IN THE NEWS: Oak Island Water Rescue Team's new Neoteric Hovercraft

The State Port Pilot
Southport, North Carolina

By Lee Hinnant, Jan. 20, 2021

Oak Island Water Rescue has acquired a hovercraft specially designed for use by emergency responders.

The department is now among the few in the Southeast with such a tool. Made by Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. of Terre Haute, Indiana, the craft weighs a mere 480 pounds but can lift a payload of 800 pounds, said Tony Young, Water Rescue Chief. Responders hope it will be of service when someone gets in trouble in the area’s numerous marshes. In the past, responders have struggled to reach stranded kayakers using a jon boat. In one instance, it took the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office airboat to get to victims grounded on the mud flats and surrounded by beds of sharp-shelled oysters.

 “The beauty of this is that you can go from the marsh to the beach,” Young said. “It’s the next best thing to having a helicopter.”

The hovercraft uses one-third of its power to lift the craft; the rest provides thrust. Powered by a German-made two-stroke motor designed for small airplanes, the hovercraft has only 65-horsepower but can go as fast as 60 mph under ideal conditions, such as on ice.

“What makes this unique for rescue is that it has thrust reversers to stop, spin around or go backwards,” Young said.

The specialized skirts around the edges of the hovercraft hold it on a cushion of air. The skirts must be maintained and kept clean to work at their best.

It takes at least 30 hours of training to learn to pilot the hovercraft. Simple actions, such as leaning too far one way or sticking an arm out while under power can affect the sensitive steering. “It’s tricky,” Young said. “It’s not like driving a boat. We’re taking bets on who puts the first scratch on it.”

Young said an anonymous donor contributed the $60,000 needed for the hovercraft. The same donor also made a substantial contribution toward repairing the station from the damage caused by Hurricane Isaias last August.

Work on the station has slowed and Water Rescue is discussing the possibility of adding a second floor for offices and using the downstairs portion as a garage and workshop. Members expect to have a contractor on the job by next month.

With the support from the community, the Town of Oak Island and Brunswick Electric Membership Corp. the team was also able to replace an aging surf boat with a newer, slightly larger model with a tougher aluminum hull.

The storm took a toll on the station, but members said they’re building back better than ever, with a lot of help from donors.

“The community really came together to support us,” said team member Melissa Wilson. “The storm was a blessing in disguise.”

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Learn more about Neoteric Hovercraft ...

How do airboats compare to hovercraft?

Unlike airboats, hovercraft are flying machines that travel above the surface on a bubble of air so they don’t create a wake on water. Airboats are flat-bottomed boats with a large propeller and their entire weight rests on the surface, creating a wake.  Airboats usually require a boat dock for launching; hovercraft do not.

Airboats are limited to relatively smooth water because their hulls have low gunwales which can be easily swamped. Airboats have minimum positive flotation, where hovercraft have quite a lot - up to 1 1/2 times their weight. This enables hovercraft to operate safely on swiftwater. Here, first responders from the U.S. Air Force practice swift water rescue techniques in a Neoteric hovercraft …

The airboat’s tall propeller also limits its use in areas with overhead obstructions, which are often found in flood rescue operations. An airboat’s propeller usually runs close to the speed of sound and generates far more noise than a hovercraft. Airboats can consume up to three times more energy than hovercraft, so they use more fuel.

Hovercraft are safer than airboats in ice rescue operations. As stated in a news article about a dive team preparing for ice rescues, “Emergency personnel practiced rescuing victims who have fallen through ice by getting as close as they can with airboats - too close and the boat will push the ice and crush the victim - and then, with insulated, waterproof suits on and an attached rope, swimming out and bringing the victim back." 

Hovercraft can fly on top of thin or broken ice while airboats cannot, and hovercraft often break the ice into small pieces that are of no danger to the victim. Hovercraft can also approach the victim directly, keeping rescuers out of the water. And the airboat's high center of gravity makes them prone to flipping over. 

An example of an airboat's tall propeller and high center of gravity.

Hovercraft are much more maneuverable than airboats, particularly Neoteric craft whose patented reverse thrust system allows them to brake and otherwise outmaneuver every other hovercraft on the market. Reverse thrust is essential for hovering on ice and swiftwater. Airboat control comes from propeller thrust and airflow across its rudders, so it takes full power to achieve real control. In contrast, a hovercraft with reverse thrust is more easily controlled, no matter how much power is applied.Operating an airboat at full power is a bit like running a bucking bronco! But flying a hovercraft with reverse thrust, even at full power, is nothing like fighting a monster - it's more like dancing with a ballerina.

Finally, as one first responder said after a Neoteric hovercraft water rescue, "You've got an airboat, you've got a hovercraft, and you've got a traditional boat ... I just couldn't come up with any other vehicle that could match what a hovercraft can do. Well, not "a" hovercraft - THIS hovercraft. Caterpillar makes the best equipment. Peterbilt makes the best truck. Neoteric makes the best hovercraft."

Learn more about Neoteric hovercraft ...

The Lighter Side of Hovercraft Flight Training

If you think learning to fly a hovercraft – especially a rescue hovercraft – is all work and no play, check out these videos … and see what happens when a Neoteric hovercraft runs right over someone!

Neoteric flight instructor Steve Stafford is also the founder of Project H.E.R.O., Inc. (Hovercraft Emergency Response Operations), a non-profit group of rescue professionals who deploy hovercraft in disasters and assist police and rescue agencies. Steve often organizes informal rescue practice sessions with first responders to keep their skills honed.

During such a practice session with Indiana’s Washington Township Fire Department and White River Hazelton Fire Department, yes, they worked hard. But when the session ended, playtime began! Watch as they take campers on joyrides in their Neoteric rescue hovercraft … and run over each other with Stafford’s hovercraft ...

Yes, he really did get run over by the hovercraft – here’s the proof ... 

Just goes to show you how safe a hovercraft really is. Want to find out for yourself?

Sign up today for a Test Flight or a Pilot Training Course

(NOTE: Getting run over is not required!)

#TBT: The Neoteric Hoverlifter – “First of its kind in the world”

It’s #ThrowbackThursday and time for something big!

In 1991, as one of its many special projects, Neoteric custom designed a 5,000 lb. Hoverlifter for placing sand atop a Massachusetts cranberry farm, a grower with #OceanSpray. The Hoverlifter introduced an entirely new hovercraft construction concept utilizing aluminum tubing and fabric.

Watch the Hoverlifter on the news …

A Hoverlifter with an entirely different design and composition was also developed for #Alcoa Aluminum to move half-ton units around on the roof of a 140-acre factory. 

From Hoverlifters, to Hovering Dragons for #Disney World, to #Bubba'sHover, Neoteric has a long history of 'First of its kind in the world' special projects in hovercraft design. Read more ... 

#TBT: The first "Neoteric" hovercraft

To say that Neoteric Founder/President Chris Fitzgerald has devoted his life to hovercraft is no exaggeration. He began designing award-winning hovercraft in his early teens and quickly attracted the interest of the Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne, Australia, who hired him as a technical assistant.

Here’s an article the Melbourne Sun published about Fitzgerald in the early 1960s …

YOUNG AUSTRALIAN BUILDS HOVERCRAFT

A young Australian, Christopher Fitzgerald, is anxiously awaiting the results of this year’s Science Talent Search.

Christopher’s main interest in life lies with hovercraft, and last year he won £10 in the same competition for the design of a wind tunnel for use in the design of these oddly shaped means of transport. He is hoping for even greater success this time.

Christopher Fitzgerald with his experimental hovercraft.

Christopher has recently left school and has found himself a job at the Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne. There he is doing the thing he most wants to do - working with hovercraft.

“Three years ago,” he said, “I was reading an article in a magazine about one of these strange crafts. At that time little was known about them. I became very interested and later built my first one, which was three feet by three feet, and constructed from balsa wood. It weighed a total of 6 lb. including the engine, which was a 3.5 c.c. model aeroplane one.

“It could carry a payload of 28 lb. but the weight was hard to distribute. To a degree I overcame this problem by building four little boxes on each of the corners of the hovercraft and these were filled with weights until it balanced from its point of gravity, which in my case was the prop on the engine.”

Carry More

“In comparison with a model plane with the same size engine, it was found that the plane could carry only 3 lb., but the hovercraft could take 28 lb.

“Studying further, I found that a wind tunnel would be a great asset to the construction and designing of hovercraft, so I set about to build one. The first attempt was made out of wood and sheet metal.

“It was 15 feet long and had a vacuum cleaner engine, but this did not satisfy my needs. I then built another which was all metal and 18 feet long with a 5 phase electric motor with an air speed of 50 m.p.h.

“With this tunnel I won my £10 at the Science Talent Search but even so, it still does not do all I want it to do. I plan now to lengthen it and install a 28 h.p. truck engine with an estimated airspeed of 100 m.p.h.”

Christopher’s next hovercraft was constructed of aluminum and weighed 10 lb., being powered by a bigger engine than the first. He has made a number of attempts to use the air jets as a means of propulsion, but to date, none has been successful.

On Display

“Early last year when the Avalon pageant was announced, The Ultra Light Aircraft Association, of which I am a member, asked me to display my hovercraft on their stand.”

Since then, Christopher has taken his interest further by started a Hovercraft Research Association in Australia.

“We intend to develop hovercraft as a means of transport,” he said. “The reasons for such hopes are that we believe these craft to be the potential machine to revolutionise transport.

“A full-scale research plan has been started for the eventual building of a prototype machine.”

Because his interest in the air is not entirely limited to hovercraft, Christopher is also keen to learn to fly, and recently he and a friend bought a Puss Moth with money they earned from week-end clearing jobs. His pilot’s license is the next step.

#TBT Disney World Hovercraft Dragons

For #ThrowbackThursday, hover back to the early 1980s, when Neoteric created 15 Hovercraft Dragons for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida …

Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald (center) leads the fleet of Disney Dragon Hovercraft and their pilots.

Yes, even Hovercraft Dragons have reverse thrust buckets when they're manufactured by Neoteric!

VIDEO: The importance of hovercraft

Watch Neoteric hovercraft in action and step inside our manufacturing facility as President Chris Fitzgerald explains the importance of hovercraft to CBS affiliate WTHI-TV …

Learn more about Neoteric Hovercraft ...

Outer Limits Hovercraft Tours: A Level Above

It’s only fitting that the most ‘above and beyond’ hovercraft adventure tours in Florida had their genesis at Neoteric Hovercraft in Terre Haute, Indiana – a city whose motto is “A Level Above.”

After searching for something unique to add to their parasailing and WaveRunner tour business, Ron Michaels and Ryan Peacock, owners of Outer Limits Hovercraft Tours on Marco Island, Florida, decided that a Neoteric hovercraft was the ideal addition. “We were looking for something a bit different. We started looking on the Web and there you guys were – something to offer other than WaveRunners and typical boat rentals,” explains Peacock. So they took a demo ride and quickly decided that a Neoteric craft was their niche.

And there’s nothing typical about their hovercraft. “We came up with an “outer space-ish design and had the craft vinyl heat wrapped.” … 

Capt. Ron Michaels with his Outer Limits 6-passenger Neoteric HoverTrek™.

Why did they choose a Neoteric hovercraft? “We wanted a very specialized craft,” Michaels explains. And after taking a demo ride, then a training course on a Neoteric craft at Hovercraft Training Centers, Peacock said they were most impressed by “the ease of handling the craft. It’s just incredible how there’s no transition; from land to water you don’t feel a thing. It’s amazing!”

“The maneuverability of these high-tech, lightweight craft allows the captain to fly inches over the surface of water or land,” says Michaels. “Riders are always impressed with the transition as the craft hovers
from water over the sand and back over the water again.”

They were also impressed with the Neoteric hovercraft’s low environmental footprint. “This is a super sensitive environmentally friendly craft. Absolutely no pollutants go into the water and there’s no propeller under the water that could harm marine life. It’s a great way to protect manatees and other animals from getting hit by boats,” says Michaels.

Their decision was certainly based on experience. They both “pretty much eat, sleep and drink watersports.” Michaels is a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain with more than 45 years of experience on the water. A Hobie Cat and windsurfer instructor and parasail boat captain, he has also run WaveRunner tours, kayak excursions and boating adventures.

Besides offering 30-minute Hovercraft Thrill Rides and 2-hour Eco Adventure Tours through the scenic Ten Thousand Islands, as Michaels recently told Coastal Breeze News, “We offer a very specialized craft that is the only one of its kind in this area. We encourage enquiries and are able to design private trips. Not many can say they have taken a flight on a hovercraft and we hope to change that. Let us take you to the Outer Limits!”

Visit the Outer Limits Hovercraft Tours website

and follow them on Facebook.

What do you think about this unique hovercraft? Leave a comment below!

And why not take your significant other to a level above with a

hovercraft joyride as a Valentine’s Day gift!