Seguridad de Guanajuato in Mexico relies on Neoteric Hovercraft

Seguridad de Guanajuato, the state public security forces, is a branch of government in Mexico that is similar to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It's headquarters are in the city of Guanajuato, capitol of the state of Guanajuato. The city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is known as one of Mexico's most beautiful cities ...

Near the city, Securidad de Guanajuato has a base at the edge of Lago de Yuriria. Lake Yuriria is one of the two principal lakes in the state and is a popular attraction for both tourists and locals. Unfortunately, it's also the site of frequent accidents as well as drug enforcement problems. Compounding these issues is the fact that the lake often becomes completely covered with water lilies, over which regular boats can't travel. This not only increases the likelihood of accidents but also makes rescue operations more difficult and dangerous ...

But Neoteric Hovercraft came to the rescue. Officials from Seguridad de Guanajuato discovered Neoteric Hovercraft at last year’s FDIC (Fire Department Instructors’ Conference) in Indianapolis and quickly recognized that hovercraft would solve their problems. Early this year, the department purchased two 6-passenger Neoteric rescue hovercraft with cabins, along with two custom trailers ... 

One of the two Securidad de Guanajuato hovercraft awaits performance testing on the Wabash River in Terre Haute, Indiana
prior to shipment to Mexico.

The sales agreement was signed January 21, the day after President Trump took office. Delivery of the two hovercraft was delayed due to a number of problems, including the rising friction between the U.S. and Mexico, increasingly complicated customs procedures, and that fact that the Mexican peso plunged to an all-time low, which initiated a price re-negotiation.

But we at Neoteric value our 40+ year reputation for excellent customer service and will let no obstacles prevent us from fulfilling an order and ensuring customer satisfaction. Nothing is more important than hearing clients tell us - as did Wylie Fire-Rescue in Texas, for example  – “It's really a pleasure to work with a company that proves over and over to its customers that they truly care.”

So, despite all the obstacles, the two hovercraft were successfully shipped to Mexico. Then, Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald and Vice President Steve Stafford spent last week in Guanajuato conducting on-site hovercraft flight training and maintenance instruction for twenty officers and cadets from Seguridad de Guanajuato.

Fitzgerald and Stafford were assisted all week by two excellent technical translators, Jessica Pachaco (4th from left) and Eva Machado (3rd from right). Jessica is fluent in 7 different languages, and both were of tremendous help ...

The first two days at Securidad de Guanajuato headquarters consisted of ground instruction and comprehensive maintenance training, including detailed explanations of the hovercraft's various systems and how to correct problems should they arise. 

Thorough maintenance training was essential, given the environment at Lake Yuriria, with temperatures in the 90s. The 70-mile-long lake is at an elevation of 5,175 feet; engine and fan performance can be reduced by 4% per every 1000 feet of elevation, which could affect lift and thrust. ...

Here, the trainees learn how to replace the hovercraft cabins with standard windshields ...

At the conclusion of ground instruction and maintenance training, the entire crew traveled to Lake Yuriria with one of their hovercraft for hands-on flight training. The constantly moving clusters of water lilies were no obstacle for the hovercraft ...

Despite other obstacles - such as horses, herds of goats, and student paddlers - the flight training proceeded smoothly and successfully ...

At the end of the week, the state police officers and cadets from Seguridad de Guanajuato receive their hovercraft pilot training certifications ...

Seguridad de Guanajuato's two Neoteric hovercraft will be used to patrol Lake Yuriria, even when the lake is covered with water lily growth that prevents access by any other watercraft. Now the agency will be able to check fishing permits, control the flow of illegal drugs, and to perform water rescues more easily and more safely than ever before.

Learn more about flight & maintenance training at

Hovercraft Training Centers ...

First Responders: Don’t miss Neoteric Hovercraft at FDIC 2017 - Booth #2704

The FDIC (Fire Department Instructor Conference) is the world’s largest firefighter conference and expo, attended by more than 35,000 firefighters, chiefs and instructors from more than 53 nations.

Neoteric and HovercraftTraining Centers are honored to be the only rescue hovercraft and flight training exhibitor featured at the FDIC this year. The event takes place April 24-29 at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

If your department still relies on ropes, boats and other apparatus for water, ice and mud rescues, you’ll definitely want to visit us at Booth #2704 to watch videos of hovercraft rescue operations, see a remote-controlled hovercraft in action, let us answer all your questions – and register to win one of three free Hovercraft Pilot Training Courses, valued at $1,575 each!    

The Neoteric Hovercraft booth at last year's FDIC.

Flat bottom Jon boats and other propeller-driven watercraft are of questionable use in shallow water, swiftwater, flood, ice and mud rescues, and can pose a serious danger to you and to the lives you’re tasked to save. Come see how a Neoteric rescue hovercraft can greatly improve the safety, ease, speed and success of your rescue operations … while keeping you above the danger – not in it. It quickly flies you into areas where no other vehicle can go, and it’s the only hovercraft with the ability to brake and back up.

But don’t just take our word for it. See what first responders around the world say about their Neoteric Hovercraft in comparison to other rescue vehicles …

Council Bluffs Fire Department, Iowa:

Mansfield Fire Department, Texas:

"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."

Davis County Sheriff's Office, Utah:

"Our hovercraft, without question, has saved lives. Much of our county is covered by the Great Salt Lake, and when the water is low it leaves miles of mudflats boats can't reach. We can't get airboats out there. When it's extremely windy it's hard to get an aircraft or helicopter out there, and even walking out is impossible. We were putting rescuers in harm's way, but the hovercraft allows us to hover over mud, ice or water and get right to the patient - to literally reach out our hand and pull them out."

Central Fraser Valley Search & Rescue Society, Canada:

"The hovercraft gets us into areas that, before, we weren't able to reach, areas that our jet boat can't get into because we ingest debris into the impeller. And the hovercraft saves us a lot of time."

North Muskegon Fire Department, Michigan:

"Our hovercraft have saved more lives that all our fire engines combined. Since 1985, more than 255 people have been rescued from Muskegon area lakes using the hovercraft. More than half of them would have drowned not having the hovercraft as a safe rescue tool."

Learn much more - and see how you can save lives more safely than ever before - 

at Neoteric's Booth 2704 at this year’s FDIC.

Neoteric is the original and most experienced light hovercraft manufacturer, relied on by

first responders in 50+ countries for more than four decades. Read more …

Hovercraft Training Center is the world’s premier hovercraft flight training academy. 

Read more …

China market eagerly embraces Neoteric Hovercraft

In recent years, China’s demand for American-made products is increasing. Surveys reveal that authenticity and quality are the two main reasons for the growth of this demand. In China, western goods have long been synonymous with prestige and authenticity.

This is one reason why Neoteric, as the world’s original and most experienced light hovercraft manufacturer, is experiencing an expansion of its business in China.

But the other reason – the most important one - is the proficiency and enthusiasm of Neoteric’s agent, China Hai Pai Hovercraft, Ltd., located in Shanghai. Hai Pai Hovercraft is the leading hovercraft company in China and, under the dedicated direction of company President Mr. Huang Xiaogang, is conducting superior marketing efforts for Neoteric.

As one example, Mr. Huang recently arranged a Neoteric Hovercraft presentation for Vice-Minister of China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, Mr. Gu ChaoXi, along with Major General WenPing Feng, Commander of the ZheJiang Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.  The event took place in YiWu, a county-level city in ZheJiang Province.

The presentation involved the YiWu Emergency Rescue Team using their Neoteric Model 3626 65hp 4-passenger hovercraft to conduct flight training for additional pilots. The event took place on the YiWu River, the longest river in the region.

The YiWu, China Emergency Rescue Team conducts pilot training on the YiWu River.

Mr. Gu ChaoXi, China’s Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs (in black suit),

showed great interest in the YiWu Emergency Rescue Team’s Neoteric Hovercraft.

Major General WenPing Feng, Commander of the ZheJiang Military Region

of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and his accompanying personnel

were impressed with the performance of the rescue hovercraft.

Mr. Huang Xiaogang reports that everyone attending the demonstration was impressed by the hovercraft, particularly by its rescue features: high speed reverse thrust that enables it to brake, back up, spin and hover in place; searchlights; speaker; alarm system, etc.

YiWu is the perfect city for conducting this demonstration. Founded during the Qin Dynasty around 222 B.C., YiWu today is a thriving international trade city with the largest commodity market in China - well on its way to becoming the largest global supermarket in the world. The world-famous YiWu International Trade Market alone has 62,000 vendors and is estimated to have 40,000 visitors per day. As an interesting side note, more than 60% of the world’s Christmas decorations are made in YiWu.

Located about 300 miles from the East China Sea, YiWu is surrounded by mountains and has a mild climate, which has also helped it become a popular tourist destination.

The YiWu Emergency Rescue Team’s Neoteric Hovercraft is certainly not the only Neoteric craft in use in China – thanks to the efforts of Mr. Huang Xiaogang and Hai Pai Hovercraft, Ltd. Besides serving in rescue agencies, Neoteric Hovercraft are also used in tourism operations. For example, Sichuan Baichuan Tourism in TangShan City, Hebei Province owns two Model 3626 Neoteric Hovercraft. And Sichuan Baichuan Tourism in LuLiang City, Shanxi Province, owns one Model 3877 hovercraft … and their two additional Model 5854 6-passenger Neoteric craft will arrive there soon ...

The shipping container arrives at the Neoteric factory to export Yellow River Tourist Attractions’

two new hovercraft to China. By mid-October, the hovercraft will reach Neoteric’s agent in Shanghai,

then President Mr. Huang Xiaogang will deliver the craft to LuLiang.

Yellow River Tourist Attractions is increasing their fleet due to the popularity of the hovercraft. As a recent review on a travel site said, “Thrilling experience! I boarded a hovercraft to travel across the Yellow River … Wow, the hovercraft was fun and thrilling! It travelled both on land and water. We stopped at a sand bar where we could look at the views across the river.” 

We at Neoteric eagerly anticipate a continuing mutually-beneficial relationship with China Hai Pai Hovercraft, Ltd. as the Asian market embraces the Neoteric Hovercraft.

See a photo gallery of the YiWu event ...

and

Learn more about Neoteric Hovercraft ...

Hovercraft video: Lake Havasu HoverFest

Neoteric customer Gary Meyers created this great video of the 2015 Lake Havasu, AZ HoverFest, a part of the Lake Havasu Boat Show, one of the premiere boat shows in the Southwest USA. As you can see, Neoteric recreational hovercraft were well-represented! Watch them in action ...



There's just no better way to enjoy the outdoors than a Neoteric hovercraft - but don't take our word for it - check out what our customers say ...

A hovercraft will replace most of your other recreational vehicles - boats, jet skis, kayaks, canoes, snowmobiles and more - giving you an all-in-one, all-season vehicle that will take you places all these others can't reach.

And there's no easier way to experience for yourself what a hovercraft can do than to take a Test Flight or Training Course on a Neoteric hovercraft. Sign up today and get ready for the ride of your life!

#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 …

National Geographic TV’s “Street Genius” to feature Neoteric Hovercraft!

There's no question that hovercraft attract attention. And the media just can't get enough of the Neoteric HoverTrek™. So, move over, Bubba's Hover, because you're about to be upstaged: Neoteric customer Gary Meyers and his hovercraft (named "Neo") are starring in an upcoming episode of NatGeo TV's Street Genius - to be aired in 170 countries in 45 languages!

Enjoy a brief premiere - here's footage from the May 2014 filming at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada ...

After the filming, Gary said, "The hovercraft was the main feature of the entire episode. Tim Shaw (the show's host) rode with me on several test flights, where we spun around on Lake Las Vegas and then flew up the beach toward the cameras. On the first take, I was to run perpendicularly up the sloped beach and stop right in front of multiple TV cameras. No problem - perfect landing! We filmed this approach four separate times at my fastest possible speed and each time I landed almost exactly on the same spot."

Follow our blog posts and we'll soon give you the exact date and time of the Neoteric episode of Street Genius. Leave a comment and let us know if you plan to watch!

In the meantime, check out how you can become a Neoteric celebrity ...

Learn more about Neoteric Hovercraft ...

Then enjoy a Test Flight or Flight Training Course

VIDEO: Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft in use around the world

Neoteric rescue hovercraft are being utilized to save lives in nations all around the world, and here’s just one example. Early this year, Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald traveled to Hanoi to deliver two new Neoteric Rescue HoverTreks to Tuyet Nga Co. Ltd., a security and rescue equipment supplier. As Hovercraft Training Centers’ Senior Flight Instructor, Fitzgerald also conducted flight and maintenance training for Tuyet Nga personnel as well as first responders from Vietnam’s National Department of Rescue & Relief.

At Viet Nam’s Emergency Response Training headquarters near Hanoi, Chris Fitzgerald (5^th from left)
and officials from Tuyet NGA and the Department of Rescue and Relief
join hands in a symbolic gesture of partnership.

The hovercraft are great assets to a nation so often plagued by floods and monsoons. And professional pilot training is also a great asset – especially when it teaches you how to train others. In this recent video, the pilots trained by Chris Fitzgerald are conducting training in Vietnam for additional first responders from Brigade 249 of the Public Affairs Command, who will utilize the hovercraft for search & rescue and military operations …

Learn more about Neoteric Hovercraft ...

Nine inches above the Wabash

The Daily Republican Register recently published the following article about a week-long advanced flight training session conducted by Neoteric and Hovercraft Training Centers for an official from the Albuquerque Police Department. The training was assisted by first responders from the White River Hazleton Fire Department and their Neoteric rescue hovercraft.

Check back soon for full details and a photo gallery!

By Amber L. Nixon

MT. CARMEL - Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. came to the Wabash River early Thursday morning to train several members of their one-week program.

The trainers, Chris Fitzgerald and Steve Stafford, have been giving advanced lessons to the group on the technique of piloting the craft both day and night, the mechanics of how the craft works and learning how to navigate swift water.

Albuquerque Police Officer Andy Montoya traveled from New Mexico to refresh his memory on the practices as well as learn how to pass on the skill.

“I finally had the chance to train with Neoteric up here, and since I hope to retire in a few years I need to be able to train others to eventually take my place,” said Montoya.

The group of trainees was out on the Wabash all day Thursday, staying until after dark to learn how to use night vision scopes and practice night rescue operations.

The White River Hazleton Fire Department have been involved in the past with three hovercraft rescues along the Wabash River, as well as several Gibson and Knox County rescues.

Mark Ellis pilots the White River Hazleton Neoteric hovercraft with other members of Hazleton’s Volunteer Fire Department during the training on the Wabash Thursday morning. The craft hovers nine inches above the water and makes it easier to maneuver in shallow waters, meaning it can be an invaluable tool in rescue. 

The volunteers consist of at least seven people who have had experience with the hovercraft, two of which are accompanying Chief Mark Ellis in the program with Fitzgerald and Stafford.

With the hovercraft balancing nine inches off the water, their experience can come in handy with the more advanced training over the rest of the week.

“The crew needs to know how to maneuver the hovercraft and how their movement can affect it,” said Ellis, “It can be very important in rescue.”

Although balance has to be watched while on the craft, those nine inches can be a definite bonus in rescue.

“The hovercraft can go right over a log, rocky shallow waters, sand, mud, you name it,” said Ellis.

The versatility of the craft has become a vital tool in rescue throughout the years and, as with any tool, it will continue to be used to its best advantage with well-trained professions.

Dan Brown: “The reverse thrust buckets - no other hovercraft can do that!”

Dan Brown, an optometrist from Olney, IL, isn’t new to hovercraft. He owned the Hovertechnics craft below for 15 years, but hardly used it. “I’d had no training … and I wasn’t that confident in it. I probably flew it only 5 hours or so over the years.” 

And Dan knows his vehicles. He has a Sea-Doo, canoes, a ski boat, and a 20-foot hunting boat. He laughs, “I’ve got 6 car titles, 6 or 7 boat titles – titles everywhere!” But all these vehicles wouldn’t take him everywhere he wants to go. “I wanted something new to play with … something that will let me get out where no one else can,” he says. That’s why he arranged to trade in his Hovertechnics craft for a new custom-color Neoteric HoverTrek:

Dan explains why he chose a Neoteric craft: “I got on the Internet and read about your reverse thrust buckets – and that’s the ticket right there. That’s what sold me. No other hovercraft can do that!”

And because he intends for his Neoteric craft to be his new hobby, he also arranged to make sure he knows how to use it – on the day he picked it up, he went through a training course at Hovercraft Training Centers. Watch his flight training launch last Sunday in his new hovercraft …

This was Dan’s first flight in a Neoteric craft; afterward he said, “Compared to my old one, the difference was like night and day! The reverse thrust is definitely a big difference. And this is just a much lighter craft; it doesn’t take as much revving up the engine to get over the hump.”

And he really appreciated his training. “I’m glad I trained; I learned a lot. Even if you owned a hovercraft before, you didn’t have one like this. Great day!”  Dan further emphasized the importance of training with a story about the Hovertechnics craft’s previous owner: “With no training, he just jumped in the darn thing and took off … and got thrown out of it! It scared the you-know-what out of him so he got rid of it.”

With his new hovercraft and wearing a satisfied smile, Dan (right) accepts his pilot certification from HTC Senior Instructor/Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald.

Dan, a waterfowl hunter, plans to use his hovercraft mainly in winter. “I live on East Fork Lake and when it’s frozen over I have trouble getting to places, to my duck blinds. And winter is when I have the lake to myself. In summer, there are boats everywhere, bass tournaments all the time, water skiers, Sea-Doos – it’s just crazy. When it gets cold, I’ll have the lake to myself. That’s the main thing – I want to be able to get out there when no one else can.”

His Neoteric hovercraft will enable him to do just that. And it will let him perform rescues, something else with which he’s no stranger. In 2010 Dan used his Hovertechnics craft for the first time in 6 years to rescue his neighbors’ border collies after they fell through the ice on East Fork Lake. “The Olney Fire Department and nearly 300 people had gathered to save the dogs, which were like children to their owners,” he relates. “The owner was out on a ladder, trying to grab the dogs with extension cords tied together while the firemen were telling him to get out of the icy water. Another person trying to help also fell through the ice. The dogs were just hanging there; they had the look of death in their eyes.”

But Dan gave the story a happy ending. “The owner and I flew the hovercraft right up to them, he grabbed them out of the water and I hovered right back into his year where he carried them into his house and started thawing them out in a hot bath.”

The rescued dogs, Jenny and Tipper, were lucky to live next door to a hovercraft owner.

After the rescue, the Olney Fire Department made sure to get Dan’s phone number “so if we need you we can call you.”  Those calls may start coming in once they learn that Dan now owns a Neoteric hovercraft, well-known for rescue operations and used by first responders throughout the world.

Interested in a great deal on Dan’s former Hovertechnics hovercraft?

Go to our Trade-In Showroom ...

Neoteric Hovercraft: Fly before you buy

Because Hovercraft Training Centers conduct all their Training Courses and Test Flights on Neoteric craft, you have the perfect way to find out if a hovercraft is right for you before you commit to buying one. Here’s a perfect example of how that works …

Bill Hopkins, a retiree from Kansas, has been flying most of his life – hang gliders, helicopters, airplanes. “If it’s flyable, I like to fly it,” he says. But when he started building his second aircraft, he learned that because of his asthma he couldn’t renew his pilot’s license. “And my wife told me she’d just as soon I stay on the ground. But I want to stay at least a little bit off the ground,” he explains, “That’s how I came to hovercraft.”

But Bill knew nothing about hovercraft, so his first step was to enroll in a training course at HTC. As this experienced pilot explains, “There’s more to flying than just jumping in the cockpit and taking off … you need somebody to show you how to do it.”

Bill Hopkins (left) accepts his Hovercraft Pilot Certification from HTC Senior Instructor Chris Fitzgerald (center). Bill’s friend David Raynolds (right) accompanied him during his training course ...

At the Wabash River training site, Bill learns how to conduct a thorough preflight inspection before launching the hovercraft ...

At the controls, Bill learns every maneuver possible in the hovercraft, including how to get over the hump …

With Chris Fitzgerald providing constant instruction and feedback, Bill learns to operate the Neoteric training hovercraft’s reverse thrust. This patented feature gives all Neoteric hovercraft the unique ability to brake, fly backwards and hover in place …

Bill’s thoughts at the end of his training day? “It went fine, very enjoyable. I didn’t know anything about them, so I learned everything! I might consider buying one with that reverse thrust if you have one here and I could take it home with me.”

He found just what he wanted. Here’s Bill Hopkins’ hovercraft, purchased from our Trade-In Showroom, which he plans to use for lake and river cruising and fishing – and, of course, staying off the ground!

Want to fly before you buy? 
Take a Training Course or Test Flight to see if a hovercraft is right for you!

...........................

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VIDEO: Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft Training in Viet Nam

As Hovercraft Training Centers’ Senior Instructor, Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald is in Hanoi, Viet Nam this week conducting flight and maintenance training for first responders from Viet Nam’s National Department of Rescue and Relief, as well as personnel from Tuyet NGA Co. Ltd.

Two Neoteric Rescue hovercraft were purchased by Tuyet NGA, a security and rescue equipment supplier, which will be used by the National Emergency Response Team – a great asset in a country often beset by monsoons and floods.

Watch a video of Fitzgerald demonstrating the unusual maneuverability the reverse thrust system gives to all Neoteric hovercraft as flight training begins on Suoi Hai Lake at the Emergency Response Training Facility near Hanoi …

Learn more about Hovercraft Training Centers …

Neoteric hovercraft built from kit to serve in rescue missions

Building a hovercraft from a kit is not just a hobbyist activity. Just ask Walt Sitz, an Oregon resident who is building a craft from a Neoteric Partially-Assembled Hovercraft Kit so that he can use it to help others.

Walt has been in the aviation business for 25 years; as President and owner of Eagle Wings, Inc., he performs aircraft maintenance and repair and sells powered parachutes. He also belongs to Crisis Response International, a non-profit organization that provides rescue and relief support to humanitarian missions worldwide.

Walt Sitz prepares for flight training with Hovercraft Training Centers on the Wabash River.

Walt has never considered recreational vehicles as just for pleasure. “From way back I’ve always first thought, ‘How can it be used to help people,’” he says. “Boats, parachutes, snowmobiles, motorcycles, four wheelers – they can all be used to help people. Hovercraft intrigued me because boats can’t get everywhere.”

His interest in hovercraft peaked when he was deployed to New York after Hurricane Sandy: “You can try to row a boat through the flood debris, but if I could deploy with a hovercraft, that’s what would be used. It’s a natural addition. I've been watching hovercraft for quite awhile and Neoteric kept coming up as the best one. Your reverse thrust system – you need to have that kind of control.”

What cinched the decision for Walt was Neoteric’s affiliation with Hovercraft Training Centers, which trains exclusively on Neoteric craft; he enrolled in a training course before purchasing his hovercraft kit. “That’s what brought us here – we get to try it out before we buy. I was looking at learning to train other people, too, which I can do here. Training should be the first step in any vehicle. You don’t just jump in a plane and say, ‘I think I can figure it out.’ If you can’t, the alternatives are not good.”

Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald shows Walt how to easily unload a Neoteric hovercraft from its custom trailer.

Chris Fitzgerald has Walt's wife Pat listen to his entire flight training session via wireless headsets.

Walt is an aircraft pilot and owns a Cessna 180 ’55 and a De Havilland Beaver. He rebuilt the Beaver from scratch in less than a year, so he’s a natural for constructing his own hovercraft from a kit. And his project will not only be enjoyed – it will also serve to benefit others.

You don’t have to be an aircraft mechanic, however, to build a Neoteric kit hovercraft. Read the experiences, with step-by-step photos, of others who have constructed their own hovercraft in the Neoteric HoverGarage ...

But first things first: see if a hovercraft is right for you with a Hovercraft Training Centers Test Flight or Training Course ...

Paul Biggerstaff's Custom Camouflage Hovercraft

"Neoteric" means "novel and contemporary"; it was chosen as our company name to exemplify our clientele, who want the latest and most unique technology. But the Neoteric-ness doesn't stop with technology - we work with every customer to customize their craft in whatever ways they choose.

Paul Biggerstaff of Woosung, Illinois is an adventurer - a skydiver and gyrocopter pilot - who says he gets bored easily. That's never going to happen in his Neoteric Hovertrek™ with its Advantage Wetland Camouflage color scheme, hand-painted by a skilled artist ...

"I wanted something unique," Paul says, "A gyrocopter has a niche like your hovercraft does - it's unique and different and that's what drew me toward it. We started doing web searches and found Neoteric; it looked like you were the leader of the pack so we zeroed in on you!" 

Here, Paul and his hovercraft arrive at the Wabash River for his first flight training session with
Hovercraft Training Centers ...

The Neoteric hovercraft's reverse thrust buckets are one of it's out-of-the-ordinary features that attracted Paul. Its reverse thrust system makes the Neoteric Hovertrek™ the only hovercraft on the market with the ability to brake, back up and hover in place ... 

Chris Fitzgerald, President of Neoteric Hovercraft and also Hovercraft Training Centers' chief flight instructor, gives Paul a thorough overview before takeoff ... 

As Fitzgerald launches the craft onto the river, Paul is obviously enjoying his adventure even before he takes the controls ... 

As Paul gets down to the serious work of learning to fly, Fitzgerald provides constant instruction via wireless headsets ... 

At the end of the day, Paul receives his pilot certification before he heads back to Illinois to enjoy river adventures not possible in other vehicles. "I live in a river town and have a pontoon and I've had ski boats and all that. But the hovercraft is very interesting because we have a lot of sand bars and mudflats - it'll be perfect for those!" 

You don't need a hovercraft of your own to learn to fly one -

Read more at Hovercraft Training Centers ...