The Country

Geography:
Myanmar (or Burma) forms the eastern shores of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea in southeast Asia. It's neighbours are Bangladesh and India to the north west, China to the north east, Laos to the east and Thailand to the south east.

Tropical rain forest covers much of the country, while the central lowland includes the Irrawaddy delta, a major rice-growing area. Mountains form natural barriers to the east and west of the central lowlands - those to the east forming an extension of the eastern Himalayas, while to the west the Shan Plateau (in some places over 4000 m or 13,000 ft high) stretches into China.

Myanmar has a total land area of 676,552 sq km (261,218 sq miles). The population was 50.7 million in 2005, comprising 68% Burman, 9% Shan, 6% Karen, 4% Rakhine and 13% others. Some 300,000 Indians and Chinese were expelled in he 1980s. 87% of the population are Buddhist, 6% Christian a, 4% Muslim, 1% Hindu and 2% other. Until 2005 the capital city was Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon), but on 6 November 2005 the capital was officially moved to a new purpose-built site at Naypyidaw, near Pyinmana, 320 km north of the traditional capital.

National History:
Summary Narrative History

Timeline - Key Dates in Myanmar History

Further National Information:
BBC News Profile: Myanmar
Yahoo Myanmar page
wikipedia: Myanmar
wikipedia: History of Myanmar
Yahoo Myanmar page
CIA The World Factbook - Burma
Myanmar - History
History of Myanmar
MSN Encarta - Myanmar
NCGUB

Civil Aircraft Registrations:
In the British colonial era, from 1929 onwards, civil aircraft were registered in the Indian series VT-xxx. In 1940 the Burmese colonial government established a Burmese civil aircraft register, using the sequence XY-AAA onwards. The was retained after WW2 and continues in use, eg. Fokker F-27 XY-ADZ. The prefix XZ-xxx was also allocated, but has not been widely used.

Military Air Arms:
Current military air arms-
Air Force (Myanmar Air Force) [1948-Present]

Historical military air arms-
Air Force (Burma Volunteer Air Force) [1940-1942]

Central Government Agencies:
None. VIP and liaison flights are flown by the Air Force.

Public Service Aviation:
None. The People's Police use Air Force aircraft when necessary.

Commercial Aviation:
Air Bagan
Air Mandalay
Myanma Airlines
Myanmar Airways International
Yangon Airways

wikipedia: Airlines of Myanmar
The World's Airlines: Myanmar

Private Aviation:
Private, as opposed to commercial, aviation is extremely limited in Myanmar.

Aircraft Manufacturers:
None.

Aircraft Maintenance/Repair Depots:
None known.

Airports, Airfields and Air Bases:
Myanmar Airports map
Airports in Myanmar

Military Air Bases and Airfields-
Military Air Bases Listing

Aviation Museums:
Preserved Aircraft.

Airshow Dates:
Key Airshow Dates

Aviation-Related Magazines:
None known.

Magazine Dealers:
Recommended second hand magazine dealers

Aviation Bibliography:
Myanmar Aviation Bibliography - to be added

Aviation Bookshops:
On-line bookshops

Web Links:

Aviation Safety Network Myanmar
(Listing of aircraft crashes in Myanmar since 1944)