VH-SAU Australian Aircraft Registration Details

Here are the Australian aviation rego search results for 'VH-SAU'.
The aircraft registration database was last refreshed from the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on 29/Oct/2024

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Aircraft Type

BEECH AIRCRAFT CORP
D18-S
A-499

Holder/Operator

ALTAIR AVIATION AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
02/08/1973

Airframe

1949
United States of America
02/08/1973
Power Driven Aeroplane

Engines

2
PRATT & WHITNEY AIRCRAFT
Piston
R-985
Gasoline

Propeller

HAMILTON STANDARD
2D30

Certification

A-765
Active (Normal)

Comments

egg
20th May 2014 4:26:24 PM
In about 1974 I flew in and worked on this actual aircraft (VH-SAU) with my father when I was in high school...It was white at the time with Savage Air painted on the side... We used to drive to Mittagong airstrip where it was located and work on it all weekend. Then the owner started picking us up from Mascot and fly us down...The beautiful Beechcraft 18 built in 1949. It had 2x 350hp 9 cylinder P&W motors....If no one was there, I used to like playing with the radio's listening to Air traffic control in Sydney... One day, Maurie had to drive into town and I was there on my own... I was bored....so I started up one engine, unhooked the wing ties and taxied it just out of it's pen, out to the runway about 50 meters away and brought it back... it was frightening... When I was trying to start it I primed too much fuel and these giant flames leaped out the exhaust and out from under the wing...from the pilots seat it just looked like the engine was on fire, Ive never panicked so much in all my life.. I lept out wondering how I was gunna explain to Maurie how he leaves me there to clean up the hanger and comes back to see a pile of smoldering ash.... Anyway, that didn't happen but rather than leave it alone I decided to try again... It seemed to take forever to start but when it did the feeling is indescribable... I was sitting there revving this thing up having a great old time when I thought who's gunna know... No ones here... so yeah, I unhooked it and taxied off.... I was shitting myself the whole time... I just motored off about 50 meters, tried to spin left when I quickly discovered you cant spin left with only the left engine going.... I was in full scale panic.... I had to taxi out alot further than I would have like to make a right turn and bring it back... I parked it, shut it down and tied it off.... I can still remember how much I was shaking when I got out... And to top it off, I looked over the airstrip and there was the farmer there sitting on his tractor watching the whole thing.... I looked at him and he waved his finger at me.... poofter..... I thought he would tell Maurie for sure so I was shitting myself on several fronts. He never did.... No one found out.... I was 14 at the time....