Roswell, Georgia buys rescue hovercraft with Homeland Security Grant

Once first responders experience the extraordinary capabilities of a Neoteric hovercraft, no other water or ice rescue vehicle will do - just ask the Roswell, Georgia Fire Department.

In March, Neoteric Training Pilot Steve Stafford demonstrated a Neoteric rescue hovercraft to Roswell officials. Fire Chief Ricky Spencer says, “At first I wasn’t too keen on the idea. Then when I saw what the Neoteric craft can do, I said, how soon can I get one? And after we saw Neoteric's reverse thrust, all other hovercraft were out of the question.”

Jeremy Adams of Roswell Fire Department's Logistics Division first suggested a Neoteric craft to the department. "We considered various rescue boats as well as airboats. But airboats are just not as maneuverable as hovercraft."

According to Chief Spencer, "There are 13 miles of the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, with lots of shallow areas. Rescue boats just didn't meet our needs."

Roswell's hovercraft cost the city only $9,995.33, thanks to a Homeland Security Grant it received. "It's a purchase well worth it," says Chief Spencer, "since the department will now have no issues navigating the river during rescue operations."

On June 1, Spencer and Adams traveled to Neoteric's headquarters to undergo pilot training in their new 6-passenger rescue HoverTrek ...

Left to right: Neoteric Training Pilot Steve Stafford; Roswell Fire Chief Ricky Spencer;

 Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald; Roswell Logistics Officer Jeremy Adams.

In the video below, Neoteric Training Pilot Steve Stafford and Chief Spencer launch the Roswell craft on the swollen Wabash River in Terre Haute, Indiana for an afternoon of pilot training:

Read media coverage of the Roswell Fire Department hovercraft

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.

The Neoteric Military LCAC Training Hovercraft

The Neoteric Military HoverTrek™ LCAC Trainer was recently demonstrated in both the United States and in South Korea. This specialty military hovercraft is engineered as a training apparatus for LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) pilots and navigators.

Here, the Trainer was launched in Terre Haute, Indiana for a demonstration. A pilot instructor in the starboard front seat and a hovercraft radar navigation instructor in the rear seat instruct and evaluate their respective students in the port seats ...

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

In the U.S., Navy and Marine LCAC pilots and navigators are currently trained using simulators, followed by final training in actual LCACs. In contrast, military aircraft pilots are first trained in light aircraft and simulators, then in heavy aircraft. Applying this standard protocol for aircraft pilot training to LCAC training would significantly reduce training costs and improve training quality. Light hovercraft such as the Neoteric Military HoverTrek™ LCAC Trainer have an extremely low hourly operating cost as compared to that of heavy Hovercraft like the LCAC. The basic operational principles, however, are identical for both.

In addition to offering a vastly superior cost/benefit ratio for the U.S. Department of Defense than the training programs currently in use, the Neoteric Military HoverTrek™ LCAC Trainer can serve as an inexpensive means of vetting or qualifying future LCAC pilots and navigators. And, since Neoteric craft capture public attention, such a program will serve as a public relations and marketing tool to boost the success of military recruiting efforts.

See more photos at:

United States: Neoteric Military LCAC Training Hovercraft

and

South Korea: Neoteric Military LCAC Training Hovercraft

Hovercraft Pilot Training: Fire District 19, Silvana, Washington USA

Emergency responders from Fire District 19 in Silvana, Washington, spent a cold March weekend at Neoteric Hovercraft to complete the Neoteric Hovercraft Pilot Training Program.

Upon their arrival at the Wabash River training site on Saturday, instructor Chris Fitzgerald illustrates to Assistant Fire Chief Jeremy Swearengin (left) and firefighter/EMT Trent Nunemaker (right), the ease of unloading the Neoteric training HoverTrek from its trailer ...

After a thorough review of the HoverTrek's operational systems and a quick skirt repair, Fitzgerald and Swearengin launch the hovercraft in below-freezing air temperature on the swift flowing river ... 

 

After Swearengin (left) and Nunemaker (right) received classroom instruction and extensive flight training on both land and water, they receive their Class III Hovercraft Pilot Certificates from Fitzgerald ...

Swearengin and Nunemaker both serve on the Stillagaumish Water Rescue Team, an interagency cooperative effort that includes their Fire District 19 in Silvana along with Districts 21 in Arlington Heights, 24 in Darrington and 25 in Oso. The Stillaguamish Water Rescue Team has a number of nationally certified water rescue technicians, two hovercraft, two inflatable craft, and thousands of dollars in water rescue equipment to respond to calls for help on the regional river systems and lakes.

Neoteric Hovercraft has trained and certified rescue, recreational, commercial and military hovercraft pilots from across the world for more than 30 years. Neoteric’s Hovercraft Pilot Training Program is the most comprehensive light hovercraft pilot training course available.