Marc Sidell: “Training is the key to success.”

Marc Sidell of Seattle, Washington is a boater and a pilot, and he even considered flying professionally at one point. Since he lives near the Boeing factory, and because several of his friends are pilots, flying came naturally to him. Also, he lives near the San Juan Islands and “It takes awhile to get to them by boat, but with an airplane it’s much faster. And with an airplane you can fly all over the place,” he says.

 But Marc wants to stop flying. He explains, “I want to transition out of that because it’s gotten quite expensive - and also you have the possibility of dying!”

So he turned to hovercraft as a way to fly safely 9 inches above the ground, with less expense. And as an experienced pilot, he knew the place to start was to take a training course at HTC. “It’s like a plane; you need to train and put time in on it,” he says, “Otherwise, it could be dangerous.”

After a full day of training, Marc Sidell (left) accepts his Hovercraft Pilot Certification from Chris Fitzgerald (right).

Marc thoroughly enjoyed his training course. “It was the best day, and very eye opening,” he says, “And I loved the safety of being trained by someone so experienced and qualified. Even though it felt a little humbling at first to perform around Chris, who is so skilled, it was very comfortable to have him around.”

His training left Marc even more interested in the possibility of owning a hovercraft: “It’s versatile and you can go just about anyplace – like you can fly up a steep boat ramp. I think a hovercraft gives you a lot of independence and freedom to do things you wouldn’t dare do otherwise.”

And his day at HTC fully convinced him that training is the place to start. “Training is the key to success,” Marc says, “Anyone who attempts to fly a hovercraft without training is an idiot, point blank!”

Enjoy a few photos of Marc’s flight training session at HTC …

Wearing wireless headsets for constant communication with HTC Senior Instructor Chris Fitzgerald during his training session, Marc is ready for his first flight in a hovercraft at the Wabash River training site.

Chris Fitzgerald fully reviews the operation of all the hovercraft’s controls with Marc before launching the craft onto the river.

And they’re off, with Fitzgerald in the pilot’s seat to explain maneuvers before Marc takes over the controls.

After a morning classroom session where he learned everything about hovercraft and their operation, then a flight demonstration with Chris Fitzgerald, Marc easily flies the craft down the Wabash River to practice what he’s learned.

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HTC trainee takes advantage of “Fly before you buy”

Allen Hoopes of Freedom, Wyoming has been interested in hovercraft since he was a kid. “I’d read about them over the years when I was younger. Then I starting seeing articles on the Internet -  one that really piqued my interest was the Neoteric hovercraft deer rescue.”

His interest was piqued even further by the Neoteric craft’s reverse thrust system. “It has the ability to reverse, whereas most of what’s out there is forward only,” he explains, “That’s a unique characteristic.”

So Allen contacted Neoteric to explore buying a hovercraft – and he was encouraged to first take a training course at HTC to learn about hovercraft in depth and learn to fly one before he buys one.

At the HTC training site on the Wabash River, Allen checks out the Neoteric hovercraft’s reverse thrust buckets
– which were a main factor in bringing him to Hovercraft Training Centers.

Allen is no stranger to flying – or to boating. “I enjoy water sports and I have a boat,” he says, “And I’ve flown in the past – I got up to a solo point, but didn’t finish. To stay safe in an aircraft you need to have at least one takeoff and one landing per month. There was just too much time involved, so I traded in my plane for a boat. And my wife was always concerned about my flying.”

He was quick to recognize that a hovercraft is a flying machine. “It’s definitely a form of aircraft because it’s airborne and has similar principles to an airplane,” he observes, “But a hovercraft is the best of both worlds because I can fly yet stay close to the ground.”

After full morning of classroom training, then learning how to conduct a preflight inspection,
Allen is ready to take off on his first flight training session.

And they’re off!

Allen enjoyed his day of learning to fly safely at HTC. “It was a great day, very interesting. The classroom session was a good review of the craft and its systems. It linked well with the afternoon flight training and helped me understand the principles that were going on, particularly the physics behind it. Really helpful.”

He added, “It would be hard to control without the reverse thrust buckets, especially in small spaces where you’d need to stop or back out or spin around.”

Both Allen’s sense of humor and Chris Fitzgerald’s were flying as well. “I think I might have made Chris nervous, flying around some trees and some carp! He said I was trying too hard, overcompensating, and kept telling me to loosen up,” Allen laughs, “He said maybe we should have brought a bottle of whiskey along!”

Smiling at the end of his training day, Allen Hoopes (right) receives his Hovercraft Pilot Certification
from HTC Senior Instructor Chris Fitzgerald.

After becoming a certified hovercraft pilot, Allen was asked what he thought would happen to someone venturing out in a hovercraft with no training. His response? “I don’t think I’d want to ride with them!”

Now that he knows what hovercraft are all about, Allen says, “I’m sure there’ll be a learning curve, but I’m still intrigued and still very interested in owning one. We have five children and the primary use will be family time on the lakes and rivers in our area, which we have a lot of. It will give us better access to some of those areas.”

See a photo album of Allen's hovercraft flight training ...

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