Vietnam Flight Regulations/Experience?

[RC5728]

I had flown into HCMC airport with no issues with my Mavic Pro in August 2017. However upon my return from my visa run and flying into Nha Trang last week, my Mavic Pro was confiscated by customs. I have tried contacting the office that UAV Systems International has listed on their website... but emails and phone calls go unanswered.

If anyone has any information on the licensing requirements or the contacts for it... please PM me and post it in this thread.

So did they return your Mavic?

 

[Mblumster]

So did they return your Mavic?

Yes... after several hours I was told that I would get it back and then was supervised "watched" until I boaded the plane to leave the country

 

[casper _ap]

I did a 2 day one night trip in Ha Long - actually found a company that would take me up to Bai Tu Long bay which is slightly north and has far less tourist boat traffic. Take off from the boat is worthy of its own thread, many lessons learned, but thankfully didn't crash. Basically Mavic gets very confused with a moving boat. Worked best (safest) to take off and land when the boat was stopped, from the stern, into the wind, away from cables, etc. I booked a private boat to be able to facilitate all this coordination with the captain and crew. You might not be allowed to launch from a shared boat - depends on the company.

Pack the props however makes you feel good, but your batteries need to be in your checked baggage - signage was serious about that. I had my propped mavic go through a ton of xrays through China and internal flights in Vietnam, and absolutely no question. My laptop and chargers received more attention.

Thanks for the info. I’ll be going to Ha Long Bay soon to get some footage with my Mavic. Any tips on private boats to book and where I can get Captain of boat to bring me to fly drone safely on land? How much should I be paying as well? and you said don’t fly off a boat?

 

[flockshot]

The last time I went to Viet Nam we took our own helicopters.

 

[Sir Slarti]

I have been last August for one Month in Vietnam. Flew internally from Hanoi to Hue, from Da Nang to HCM, HCM Cambodia (Phnom Penh), from there to Siem Reep, back to Phnom Penh, HCM, Hanoi).

Never had an issue.

It was an awesome journey and my 5th time in Vietnam, 1st time with my Mavic.

One tip, if you need to write something to them, is to use translation serivices. There are freelancers out there, websites who promote them and it's very cheap. This can help with documents.

Sometimes money can help as well, but be careful

 

[Sir Slarti]

Oh I forgot to mention, from my trips to this awesome country, I have made a video about this fantastic land, including drone shots. Have a look here on youtube:

Rice, People, Land

Enjoy fellow Mavic Pilots.