The John Talmage Family: Neoteric's First Customers

Only rarely is a corporation that has existed for decades able to credit its origin to a specific individual or, in this case, a family. We would like to share the story of how the Talmage potato-farming family of Long Island, New York, helped launch Neoteric Hovercraft in the USA.

In the mid-1960s John Talmage, a farmer and a licensed pilot, along with his sons Henry and Bill, ages 5 and 9, built their own version of a hovercraft from photographs he had seen in Popular Mechanics magazine. Today, the original Talmage craft hangs from the rafters of the aircraft hangar on their Riverhead Farm on Long Island …

What followed is a true example of “six degrees of separation”. At the time 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 sponsored by a 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. John Talmage did not come to Indiana to collect his hovercraft until 1978. Back on Long Island, Popular Mechanics published a feature story of several pages about the Neova 2, which immediately kicked off sales of Neova 2 kits for Neoteric. And, as they say, the rest is history.

The Talmages visit Neoteric

Neoteric was honored in 2010 by a visit from John Talmage and his wife Carol. Here, Chris Fitzgerald looks on while John and Carol describe their history with Neoteric to factory employees …

At the end of the day touring the Neoteric factory, the Talmages were treated to a cruise on the Wabash River, with Fitzgerald piloting the company's training hovercraft …

It was a pleasure for everyone at Neoteric to meet the legendary Talmages. We would like to express our gratitude for their vision and confidence during our early days that has played such a significant role in moving Neoteric forward through the years.

Neoteric Hovercraft Rescues Flood Victims

A Neoteric hovercraft played a vital role rescuing numerous victims in last week’s devastating flooding in Washington State USA, where neighborhoods along the Stillaguamish River literally became lakes. In this news video, the Snohomish Valley Volunteer Search and Rescue team’s Neoteric hovercraft, piloted by John Morton, rescues a woman from her flooded home in Granite Falls:

In flood rescue operations, hovercraft are able to access areas that other rescue vehicles can't reach. And, as this video illustrates, the Neoteric Hovertrek's unique reverse thrust system gives it maneuverability that no other hovercraft can achieve, allowing it to brake, back up and hover in place.

Snohomish County's rescue Hovertrek has for years allowed the volunteer rescue team to be the "calm in the storm" for local residents. In 2006, their hovercraft rescued hundreds of flood victims when the Stillaguamish River spilled over into neighborhoods outside of Granite Falls.

Students from Seoul National University of Technology, South Korea, tour Neoteric Hovercraft

In 1983, Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald was named the very first Entrepreneur in Residence at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the leading undergraduate engineering college in the United States. A solid relationship has flourished between the company and the school since then, with many Rose-Hulman students finding employment, internships and involvement in special engineering projects at Neoteric.

This summer, 15 engineering students from Seoul National University of Technology, South Korea, were hosted by Neoteric for an introduction to hovercraft and a tour of our manufacturing facilities. The students were attending a month-long educational experience in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) at Rose-Hulman.

In this video, Fitzgerald discusses the concept of 'ground effect' and explains to the students why helicopters are 33 times more expensive than hovercraft ...

Here, Fitzgerald treats Seoul student Somi Shin to a  ride on a hovering chair ...

Dr. Michael McInerney, professor of physics at Rose-Hulman, explains that he arranged the tour because, "I wanted the students to see an American factory. I also wanted them to see Neoteric's hovercraft, which are a unique vehicle." The students were particularly intrigued by Neoteric's unique reverse thrust buckets that give the Hovertrek the ability to brake and back up ...

Coincidentally, on the day the Seoul students toured Neoteric, we were shipping a newly-manufactured 4-passenger rescue hovercraft by air freight to a fire department in South Korea ...

See a photo gallery of the Neoteric Hovercraft factory tour ...

Hovercraft Pilot Training: Central Fraser Valley Search & Rescue Society

First responders Gerry Haak (left) and Scot Sinclaire (center) from the Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society, Abbotsford, BC, Canada, have completed basic and advanced hovercraft pilot training courses at Neoteric Hovercraft with instructor Chris Fitzgerald (right).

Haak completed the basic Class III Hovercraft Pilot Training course; Sinclaire completed Advanced Hovercraft Pilot Training with an emphasis on night rescue operations. Steve Stafford of Project H.E.R.O. participated in the training, providing a standby rescue hovercraft as well as night vision binoculars and infrared cameras. Project H.E.R.O. is a non-profit group of first responders who own Neoteric Hovercraft and donate their search and rescue services in times of disaster.

Below, Scot Sinclaire attends to the drowning victim during night training exercises. Project H.E.R.O. member Nick Pridemore, a U.S. Marine and Iraq War veteran from Bloomington, Indiana, played the role of the victim. Pridemore was repeatedly rescued from swift water and transported back to land in the hovercraft. Portraying a drowning victim who is close to exhaustion and unable to provide any assistance, Pridemore was lifted into the hovercraft each time by Haak while Sinclaire piloted the craft. Night vision binoculars were used to take photos in total darkness.

Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society is an all-volunteer organization who has owned a Neoteric Rescue Hovertrek™ for two years. Sinclaire explains the decision to purchase a Neoteric craft: "I'd researched hovercraft for 10 years. A lot of manufacturers are fly-by-nights, they come and go, but you need a company who will be there for you. A big seller was Neoteric's reversing capabilities - that's what Chris' hovercraft are known for. And it's great; with brakes you're able to control that hovercraft in an uncontrollable environment."

Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society works with other rescue teams in their area, providing assistance on mutual aid calls. The Fraser Valley is prone to inland flooding into farmlands and residential areas, primarily from the Fraser River. The river systems in the area are subject to rapid change due to glacial runoff and snow melts from the mountains.

The team owns a jet boat, but Sinclaire says, "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 ... Christopher Cockerell invented the hovercraft and I think Chris Fitzgerald perfected it. The Hovertrek™ is a great little machine!"

Scot Sinclaire (left) and Gerry Haak in the Neoteric Hovercraft factory.



See more hovercraft pilot training photos