#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!

Cabin Fever? Here's the cure!

It’s that time of year in much of the world: the time when outdoor lovers have stowed away their boats, jet skis, kayaks, canoes and ATVs and are sitting inside hoping for some snowmobile weather.

But that’s not the case with outdoor lovers across the globe who own a Neoteric hovercraft. Here’s what they’re up to …

You don't need that whole stowed-away fleet of vehicles when you have a hovercraft. It's the only all-season recreational vehicle that replaces that fleet - and it takes you places your other vehicles can't reach: you'll fly easily over land; swift water; shallow, frozen or flooded rivers; sandbars; swamps; mud; snow and even thin or broken ice. What a great way to save money and guarantee year-round fun!

But don't take our word for it - check out what our customers say ...

Still not sure you want to have a Happy "Neo" Year? It's easy to fly before you buy and find out if a hovercraft is right for you ...

Take a Test Flight or Training Course

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!

Hovercraft: The novelty never ends

Here’s a familiar scenario: someone buys a vehicle for recreation – a jet ski, a boat, a snowmobile – to use it a few times, then the novelty wears off and it ends up languishing in their garage, or they sell it.

This is rarely the case with a hovercraft, and Barry Eison’s story is the perfect example. Barry, a 56-year-old mechanical engineer from Tennessee, purchased a 4-passenger Neoteric HoverTrek™ a year ago and his enjoyment of his hovercraft continues to grow.

Barry bought a hovercraft because “Every time we go out hunting, fishing, exploring, we see places we can’t get to. So many areas are inaccessible. Duck hunting is big in my area and one of the biggest frustrations for duck hunters is you have to be able to go from water to land to water – a hovercraft makes that possible.”

One reason the novelty of his hovercraft hasn’t worn off is that Barry entered his new adventure wisely - first, by purchasing the right hovercraft. “I’ve been looking at hovercraft for five years,” he said. “I’ve looked at every hovercraft company out there … Neoteric is the only one that doesn’t have a single negative review.” And next, by undergoing pilot training at Hovercraft Training Centers.

Barry Eison (right) accepts his Hovercraft Pilot Certification from
Neoteric President/HTC Senior Flight Instructor Chris Fitzgerald.

As do most of our customers, Barry stays in frequent communication with us at Neoteric. You can see from a few of his emails over the last year how his hovercraft is definitely not going to end up languishing in his garage! …

August 27, 2014:

“My overall thoughts to date are:

1) I love this machine. The more I use it, the more I realize the engineering and research & development that went into its development.

2) I want to experiment with different material for the bags.

3) This craft would be easy to learn to drive if someone drove it who had never driven anything else.

4) I am becoming quite confident with it and absolutely cannot wait to get it out hunting this winter. It has already opened up areas that I have hunted my entire life but have never been able to access. Well done, Neoteric, well done.”

November 12, 2014:

“The hovercraft has performed very well on the Mississippi River and in and around the barge traffic we encounter. I was able to harvest my first deer from an area that I was previously unable to access but can now using the hovercraft. The state game wardens think it is fascinating and have given me the green light to use it freely on land or water within their motorized vehicle guidelines.”

December 15, 2014:

“I took the hovercraft out on the Mississippi River on Friday afternoon and deliberately targeted rough waters (barge wakes, small whirlpools, traversing small rapids over rock dikes, swift current) and the craft performed absolutely flawlessly. The more I use it the more impressed with it I am. My only regret is that I wish that I had ordered the six person craft versus the four person. 

You may want to pass this on to other clients who purchase your hovercraft in the future. Do not take the training manual home and set it on a shelf. Print it, put it in a notebook and READ IT. Everything you need to know about the craft is enclosed! It has been a godsend for me.”

Read more comments from Neoteric customers …

The Perfect Cure for Cabin Fever

It’s that time of year when outdoor lovers start dreading winter … that is, outdoor lovers who don’t have a hovercraft – who are getting ready to stow away their jet skis, boats, kayaks, canoes and ATVs and then hope for some snowmobile weather.

But you don’t need this whole fleet of vehicles when you have a hovercraft – it’s the only all-in-one, four-season recreational vehicle that replaces them all. What a way to save a bundle of money and guarantee year-round fun!

In a hovercraft, you fly smoothly over land; swift water; shallow or flooded or frozen rivers; sandbars; swampland; mud; snow; and even thin or broken ice – rising above it all on a cushion of air. Hovercraft are not only safer and more fuel-efficient than boats; they’ll take you places that boats and other recreational vehicles just can’t go.

A Neoteric hovercraft flies over thin and broken ice on St. Petersburg Harbor in Russia. 

Why not find out for yourself? Take a Test Flight on a Neoteric hovercraft at Hovercraft Training Centers and experience the greatest way on earth for an outdoor lover to dump the winter doldrums.

And why not beat the budget blues at the same time: Check out the Neoteric Trade-in Showroom for great deals on recreational hovercraft.

 

Hovercraft: Not just boys' toys

If you think hovercraft are only a guy thing, check this out: TrailBlazerGirl.com finds the most interesting gear and amazing getaways for adventurous women who love the outdoors … and here’s their new find:

Hovertrek by Neoteric Hovercraft

Wouldn’t it be great to zoom over land and water without changing vehicles? Well, you can with a Hovertrek by Neoteric Hovercraft. A hovercraft floats on a cushion of slightly pressurized air so that you can travel easily over a variety of surfaces – land, water, mud, sand or ice. Neoteric offers different sizes and styles of hovercraft, including side-by-side seating, reverse thrust systems for braking and maneuverability, even a four-person golf cart. As they say, it’s an “all-in-one, all-season recreational vehicle”.

____________________

But hovercraft are not only for fun-seeking females: just ask Donna Jackson, a Lieutenant Deputy Sheriff who pilots a Neoteric rescue hovercraft for Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Department in Shreveport, Louisiana …

“We did a rescue after a rain of about 10 inches – people woke up to water in their living rooms. I had the whole family in the hovercraft AND their pets. That night we rescued about 27 people!” ...

Read more about Donna at Hovercraft Training Centers …

Follow Neoteric on Facebook and Twitter

Recreational hovercraft pilot training

Aspiring pilots from throughout the world recognize that Neoteric’s exclusive Hovercraft Pilot Training Program is the most comprehensive course available. And in addition to first responders and military personnel, recreational hovercrafters also come to Neoteric for quality hovercraft flight training.

Steven McVeety from Perth, Ontario, Canada (left) and Ryan Dagey from Bloomington, Indiana USA (center) exemplify the leisure hovercraft pilots trained by Chris Fitzgerald (right) at Neoteric. Here, Fitzgerald shows Steve and Ryan how to conduct a pre-flight inspection before the Neoteric training craft was launched yesterday on the Wabash River ...

Steve is employed by 3M in Canada as a plant engineer in charge of quality control and safety. Ryan, as President of Dagey Technology Solutions LLC, directs Neoteric's information management needs. Steve is in the process of building his own hovercraft from a kit; Ryan participated in the training course to increase his first-hand familiarity with a client's product.

Below, Fitzgerald describes how Neoteric's patented reverse thrust system makes the Hovertrek the only light hovercraft in the world with effective brakes ... 

Steve has organized power boat events, has raced hydroplanes and go-carts and is a certified scuba diver. He has always had a passion for hovercraft, but his training yesterday is the first time he's ever been aboard a hovercraft in flight - evidenced by his anticipatory smile as Fitzgerald prepares to launch ... 

And they're off ...

 

Steve wanted to undergo thorough pilot training and says he found, after considerable research, that “The only place to get proper training is here at Neoteric. I’ve really learned a lot ... and the maintenance instruction part of the Training Course has given me ideas that will expedite the building process on my own hovercraft."

At the end of an afternoon on the river, back at Neoteric the two new pilots accept their Class III Hovercraft Pilot Training Certification from Chris Fitzgerald ...