#ThrowbackThursday: Neoteric has come a long way since the 1960s

For #TBT, these excerpts from a 1966 Australian newspaper article give you a glimpse of the origin of Neoteric Hovercraft …

Successful Hovercraft Trials on Lake Colac

Two days of hovercraft trials climaxed yesterday when a blue and yellow experimental hovercraft skimmed from a paddock at Cororooke across Lake Colac and up the shore near Ross’ Point.

Aeronautical research technician Chris Fitzgerald swings the propeller of the hovercraft for a trail run

in Mr. Ted Boylan’s paddock at Cororooke. In the cockpit is pilot Rob Wilson. 

More than 20 carloads of people went to the lake yesterday afternoon to watch the craft … it rose gently on a cushion of air and with the slipstream from its aircraft propeller fanning the onlookers, it skimmed smoothly across the grass – for about 100 yards.

Then it came to a sudden halt “aground” in a slight depression in the paddock. It took four men on the end of a rope to get it moving again. “Far too rough,” muttered the leader of the team, 22-year-old Chris Fitzgerald. “We’ll keep getting stuck.”

But he and his assistants were not out to turn on a display. The purpose of their visit to Colac was to carry out final trials with the one-man, 16-foot hovercraft to iron out technical problems before going ahead with building a larger hovercraft capable of carrying four people and skimming two feet off the ground. Their present hovercraft has a clearance of little more than 4 inches.

Then the hovercraft struck a heap of rocks in the paddock, tearing the fiberglass curtains which retain the air under it and damaging the bow. This affected the performance of the craft but the team decided to go ahead with runs over the lake … finally the hovercraft glided in a wide arc across the smooth water and up onto the shore. Cameramen and photographers recorded the run.

The idea of building the hovercraft originated in the minds of a group of former ATC cadets who were studying at the School of Mechanical Engineering at Melbourne University four years ago. They joined forces under the name of “Australian Air Cushion Vehicles Development”, which they hope to register soon as a company.

The original group of about 20 University students has dwindled to three, but they are keen to push ahead and have already prepared plans for a larger 100 hp hovercraft. They are Chris Fitzgerald, a technical assistant at the Aeronautical Research Laboratories; Rob Wilson, 21, an automotive technician with the Gas and Fuel Corporation; and Ron Davies, a Melbourne fireman.

Check out today’s Neoteric Hovercraft …

#TBT: Neoteric Hovercraft’s First Customer

Rarely can a company credit its origin to a single individual or family. Neoteric Hovercraft is proud to be one of those rare companies, with great thanks to the Talmage family of Long Island, New York, who helped launch Neoteric in the USA.

In the mid-1960s, John Talmage, a farmer and a pilot, and his 5- and 9-year old sons Henry and Bill, built a hovercraft from photos he’d seen in Popular Mechanics. Today, the original Talmage hovercraft hangs from the rafters of an aircraft hangar on their farm …

What followed is a true example of “six degrees of separation”. When he built his hovercraft, John’s sister Mary Ellen lived in Melbourne, Australia. Her landlord was Derrick Ravenscroft, a British draftsman at The Aeronautical Research Laboratories, where Neoteric’s now-President Chris Fitzgerald was employed. Mary Ellen showed Ravenscroft photos of “the crazy thing my brother and his sons built.” Ravenscroft then showed the photos to Fitzgerald.

In 1970, while on a world hovercraft research tour provided by his Rotary International Foundation award, Chris Fitzgerald visited the Talmages on Long Island and a lifelong friendship was begun. 

When Fitzgerald moved to the USA in 1975 and founded Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc., John Talmage financed the first hovercraft manufactured by the company: the original Neova 2, constructed of wood and fiberglass. Here, the Neova 2 is parked outside the Talmage hangar at their Riverhead Farm just after its arrival from Neoteric in Terre Haute, Indiana ...

This first hovercraft was used to develop the Neova 2 hovercraft kit and to garner publicity. Popular Mechanics soon published a feature story about the Neova 2, which immediately kicked off sales of Neova 2 kits for Neoteric. And, as they say, the rest is history.

#TBT: World’s First Hovercraft Race

For #ThrowbackThursday, let’s go back to March 14, 1964 when Chris Fitzgerald, Neoteric’s future founder and president, participated in the World’s First Hovercraft Race in Canberra, Australia ...

The Age Newspaper, 14 March 1964: This hovercraft will take part in the world’s first hovercraft race over Lake Burley Griffin today. In the cockpit, Edward Thomas;
from left, Ron Davies, Christopher Fitzgerald and Robert Wilson.

The race was a remarkable success. It drew more than 30,000 spectators and received extensive media coverage. London’s Flight International magazine reported: "March 14, 1964, may become a famous date in ACV history, for on that day, at Canberra, the world's first competitive hovercraft trials took place. An analogy may be drawn between the Canberra trials of 1964 and the Rheims air meeting of 1909: both mark the beginning of competitive development in their respective fields.”

Watch a video filmed during the race ...



In a 2001 article, journalist Eric Shackle related Neoteric’s evolution since the World’s First Hovercraft Race  ...

Melbourne Entrant’s Success Story

One of the entrants in the World's First Hovercraft Race, Australian Air Cushion Vehicle Development, vigorously pursued its interest in hovercraft, transferred to the US, and is now one of the world's leading manufacturers of the craft: Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc.

In 1964, the company competed in the first world hovercraft race. As experience mounted, the Rotary International Foundation awarded AACVD's president, Chris Fitzgerald, a scholarship for a world hovercraft study tour which resulted in contact with virtually every hovercraft project in existence.

Innovations continued and, by 1973, a prototype hovercraft, the Neova, was completed and AACVD formed a new company, Neoteric Engineering Affiliates Pty. Ltd., which created staggering world interest when it introduced the Neova at a press demonstration in July, 1974 in Melbourne, Australia. All were anticipating a promising future for this curious new flying machine.

Hoping to sell their technology to the burgeoning recreational vehicle market in the United States, the engineering team made what was intended to be a temporary move to the USA in 1975. After a short time, however, they discovered that there was a virgin market for the manufacturing of hovercraft and began reorienting their company's focus in that direction. This spurred the spin-off company, Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc.

Today, Neoteric boasts a clientele that spans 50 countries and includes Disney World, local and national [and international] rescue departments, dive teams, gold mines, environmental and fishery research departments at universities, oil-spill clean-up, the US Army Corps of Engineers and, of course, numerous people who enjoy exploring remote areas that cannot be reached by any other means.

They've come a long way since taking part in that historic 1964 race on Lake Burley Griffin!

#TBT: Neoteric Hovercraft in 1980s TV commercials

For #ThrowbackThursday, let's hover back to the early 1980s, when Neoteric's new LeMere and Neova II hovercraft gained international fame in television commercials. They were featured in TV ads for Canada's Labatt's Beer, Germany's Lord Extra Cigarettes and Brazil's Hollywood Cigarettes.

Watch the Labatt's Beer commercial, filmed on Lake Isabella in California. When commonplace boats are too ordinary for the job, it's Neoteric to the rescue! ... 

A Week of Historic Hovercraft ‘Firsts’

From Washington D.C. to Arizona, this is a week of hovercraft ‘firsts’ in the U.S.

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear its first hovercraft case in history, Sturgeon v.Masica et al.

And, on a lighter side, at the Havasu Balloon Festival in Arizona, Neoteric customer Gary Meyers has discovered a brand new use for his HoverTrek™. For the first time ever, a hovercraft was used to inflate a hot air balloon. Watch the video …

We all know a Neoteric hovercraft can take you where no other vehicle can go. But now we see its usefulness covers even more territory!

But maybe this isn’t news to you ...

 Leave a comment and let us know what unusual ways you’ve used your hovercraft!

#Throwback Thursday Hovercraft Video: Vintage Neoteric Hovercraft

Today is Throwback Thursday #TBT and it’s a meme especially suited to Neoteric. As the world’s original light hovercraft manufacturer, we have decades of history to share!

On this Throwback Thursday, let’s have a glimpse of Neoteric’s third decade in business. The 1980s established Neoteric Hovercraft as a global entity as we gained customers from across the world – India, China, Japan and many other nations. And intensive research and development produced several new Neoteric models, among them the LeMere and the Neova II.

The early 1980s were a precursor of our Bubba’s Hover days, as Neoteric craft gained international fame in commercial productions – they were featured in TV ads for Canada’s Labatt’s Beer, Germany’s Lord Extra Cigarettes and Brazil’s Hollywood Cigarettes.

Here’s the Labatt’s Beer commercial, filmed on Lake Isabella in California. When ordinary boats are just too ordinary for the job, it’s Neova II hovercraft to the rescue! …

When filming the Lord Extra commercial on California’s Lake Big Bear in 1983, the Neoteric hovercraft stole the show – and not much has changed since! ...

You can read the full history of Neoteric Hovercraft here.


Now it’s time to look forward and get a glimpse of what a hovercraft can add to your future! Find out how you can steal the show ...

Take a Test Flight or Flight Training Course …

VIDEO: Neoteric featured on Indiana Outdoor Adventures

Here’s your chance to view one of the most informative hovercraft videos you’ll ever see – and to get a glimpse of the expertise behind Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. and Hovercraft Training Centers, LLC.

Indiana Outdoor Adventures, a TV program broadcast to more than 44 million households across the U.S., has aired an episode devoted to Neoteric Hovercraft. In it, you’ll see Neoteric hovercraft in action, watch them being built, and hear Neoteric founder and president Chris Fitzgerald, one of the world's foremost authorities on hovercraft,  discuss everything about hovercraft … how they came about, how they work, their capabilities, why they’re so safe, the background story of Bubba’s Hover … and lots more.

According to Indiana Outdoor Adventures, the response to the show has been extremely positive, exemplified by the following email from one viewer:

“Amazing! Mr. Fitzgerald seems like a really interesting man. I could listen to him talk all day. I think fire and rescue departments would really like to have these, especially in areas where ice fishing is popular. Thanks for producing another great show!”

We think your response will be the same! Watch now …

Our thanks go out to Steve Stafford of Project H.E.R.O. and Hovercraft Training Centers, as well as to the Perry Clear Creek Fire Department for their invaluable assistance in organizing and performing in the filming of this episode. Perry Clear Creek first responders and their Neoteric rescue hovercraft conducted the ice rescue demonstration in the program.

Yahoo! Finance features Neoteric Hovercraft in "Breakout Profile"

Neoteric is honored to be featured by Yahoo! Finance in its “Breakout Profiles,”  which are dedicated to innovative companies doing extraordinary things. As the media have reported in Neoteric’s recent blast of publicity, Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. “is certainly out of the ordinary” … and is far more than just the manufacturer of Bubba Watson’s BW1 hovercraft golf cart.

Neoteric is the world’s original light hovercraft manufacturer, and for half a century, has produced hovercraft for a diverse list of clients in more than 50 nations – from the U.S. Military and rescue agencies worldwide, to recreational and commercial customers … even for Disneyworld!

See videos and photos of the Yahoo! film shoot at Neoteric …

History of the Hovercraft

A hovercraft is a flying machine, a type of air cushion vehicle. When it comes to flying machines, ideas easily date back to ancient Greece. This is not the case with air cushion vehicles.

The first recorded design for such a vehicle was in 1716 by Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish designer, philosopher and theologian. Swedenborg's design appeared in the fourth edition of Sweden's first scientific journal, Daedulus Hyperboreus, and is the first detailed technical description of a flying machine of any type.

Swedenborg's man-powered air cushion platform, basically a circular aircraft, resembled an upside-down boat with a cockpit in the center or a "flying saucer." His manually-operated device required the would-be pilot to use oar-like scoops to push air under the vehicle on each downward stroke in order to raise the hull out of the water. A working model of the design was never built, because Swedenborg soon realized that a human could not sustain the energy needed to power the oars. His concept required a source of energy far greater than any available at that time.

As with many other forms of transportation, significant progress had to wait until a lightweight motor was developed in the nineteenth century …

Read the full History of the Hovercraft, from 1700 to the present day …

Have a question about hovercraft? Just leave us a comment.

Only seven Neova 4 hovercraft in the world ...

... Who will own this one?

 T

This classic Neova 4, already registered and located in

Melbourne, Australia, is currently for sale.

Four decades ago, the founding of the world’s original light hovercraft manufacturer began in Australia, when Neoteric Engineering Affiliates Pty. Ltd., the parent company of Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc., built their first hovercraft. This prototype was intended not for manufacture, but for the sale of hovercraft blueprints to homebuilders.

The brainstorm of engineers Chris Fitzgerald and Rob Wilson, and designer David Atkins, the Neova 1 created staggering world interest when it was introduced at a press demonstration in July 1974 on the Yarra River in the heart of Melbourne, Australia. All were anticipating a promising future for this curious new flying machine.

The Neova immediately gained major world interest

and was soon featured in numerous publications.  

Next, the company lengthened the one-person Neova 1 by two feet to create the Neova 2, a 2-passenger side-by-side seater using the same 46hp air-cooled, flat 4 engine. To expand the sale of plans, the craft was again lengthened to create the 4-passenger Neova 4, with a flat 4 liquid-cooled Subaru engine.

  

With the hope of selling their hovercraft plans to the burgeoning recreational market in the United States, the engineering team made what was intended to be a temporary move to the USA in 1975. Neoteric used the Neova 4 to evaluate several engineering and design concepts, including the marriage of two separate skirt systems – a segmented skirt on the outside, a jupe skirt on the inside – and to determine if the craft had any market potential for manufacture.

They discovered that there was a virgin market for the manufacture of hovercraft, but the Neova was better suited to home building than to manufacturing in a factory, so Neoteric refocused its efforts onto other models, such as today’s HoverTrek. Chris Fitzgerald remained in the USA as President of Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. and Rob Wilson returned to Australia to serve as President of the company’s Australian division, Neoteric Engineering Affiliates, Ptd. Ltd.

And the rest is history … well, except for this rare piece of hovercraft history whose owner is yet to be determined. This original Neova 4 hovercraft, personally built by Rob Wilson using top quality materials, is for sale. Already registered and located in Melbourne, this is one of only six or seven Neova 4 hovercraft in the world, and it is equipped with Neoteric’s patented reverse thrust system. With seating for four, it is powered by an 1800cc EA82 Subaru overhead cam engine, which produces 84hp at 5.500 rpm, and is ready for salt water operation. The craft has 39 hours “on cushion” hovering and needs only a new battery, a sump pan and some minor skirt repair. 

This handyman’s and hovercraft historian’s dream is only $10,000, and that includes a heavy duty, purpose built hover on/hover off trailer. For more information, email Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc.