of the three weeks off, about 4 days before leaving I usually put away the Scotch and cigars in order to get ready for work. I try to make it an easy transition at first with same aviation porn (magazines), looking at the Flight Safety poster (if applicable) and slowly work my way up to reading passages of the bible (POH) at night. If you suffer from insomnia, cracking the RAC section of the AIM is the cure.
Sometimes it still feels a little foreign when getting back into the hot-seat, but with a little preparation and visualization of procesures the 'I wonder what this button does'-syndrome can be mitigated.

Dave

[Rudy]

Great post SuperDave. I also feel that 3 weeks on/ 3 weeks off would be the ideal rotation. I do 20 on 10 off and wouldn't consider it to be a rotational position in any way. I've seen a few people try to make it one and become exhausted or have family/relationship problems. Can I ask where you work and could others post up companies that they know do a 3/3 rotation?

[TG]

Rotation work ?

With the proper amount of time off (equaling your time away) and an understanding partner or family, it's like enjoying living two life.

Both of them not giving you enough time to get bored or fed up.

[metalleg_man]

Rotation work is a great way to make a living. I do 4 on 4 off when in North America, and 6 on 6 off for overseas work. I find this schedule to be great, all of the above posts are very true. You do need to do something other than aviation on your time off to keep sane though. I find Boating, Camping, Fishing and backpacking to be the cure. There are downfalls to rotation work, such as relationships are hard to keep up without having and understanding girl. Social life is sometimes difficult to keep up as well due to being gone so much, and having time off during weekdays while your friends are working.

[metalleg_man]

Good post by the way BBB. It's been a while, hope all is well.

[Brantford Beech Boy]

Good post by the way BBB. It's been a while, hope all is well.

Apparently the post has mysteriously disappeared.

Maybe I wasn't even here.
Maybe these aren't the droids you're looking for.........



BBB

[Severe Clear]

Used to do the whole rotation gig out of the arctic.. 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off... Well at least that's what it was on paper. I would say there was a 75% chance that I would either A: be extended, or B: called up early. This made it nearly impossible to plan things on my days off. Not to mention other situations where I had to Ferry to "bum f#ck" Rankin Inlet with no conformation flight home. Everyday I would wonder is today the day I get the freedom jet e-mail?? And even then that wasn't a guarantee just in case your replacement missed his plane up!! FML!!!!

I’ve since moved on to better things. Just because I believed the grass is greener on the other side when you’re stuck in Rankin Inlet for 3 weeks straight. And guess what! It is! There are companies that treat their pilots like humans instead of slaves. And I work a great 10 day on, 5 day off medevac schedule. And none of this first, second call BS either. It makes it possible to sneak in a few beers with no worries being on medevac! I’m home every night. I get paid way more then I did hand bombing sample bags from scientists all day, and I haven’t been bothered ONCE on my days off! I go to work every day happy and excited to be there. Granted I don’t fly a whole lot. But seriously there comes a point in your career when you have to ask yourself, Is it about the hours? Or the lifestyle?

Just my 2 cents!

Fly safe! Cheers!

SC