A young man from a village outside the Sagaing State capital of Monywa is awaiting permission for the maiden voyage of an aircraft he built with his own hands.
Kyungyi villager Kyaw Zin Win spent the better part of a year building a plane made of wood, iron and aluminum sheets, motorcycle wheels, and Chinese-made engines. The entire project cost him K1.5 million (US$1,100).
Now, he says, he is ready to fly.
“I started making this private aircraft about eight months ago,” Kyaw Zin Win told Eleven. “I want to fly this plane, and I also want others to fly it.”
But before he can fly the 14-foot-long, five-foot-tall propeller plane, the amateur aviator will need to pass through several layers of bureaucracy.
“The man who made the plane asked me to allow him to fly it. I cannot allow him to do so because a person has to be on-board the plane. He may face danger,” said Kyungyi village administrator Tin Myint. “I informed the township administrator about it for approval. He said he would also submit it to higher-level officials. The government has not replied yet.”
Kyaw Zin Win also submitted his own letter to the Sagaing Region government but has not yet received a reply. He said he originally hoped to fly the plane on November 3 – the full moon day of Tazaungdaing – which is one of Myanmar’s most important holidays.
But until local officials figure out whether the man’s new wings are fit for the skies, it looks like he’ll have to wait.
Caution is probably the better part of valor here given the long proud history of men and their flying machines.
