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Sixty-five miles southwest of Saigon and just one-half mile north of the Mekong River, the Cao Linh airstrip resembled an aircraft carrier's deck about three feet out of water. It was typical of the Delta strips with one noteworthy exception—its runway was only 55 feet wide. Since the Caribou had a main gear track of approximately 26 feet, and since a five to ten knot cross wind usually prevailed at Cao Linh, the pilots had to exercise extreme precise directional control prior to and immediately after touchdown. While maintaining sufficient airspeed to facilitate directional control, they had to constantly guard against coming in too fast on the short 1,300 feet runway. From May to September the shoulders of this airstrip were too wet and soft for the aircraft to leave the runway. Consequently, the Caribou pilot had to make a half turn at the end of the runway, then shut down the inside engine while the local Army of the Republic of Vietnam security force pushed the aircraft back for another start, and then complete his turn. Nevertheless, the Caribou flights served this strip three times a week.
Probably the shortest strip used consistently by the Caribou was Tra My in I Corps. Tra My was 830 feet long and lay in a valley floor requiring very steep descents and maximum performance climb-outs even for aerial delivery. At each end of the strip was an abrupt embankment. There was no room for a short landing or an overrun. The first landing was made by Captain Ephraim M. Goss and CWO P. Crossan. After three attempts, Captain Goss touched down twelve feet from the west embankment and came to a skidding halt eight feet from the east embankment. Needless to say, a hasty effort was made to lengthen the strip.
During the first six months of formal testing in early 1963, the Caribous flew 47,563 passengers and carried over 3,800 tons of cargo in over 9,000 sorties. Its availability rate was consistently high. It proved a boon to Army logistical support in Vietnam. General Rowny, who was in charge of the tests being run by the Army Concept Team in Vietnam, stated:
The first Caribou tests there used the plane to support Green Berets located in inaccessible places. Later, all sorts of cargoes were lifted into all kinds of fields. Montagnards were resettled (complete with chicken and cattle); fuel was delivered to stranded helicipters; casualties, when they occurred in large numbers, were quickly lifted to hospitals; spare engines and parts, fresh water, food and other vital cargo were lifted. Soon there were more demands for the Caribou than we could meet. Added to its advantages of reliability and versatility was its availability. There were no long lead-times needed for processing requests; no tortuous channels to go through. If a commander felt he needed logistical