Happy Encounter with Myanmar National Police

[Clipper707]

Bagan, Myanmar

2nd Lieutenant Aung San Moe of the Myanmar National Police scrutinizes the drone.

Earlier, the Corporal carrying the silver satchel told me it was "not allowed" so I landed her immediately, removed her propellers and was trying to get out of there quickly when the Lieutenant came running over. All of a sudden I had about a half dozen police around me.

After heavy scrutinization, the Lt told me "Warmly welcome tourists to Myanmar!" (the tourism slogan there.) I told him, "May I help you?" (This is the slogan of the Myanmar Police.) They all started laughing at that point and I knew there would be no problems. I asked the Lieutenant if he wanted to see a demo-flight. Once the drone was in the air, they ALL whipped out their phones and started snapping photos. I told them I could bring it in closer so they could get better pictures and they all said "yes." Actually, I wanted better video of them. Priceless.

A few tips for Myanmar:
For internal flights within Myanmar, you will be on ATR72 aircraft. Your drone will probably not fit in the overhead compartment. My backpack took up 75% of the underseat space.

Everytime you launch, you will be surrounded by children and adults by the time you land. Remember to be an ambassador for our hobby. If you share your live feed with them they will love you for it.

 

[MadMitch88]

Happy ending to a potentially tense situation.

If this happened in America --- most likely you would have wound up in handcuffs and charged with "reckless endangerment" or even worse if you are black --- beaten rather vigorously by 2 or 3 cops for "resisting arrest" and "assaulting a police officer" even though you were just politely asking them about the correct drone laws in their jurisdiction. I've been flying in public parks lately and all I get are dirty looks from these cops --- not a single one of them acts friendly and curious about my wonderful flying Phantom machine, even though many civilians act that way. I guess their Mommys didn't hold them enough as kids.

We got SERIOUS problems with our police forces in the USA --- but most people want to bury their head in the sand about it.

 

[HailStorm]

Happy ending to a potentially tense situation.

If this happened in America --- most likely you would have wound up in handcuffs and charged with "reckless endangerment" or even worse if you are black --- beaten rather vigorously by 2 or 3 cops for "resisting arrest" and "assaulting a police officer" even though you were just politely asking them about the correct drone laws in their jurisdiction. I've been flying in public parks lately and all I get are dirty looks from these cops --- not a single one of them acts friendly and curious about my wonderful flying Phantom machine, even though many civilians act that way. I guess their Mommys didn't hold them enough as kids.

We got SERIOUS problems with our police forces in the USA --- but most people want to bury their head in the sand about it.

As I was reading this I just felt this remark would show up as I scrolled down :roll:

yeah, kind of ruined the point of the thread.

I flew last year in Southern Thailand, mostly around the Tukuapa area and never had a problem. Always gathered a crowd, especially at the beaches - locals would suddenly appear on empty beaches with those wonderful smiles, asking what I was doing.

 

[IflyinWY]

So Clipper707, where's the video? You weren't just teasing us were you?

It's pretty cool when you get to see that "Police are people too".

Thanks for sharing, but, where's the video?

 

[gamechanger]

Min ga la bar
I'm a Burmese citizen living in Canada.
I'm also currently in Burma for a visit. I wanted to bring the p2 to Burma as well but didn't want to risk it. I was also in Bagan.
Glad everything was fine with the police.

 

[Clipper707]

IflyinWY: I'm wading through all of my Myanmar and Lao footage now. I've done some editing and clips for Mrauk U and Mandalay, but haven't gotten to Bagan yet. I'll grab a quick clip tonight after work and post it.

gamechanger: There was a huge police and military presence in Bagan. There was none a few years ago. Not sure if it's because of the ASEAN retreat or President Obama's visit. Heard Michelle Obama and her daughters were in Bagan the day before I was. When the Burmese built all of those temples in Bagan 600 years ago, I know they were doing so with video drones in mind.

 

[IflyinWY]

Looking forward to viewing your flights. Thanks...

 

[Clipper707]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwmPxE_LeLQ

 

[IflyinWY]

Thanks Clipper707

Cool video & looks like you've made a great ambassador for drones.

Too funny :lol:

 

[Clipper707]

Yeah, I guess I could have ended up in the Burmese version of a gulag. Wouldn't want to go through that again.

Just kidding. I think the Lieutenant looks like a fun guy and the underlings were just doing their jobs. It turned out being a really fun experience and what a great story I have now!

We are always ambassadors, like it or not.

 

[yawnalot29]

If this happened in America --- most likely you would have wound up in handcuffs and charged with "reckless endangerment" or even worse if you are black --- beaten rather vigorously by 2 or 3 cops for "resisting arrest" and "assaulting a police officer" even though you were just politely asking them about the correct drone laws in their jurisdiction. I've been flying in public parks lately and all I get are dirty looks from these cops --- not a single one of them acts friendly and curious about my wonderful flying Phantom machine, even though many civilians act that way. I guess their Mommys didn't hold them enough as kids.

We got SERIOUS problems with our police forces in the USA --- but most people want to bury their head in the sand about it.

I fly in the USA all the time (over 100+ flights) in my local parks. Nothing like what you have described ever happened. Nothing remotely close to what you have described ever happened. And not for lack of having police around either.

Flew on public beach.
Flew on State beach park.
Flew on local parks.
Flew out of my backyard.

 

[aseidman]

Bagan, Myanmar

2nd Lieutenant Aung San Moe of the Myanmar National Police scrutinizes the drone.

Earlier, the Corporal carrying the silver satchel told me it was "not allowed" so I landed her immediately, removed her propellers and was trying to get out of there quickly when the Lieutenant came running over. All of a sudden I had about a half dozen police around me.

After heavy scrutinization, the Lt told me "Warmly welcome tourists to Myanmar!" (the tourism slogan there.) I told him, "May I help you?" (This is the slogan of the Myanmar Police.) They all started laughing at that point and I knew there would be no problems. I asked the Lieutenant if he wanted to see a demo-flight. Once the drone was in the air, they ALL whipped out their phones and started snapping photos. I told them I could bring it in closer so they could get better pictures and they all said "yes." Actually, I wanted better video of them. Priceless.

A few tips for Myanmar:
For internal flights within Myanmar, you will be on ATR72 aircraft. Your drone will probably not fit in the overhead compartment. My backpack took up 75% of the underseat space.

Everytime you launch, you will be surrounded by children and adults by the time you land. Remember to be an ambassador for our hobby. If you share your live feed with them they will love you for it.

This is a great story. Can I share it on our blog (Hivemapper.com) and would you mind doing a quick interview via email for the piece?

 

[Clipper707]

aseidman:

Cool! Sounds exciting.

 

[IflyinWY]

Hey aseidman,

Do you suppose you could edit out the "Bad Apple" from the thread before everyone knows he trolls here?

 

[PhantomFanatic]

Happy ending to a potentially tense situation.

If this happened in America --- most likely you would have wound up in handcuffs and charged with "reckless endangerment" or even worse if you are black --- beaten rather vigorously by 2 or 3 cops for "resisting arrest" and "assaulting a police officer" even though you were just politely asking them about the correct drone laws in their jurisdiction. I've been flying in public parks lately and all I get are dirty looks from these cops --- not a single one of them acts friendly and curious about my wonderful flying Phantom machine, even though many civilians act that way. I guess their Mommys didn't hold them enough as kids.

We got SERIOUS problems with our police forces in the USA --- but most people want to bury their head in the sand about it.

I might be out of line here, but I've read a few of your posts where you say black people are targeted. If you wish to share, are you black? If so, do you really see a double standard based on skin color? I had hoped that we would have progressed to the point that racial targeting was a thing of the past.

 

[Clipper707]

Moderators, this thread is no longer about Myanmar National Police. Please close the thread.

 

[babyhee]

Clipper707 , Is it ok to bring my DJI phantom to Myanmar? Any precaution i should look out for?


Thanks,
babyhee