B757 FO WAS SCHEDULED AND FLEW OVER 8 IN 24 BY THE ACR CREW DESK.

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I AM A FO AND INTL RELIEF OFFICER FOR A SUPPLEMENTAL 121 CARRIER. ON JAN/WED/03; I WAS FO ON A 2 MAN CREW FOR A FLT FROM LATIN AMERICA BACK TO THE STATES. WE BLOCKED OUT AT XA12Z AND ARRIVED AT EA20Z BLOCK TIME WOULD BE 5 HRS AND 8 MINS. AFTER ARR; I SPOKE TO DISPATCH. MY SCHEDULE INCLUDED A TRIP THE NEXT DAY WITH A NA00Z DEP AND MA00Z SHOW TIME. WE AGREED THAT I WOULD NEED TO USE A REDUCED REST OF 8 HRS. MY SHOW TIME WOULD BE MA35Z. NOBODY WAS IN CREW SCHEDULING AT THIS TIME. THE NEXT MORNING; I ARRIVED TO BE PART OF A 3 MAN CREW. WE WOULD FLY TO THE CARIBBEAN AND BACK WITH A SCHEDULED BLOCK TIME OF 9 HRS AND 25 MINS. SCHEDULING ADVISED THE CAPT THAT WOULD STILL FLY THE TRIP. I DID NOT SIT AT THE CTLS ON THE 1ST LEG. I DID; HOWEVER; ACT AS THE FO ON THE RETURN LEG. OUR BLOCK-OUT TIME WAS TA43Z; AND WE ARRIVED AT ZA00Z WITH A BLOCK TIME OF 5 HRS AND 17 MINS. I WAS NOT AT THE CTLS THE WHOLE TIME. I WAS RELIEVED FOR APPROX 1/2 HR. THAT WOULD PUT MY FLT TIME AT 4 HRS AND 47 MINS. CREW SCHEDULING NEVER ADVISED ME THAT I WOULD BE ILLEGAL. THE SCHEDULER AND THE DUTY OFFICER DID NOT KNOW THE REG ON GOING FROM A 2 MAN CREW TO A 3 MAN CREW. I QUESTIONED A FEW OF THE OTHER PLTS; BUT NOBODY KNEW THE ANSWER. IT WAS NOT UNTIL I SPOKE WITH 1 OF THE SENIOR CHK AIRMAN; THAT I REALIZED THAT I WAS RESTR TO 8 HRS NO MATTER 2 MAN OR 3 MAN CREW. I FEEL MY CREW SCHEDULER FAILED AT HIS JOB BY NOT ADVISING ME. HOWEVER; HE CAN'T SHOULDER ALL THE BLAME. I ASSUME THE BLAME FOR NOT BEING FAMILIAR WITH THE FLT TIME REG THOROUGHLY. I KNOW A 2 MAN CREW'S LIMITATION IS 8 IN 24; AND 3 MAN CREW'S LIMIT IS 12 IN 24. I MADE THE ASSUMPTION THAT GOING FROM THE 2 MAN TO 3 MAN IN A 24 HR PERIOD; THERE WOULD BE SOME TYPE OF MEDIAN NUMBER. NOW; I UNDERSTAND; A PLT CANNOT OCCUPY THE SEAT FOR MORE THAN 8 HRS; NO MATTER WHAT SIZE CREW. THIS WHOLE SIT SHOWED ME THAT I CANNOT RELY ON THE CREW SCHEDULER. I WILL NOW QUESTION HIM ON ALL MY FLT TIME ASSIGNMENTS WHEN I HAVE DOUBT. I HAVE ALSO BECOME MORE FAMILIAR WITH OPS MANUAL IN REGARDS TO FLT TIME LIMITATIONS.