History Channel says...........

[Larry Zok]

that air crews in VietNam were restricted to 4 hours a day of flying. Really??? Guess those 12 hour resupply days were in my imagination. But then again, they were talking about Chinooks and were showing pictures of Chinooks and PHROGS. Guess they got confused!!!

[Joe Reed]

that air crews in VietNam were restricted to 4 hours a day of flying. Really??? Guess those 12 hour resupply days were in my imagination. But then again, they were talking about Chinooks and were showing pictures of Chinooks and PHROGS. Guess they got confused!!!

Wow! I guess I have a lot less hours than I thought!!! Guess I'll call 'em up to check on that! LOL!!! 4 hours....RIGHT!!!

[BartClu]

that air crews in VietNam were restricted to 4 hours a day of flying. Really??? Guess those 12 hour resupply days were in my imagination. But then again, they were talking about Chinooks and were showing pictures of Chinooks and PHROGS. Guess they got confused!!!

Where do I apply for my overtime pay???

[mecollins]

that air crews in VietNam were restricted to 4 hours a day of flying. Really??? Guess those 12 hour resupply days were in my imagination. But then again, they were talking about Chinooks and were showing pictures of Chinooks and PHROGS. Guess they got confused!!!

I have always found the History Channel to be one of the my more objective sources of mind expanding entertainment.
HOWEVER.....,this is one of the biggest piles of calcified bovine compost that I've heard of relating to the Vietnam War. The only flight hour regs that I recall were the number of hrs. required to draw flight skins.
Their information source reeks of the DOD Office of Information.
FRAG orders were FRAG orders. Birds were launched as available. If ya were TAD'd up North.,there were fewer available A/C. Pilots rotated as available. Eight,10 & 12 hour days were not
uncommon for enlisted crew members.,regardless of service branch.
I recall a time up at Dong Ha when we were socked in,ground zero,for three days. (04/'67) When the fog finally lifted,we launched our two TAD'd birds on a weather delayed FRAG order for resupply to the floating battalion at Con Thien. My gunner & I 'bored holes in the sky' for 36 straight hours..,only shutting down long enough to top off,get fresh meat in the cockpit,& perform routine post-flight checks.
When it was all over,pilots & crews were whooped. One FRAG order.,one mission credit for 36 hrs. I've got it all in my AAR's.,if the History Channel cares to check it out.
As always,thanks for the feed,LZ,
Craze

[Ray Norton]

In my experience I never saw anyone work more than 24 hours in any given day.

As I recall, our monthly maintenance plan stated that working hours were 24 hours a day seven days a week. I think we now call it 24 /7. Back then it was spelled out using a typewriter.

As I recall, 100 hours of flight time a month was not unusual. That could be construed as four hours a day.

I think the important thing from my view point is that if I were scheduled to fly, a bird would be ready. Every squadron and support person went far above and beyone what anyone could have imagined.

I have always considered it a priviledge to have been a small part of it all.

[mecollins]

In my experience I never saw anyone work more than 24 hours in any given day.

As I recall, our monthly maintenance plan stated that working hours were 24 hours a day seven days a week. I think we now call it 24 /7. Back then it was spelled out using a typewriter.

As I recall, 100 hours of flight time a month was not unusual. That could be construed as four hours a day.

I think the important thing from my view point is that if I were scheduled to fly, a bird would be ready. Every squadron and support person went far above and beyone what anyone could have imagined.

I have always considered it a privilege to have been a small part of it all.

Post '65.,warm aviator bodies & available a/c became more & more a scarce 'commodity' in Vietnam,Republic of.
NATOPS & Group regs became more akin to "guidelines" rather than rules. I was never listed as a qualified crew chief until Jan. '67. Why ???...,UNQ swimmer.
As my section leader put it to OPS.,"We have 24 a/c & 10 crew chiefs. How far does he have to swim in a rice paddy ??? And if the bird goes down at sea.....,well ???"
The very same applied to hours boring holes in the sky. We did what we had to do..,rules be damned. We did it without question & took pride in mission accomplished.
Craze

[Joe Reed]

I flew many a mission as CC without the NATOPS qualification. Seems we didn't have a NATOPS NCO for a time....Never got a check ride...

[crew46]

As I recall, when we were training to go to Nam,65-66, we would start flying around 0800. At 1200, we would come in for hot point refuel and a change of pilots. Crew chiefs got a box lunch from the mess hall and kept flying until 1600. Then we would shut down and post flight then go to chow. Return to duty at 1800 and fly a 2hr night op. That was at New River, before we ever got to Nam! I can't even remember how many hours a day we flew there, when there was an operation going on, which was more often than not!

Clear to turn sir

[Joe Reed]

We never flew that hard at New River when I was there in HMM-365.....rarely scheduled night or week-end stuff....1966-7.

[mecollins]

We never flew that hard at New River when I was there in HMM-365.....rarely scheduled night or week-end stuff....1966-7.

I recall pretty much the same schedule as Whitey at LTA in '65. Work day ended at 16:00 for the squadron. Duty section returned to the hangar at 18:00 for night ops. Weekend cross country flights
slated to Yuma,Vegas,& Frisco. At that time the '46 was a new kid on the block & I believe the hours were necessary to gain an a/c history & provide hand-on experience to pilots & support personnel.
After return to CONUS late '67,I was a short-timer. The unit that I was assigned to at New River still secured at 16:00. The only night or weekend ops that I recall was me & Whitey flying to & from the commissary to re-supply the beer & 'vienny' sausages in the E-5 quarters. LOL
Craze