ule was varied as the need arose, but it formed a basis of operations. For the sake of standardization in making out the Pilots! Log, the fol- lowing flying times were used: Parry Parry Parry Parry to to to to Eniwetok Runit Biijiri Engebi Between adjacent islands Around entire atoll 5 10 15 20 minutes minutes minutes minutes 5 minutes 55 minutes It was also necessary to allow for time spent in loading and unloading, For example, although the flying time from Parry to Engebi was only <0 minutes, 5 minutes at either end for loading and unloading of passengers and cargo brought the actual elapsed time to approximately 30 mimites. Schedules had to be flexible because of unavoidable delays caused by engine trouble, sudden squalls, etc. However, passengers were requested to be on hand at least 10 mimutes before flight time, and the policy was adopted of waiting a maximum of 5 mimtes for late arrivals. This of course applied only to routine flights, as special or top priori- ty flights were tailor-made strictly to the requirements and convenience of the requesting party. Normally, the first scheduled flights of the day left Parry at 8:00 a.m. and the first south-bound flight left Engebi at 8:30 a.m. Insofar as possible, all aircraft returned to Eniwetok by 12:00 noon, so that the planes could be fueled and then return to Parry with new pilots for the afternoon flights, which began at 1:00 p.m, by 5:00 p.m., if possible. Planes returned to Eniwetok However, it was necessary to make special flights almost daily from Parry to Eniwetok as early as 6:45 or 7:00 a.m.. in order for passengers to catch MATS or other early flights out of Eni- wetok, This meant that the dispatcher's day began at approximately 6:30 a.m., which allowed him just sufficient time to inspect the condition of the airstrip before arrival of the first airplane. The importance of this inspection can not be too highly stressed, as very often objects were found and removed from the runway which would have created a serious safe— ty hazard to aircraft landing in the semi-darimess. During test periods, runway lights were kept burning all night as a precautionary measure, but these runway lights served merely as boundary markers and were of little value in illuminating the center of the rumway. Very often, flights would continue on through the noon hour, and it was not unusual for special reconnaissance and weather flights to be made until as late as 11:00 p.m. During the early phases of the Project, aerial "drops" were made on the island of Japtan. These drops usually consisted of mail, newspapers, or small parcels which would not be damaged. Drops were always made from & plane with no passengers aboard at sufficient altitude to insure the complete safety of betn plane and pilot, After the arrival of the helicopters, they were used in making landings on Japtan. However, these landings were difficult because when the 16-10