VIDEO: Neoteric Hovercraft Perform Texas Flood Rescues

After being hit with catastrophic storms this month, much of Texas – including Houston, the fourth-largest city in the U.S. - has been turned into a flood disaster zone. Massive search and rescue operations are ongoing, hindered by debris in the floodwaters and by continuing rain causing flash floods from already-swollen rivers.

The one positive note for this storm-battered state is that several Texas fire departments operate Neoteric rescue hovercraft, which are saving victims in areas that boats and other rescue vehicles can’t reach.

The CBS news video below shows one example. At 6:30 this morning in a suburb of Dallas, a woman became trapped on top of her submerged car when a nearby creek suddenly overflowed. Just fifteen minutes later, Wylie Fire-Rescue first responders rescued her in their Neoteric hovercraft before she suffered any injuries.

Here you can see for yourself how easily the Rescue HoverTrek operates in shallow, debris-filled water and has the unique maneuverability for up-close access to victims without forcing first responders to enter the water …

The newscasters immediately grasped the importance of hovercraft in flood rescue operations:
“A hovercraft is sometimes the easiest way for the rescuers to get to folks surrounded by these waters … You can’t go out in normal boats because you don’t know what kind of debris is out there … These hovercraft are just a much more effective way …”

Scores of people remain missing, and the death toll in Texas is likely to rise since more storms are expected to batter the state this weekend.  Tragically, the death toll includes first responders - and victims lost to failed rescue attempts by vehicles that can't perform as well as hovercraft in flood rescue operations. A firefighter in Claremore, Oklahoma lost his life when he drowned in muddy water while trying to rescue children, and another firefighter was injured in the same incident. One person died and three are missing in Houston after being swept away when a rescue boat capsized.

Extreme weather events such as this are becoming more and more common. We at Neoteric urge first responders to consider the value of a hovercraft for water, ice, mud and flood rescue operations. It's the most effective vehicle for fast, safe rescues, and it keeps your team above the danger – not in it.

See more Texas flood hovercraft rescues …

Neoteric  Hovercraft Rescues Texas Flood Victims

DRONE VIDEO: Neoteric Hovercraft Searches for Texas Flood Victims

Drone Video: Neoteric Hovercraft Searches for Texas Flood Victims

Check out the drone video of Mansfield Fire Department’s rescue HoverTrek™ searching for victims during the recent Texas flooding. Without the extreme maneuverability of Neoteric’s reverse thrust, any other hovercraft - or any other rescue vehicle - would not be able to navigate on turbulent floodwater in such tight spots ...

Full story, with photos ...

Learn more about Neoteric's revolutionary reverse thrust system ...

Want to own the SuRi Luxury Yacht hovercraft?

This Neoteric HoverTrek™ is probably the only light hovercraft in the world that has circumnavigated the globe. As one of the huge array of toys on board the luxury yacht SuRi, the craft has hovered around exotic islands throughout the South Pacific.

Now, it may not take you to Fiji but, wherever you live, this 4-passenger hovercraft is your ideal all-season, all-terrain vehicle for lake and river cruising, fishing and hunting, nature exploration, ice transportation and much more. And the carbureted 65 HP Hirth air-cooled engine is fully marinized for salt water operation. Here it is in action on the South Pacific …

This Model 1874 HoverTrek™ Deluxe with side-by-side seating has been completely refurbished by Neoteric and is in pristine condition. With only 117 hours of use, the skirts are in great condition, since the craft was used mostly over water.

This beauty is also equipped with a helicopter lifting system, so it can be lifted by crane onto other vehicles, such as yachts. Here, in Fiji, the SuRi launches the hovercraft while serving as shadow boat to the motor yacht JeMaSa …

For only $25,000, this famous HoverTrek™ is ready for more adventure. Let that adventure be yours! And, if you don’t have a yacht to tow it, a brand new trailer is available for just $2,500.

Contact Neoteric for more information …

Neoteric Military Hovercraft In Use Around the World

When you think of military hovercraft, typically what comes to mind are the U.S. Navy’s 100-ton LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) and the new generation of SSCs (Ship-to-Shore Connectors). But light hovercraft, such as the Neoteric Military HoverTrek™, are gaining increasing global recognition as an essential vehicle for military operations.

Watch Neoteric’s military light hovercraft in action below. This particular craft, operated by Hovercraft Training Centers, was engineered as a potential training apparatus for LCAC pilots and navigators …

Neoteric Hovercraft in Viet Nam:

Last year the Viet Nam military purchased two Neoteric hovercraft to be used by their Ministry of National Defense, which coordinates both military and civil forces in disaster relief and search and rescue operations. The craft were quickly recognized as crucial equipment for the Viet Nam People’s Army, and they recently purchased two additional 6-passenger models.

Steve Stafford, Neoteric’s Law Enforcement Liaison and HTC’s Flight Instructor, recently trained additional military personnel on Suoi Hai Lake at the Army’s Emergency Response Training Facility near Hanoi. The training captured the interest of first responders from a fire department near Ho Chi Minh City, who flew in to observe, and Stafford gave them a demo flight …

Neoteric Hovercraft in Pakistan:

Two Neoteric military hovercraft are used by the Pakistan Air Force for rescue operations. Pakistan and surrounding nations rely heavily on the PAF for tsunami, cyclone, earthquake and flood rescue and relief operations ...

Neoteric Hovercraft in Kuwait:

Neoteric hovercraft were used on Kuwait's intertidal zone to survey the environmental damage inflicted by the 1991 Persian Gulf War oil fires. The hovercraft were the only vehicles capable of operating on the thick mud ...

Neoteric Hovercraft in South Korea:

In South Korea, the Neoteric hovercraft was introduced to U.S. and South Korean Generals during a joint military exercise. The craft was also used to demonstrate the concept and feasibility for dragging plastic fuel pipeline over tidal mudflats …

Neoteric Hovercraft in the United States:

Tetra Tech, a California-based global firm, conducts unexploded ordnance detection and remediation for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and commercial clients. This year, their custom Neoteric HoverTrek™ was used in an MEC/UXO remedial investigation at a Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) for Formerly Used Defense sites (FUDS) area in the Caribbean. The site was an impact range for aerial bombs and rockets, missiles, mortars and naval projectiles from 1903 until 1975. 

The site consists of shallow water with listed and protected coral reefs inches below the surface; the hovercraft was the only vehicle that could conduct the project without damaging the corals ... 

Read more about the Tetra Tech project ...

The Utah Test and Training Range at Hill Air Force base operates two Neoteric military hovercraft. In 2006, one of the craft rescued a downed F-16 pilot who crashed on the Great Salt Lake mudflats, where no other vehicle could travel. Prior to their hovercraft purchase, when the Range used ATVs and trucks, emergency response times could reach more than three hours. With their Neoteric hovercraft, they can reach victims in minutes ...

The Future of Neoteric Military Hovercraft:

Neoteric and Hovercraft Training Centers are currently investigating the possibility of the U.S. Navy using Neoteric military hovercraft for initial flight training for LCAC and SSC pilots and navigators. The untrained eye might not recognize much similarity between light hovercraft and the Navy’s $22 million behemoths that transport 180 Marines along with weapon systems and heavy cargo directly from ship to shore. But these two vehicles share a significant trait: they operate by the same basic principles, just as a 2-seat Cessna flies by the same rules as a Boeing 747.

As a first step in this investigation, Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald was invited to Assault Craft Unit 4 in Virginia Beach to review the Navy's training protocol for LCAC crews. While there, he had the opportunity to pilot a 100-ton LCAC on the Atlantic Ocean without any previous training - which verified his premise that the skills acquired in flying light Neoteric hovercraft are easily transferred to flying heavy military hovercraft ...

The Navy's current LCAC training program is quite costly and has high attrition rates. Approximately $200,000 is spent on each trainee and dropout rates are as high as 65%. Should the Navy decide to use Neoteric hovercraft for initial LCAC training, it would not only vastly decrease costs, it would also decrease attrition by serving as an inexpensive way to qualify future LCAC craftmasters. And, since light hovercraft so easily capture public attention, they would serve as an excellent public relations tool to boost the success of the Navy's recruiting efforts.

As the world's military forces grow to realize the value and versatility of the Neoteric HoverTrek™ as their new secret weapon, expect to see more of them deployed every year!

Take a Test Flight or Training Course on a Neoteric Military Hovercraft ...

and 

Learn more about the Neoteric Military HoverTrek™ ...

Neoteric Hovercraft Rescues Texas Flood Victims

A rash of tornadoes and thunderstorms battered Texas and Arkansas last Sunday, leaving a path of destruction that caused five deaths and dozens of injuries.

Mansfield, Texas was one of many communities where torrential rains led to widespread flash flooding. Fortunately, the Mansfield Fire Department operates a Neoteric rescue hovercraft, which was used to successfully rescue victims whose vehicles were fully submerged in floodwaters …

Hovercraft are extremely effective in flood rescue operations because they can access areas that boats and other rescue vehicles can't reach. Flat bottom Jon boats and other propeller-driven watercraft are of little use in shallow water or in flood water; debris and obstructions can not only damage rescue boats, but can pose a serious danger to first responders and to those whose lives they are tasked to save.

As Mansfield’s Captain William Franks says about their hovercraft, shown below, “The benefit of having the hovercraft is we do not have to send our personnel into the water to retrieve victims. It can also hover over logs, car tires and any other debris, unlike boats, that could be a hazard in the water. A hovercraft is the answer to a faster rescue – a safer rescue.”

Unlike other vehicles, hovercraft fly on a cushion of air 9 inches above the surface, so they simply glide over swift flowing, debris-filled floodwaters. And, unlike other hovercraft, the Neoteric Hovertrek's patented reverse thrust system gives it the unique capability to brake, back up and hover in place - maneuvers that are critical in flood rescues.

First responders, it's easy to experience for yourself how a Neoteric hovercraft can operate in conditions that prohibit the use of rescue boats - keeping you above the danger, not in it ...

Take a Test Flight or Training Course

and

Read what other first responders say about Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft ...