Flanker,
My usual schedule will have me work from 10 to 16 days per month. Monthly bidding also allows me to tie together strings of days off (seniority allowing) from one month to the next. This will give me about 85 credit hours (pay time) per month which equates to about 70 hours hard time. I get 30 days vacation per year which can be split into two periods. If the bidding gods are smilling the beginning day and the ending day of vacation will touch a multi-day trip. These trips will be dropped. It is possible to turn 15 days vacation into, say, 23 days off. If the vacation touched a four day trip starting on say the fourth day of the month and a four day trip ending on the fourth day from the end of the month then the month is free of duty and full pay. If the vacation month were preceeded by a month where there was time off at the end of the month and succeeded by a month with days off at the beggining of the month.... well you get the idea. I would say that in an average year I'll fly about 750 hours hard time and be paid for 1100 hours credit. On any given day of work I will be guaranteed five credit hours regardless of how much hard time is flown. On any given multi-day trip one hour credit is given for every 3.5 hours away from base. Training works the same way as vacation. Training schedules are posted before bid closing for this reason. There is a very small international override and no night flying override.