Albuquerque Police Officer Learns to Train Hovercraft Pilots

Even though police officer Andy Montoya has been flying the Albuquerque, New Mexico Police Department’s Neoteric hovercraft for 12 years, he recently enrolled in a week-long Master Training course at Hovercraft Training Centers.

“I’m somewhat self-taught and fairly confident in the techniques that I use, but I want to learn how to do much more, go through more rescue scenarios and learn more about maintenance,” Montoya explained. “And since I hope to retire in a few years, I want to get certified to train others to fly the hovercraft and take my place.”  

Andy Montoya (left) receives his Master Hovercraft Pilot Certification

from HTC Senior Flight Instructor Chris Fitzgerald.

The rescue hovercraft Montoya flies was built by the Albuquerque Police Department in 2002 from a Neoteric Partially-Assembled Hovercraft Kit, and it has definitely proven its worth. “This hovercraft is just an amazing piece of equipment,” Montoya said. “We’ve used it for body recoveries, evidence searches, and missing persons searches on the Rio Grande River. We’ve used it for Presidential visits; we take the ATF or Secret Service out to search the bottoms of bridges for explosives.”

One of the hovercraft’s most publicized activities is its role in the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the world’s largest ballooning event and reportedly the most photographed event of any kind in the world ...

The craft is vital in monitoring the ‘Splash-'N-Dash’, where balloonists touch their baskets to the surface of the Rio Grande, then take off again. If a balloon runs low on fuel, or becomes disabled in the trees and brush, the hovercraft is used to transport the disassembled balloon to a safe extraction point since most of the river isn’t accessible by other vehicles. Prior to the use of the hovercraft, helicopters were required to extract stranded balloons - at great expense to the pilots ...

  

When a rescue vehicle is used this extensively, it’s easy to see why Montoya wanted to hone his skills. “Professional training is the absolute way to go, because safety is paramount for a police department,” he said. “And learning how to train others to pilot the craft? If you don’t go to the professional to get certified in that, you’re just wasting your time. You’re not going to learn proper techniques, then you teach others substandard techniques and it creates a domino effect – a dangerous situation for everyone down the road. Small mistakes compound very quickly. Coming here makes it safer for everybody down the line.”

During his week of Master Training, Montoya definitely had the opportunity to work with professionals. Besides Neoteric President/Senior Flight Instructor Chris Fitzgerald and Flight Instructor Steve Stafford, he was also instructed by HTC-trained Mark Ellis and his highly experienced first responders from the Hazleton Fire Department ...

From the left: Hazleton firefighters Tom Shoemaker, Mark Ellis and Rachel Hyneman;

Senior Flight Instructor Chris Fitzgerald and Flight Instructor Steve Stafford.

The crew spent time in Mt. Carmel, IL where the White and Wabash Rivers conjoin and drain into the Ohio and conditions are ideal for practicing rescue techniques on rough water. In this video clip, Montoya uses the HTC Neoteric training hovercraft’s reverse thrust to maneuver next to a decoy victim …

In this next clip, Montoya practices flying the craft over obstacles. As Hazleton firefighter Mark Ellis says about the Neoteric hovercraft, “It can go right over a log, rocky shallow waters, sand, mud – you name it.”

After intensive rescue practice at Mt. Carmel, the crew prepared for night rescue operations on the river with night vision scopes, but a severe lightning storm, lasting several hours, forced them to abandon this usual component of Master Training.

Next, the crew returned to HTC headquarters in Terre Haute for Montoya to focus on becoming a hovercraft trainer …

Andy Montoya begins his first session as flight instructor with pilot trainee Heather Stafford.

Heather Stafford takes the controls of the hovercraft on the Wabash River

while Andy Montoya provides guidance and suggestions.

At the close of a week of intense training at HTC after flying hovercraft for 12 years, what was Andy Montoya’s reaction? “I’m going home with a whole new confidence. I have a new set of tools and a new set of skills that I could never have gotten anywhere else but here,” he said. “And I have a new respect for what this hovercraft can do – it can do twice what I thought it could do. I can get into places that, before I came here, I never thought I would even try to get into!”

His conclusion? “This has been the best training I’ve ever gone through – and I’ve been through a lot of training classes in 18 years of police work. It’s going to be a huge help, not only for my future on the hovercraft, but for those I’m able to train now.”

See the photo gallery of Andy Montoya's Master Hovercraft Pilot Training ...

                              

Read More

Gerald Determan: “I trained at HTC to make my dream a reality.”

Gerald Determan is a 61-year-old independent contractor from Iowa who has been in the carpentry business for 30 years - and is determined not to retire. “I want to keep working; I don’t ever want to retire,” he says. “If I retire, I’m an old person!”

And that determination is what brought him to HTC. “I’m always going to have something to do and I’m looking for something different, so I’m thinking of hovercraft as a new occupation,” Gerald explains. “I’d like to start a business selling hovercraft and giving rides. We have lots of big lakes in our area.”

Gerald Determan (right) receives his Hovercraft Pilot Certification from HTC Senior Instructor Chris Fitzgerald (left).

‘Determination’ could be Gerald’s middle name. If you want him to accomplish something, just tell him he can’t do it – and watch him go to work! That’s how he became a musician. “I’m self-taught. I took sax lessons when I was 10 years old and after 3 lessons my teacher fired me – she told my parents that I would never be a musician. I think that’s what drove me to be a musician,” he relates. “I’ve been playing music for more than 40 years now – bass guitar, acoustic guitar and 15 other instruments – sax, flute, etc. I’m playing now with the best group I’ve ever played with – we perform about 50 weekends a year.”

Naturally, Gerald’s first step was to learn how to fly one. “I’ve been checking the Neoteric Hovercraft website for five years, just dreaming about it, and now I want to make it come to reality. I’m going to become a pilot, then go back to Iowa and have further talks with the person who wants to invest in my new business.”

Gerald takes the controls for his first hovercraft flight, while Chris Fitzgerald provides constant instruction and feedback.

Gerald had never been on a hovercraft before his training course at HTC.  But his first experience with hovering left him more determined than ever to make hovercraft part of his life. And it also convinced him of the importance of training. “It was pretty darned good – I learned a lot. Training showed me the possible dangers of hovering and how to avoid them,” Gerald said. “It was a one-of-a-kind feeling, riding on air, flying backwards and sideways. If I hadn’t taken the training course, I wouldn’t get that feeling at all. It’s not something anybody can just get in and go – you need training.”

See the complete photo gallery of Gerald's flight training course ...

***

Want to start your own business? Become a Neoteric Hovercraft dealer …

But first, take a Test Flight or Training Course at HTC!

Read More

HTC grad featured on NatGeo TV’s “None of the Above”

There are two sure ways to end up in the spotlight: 1) Learn to fly a hovercraft at HTC, and 2) Own a Neoteric hovercraft. Just ask Gary Meyers: he and his hovercraft, which he named “Neo”, are becoming nearly as famous as Bubba’s Hover!

See for yourself this fall, when Gary and “Neo” will be featured on National Geographic TV’s None of the Above, hosted by the popular British host Tim Shaw. Shaw is a child science whiz turned stunt-happy engineer, who pairs science, humor and stunts on None of the Above “to amaze and dumbfound in equal measure. He challenges the people he meets, and the audience at home, to predict the outcome of a series of ever more spectacular experiments before uncovering the science behind the jaw-dropping outcomes.”

Gary Meyers (left) and Tim Shaw (right) get set for some stunt hovering on Lake Las Vegas.

Here’s a great video preview of the filming on Nevada’s stunning Las Lake Vegas …

You’ve probably seen Gary’s custom hovercraft before and may be wondering what happened to all its artwork. NatGeo felt his craft was so striking it might be distracting! “I was asked to cover the Tek-Wrap logos and images so as to not distract viewers, so Neo was all white,” Gary explains.

Gary reviews the filming: “Tim Shaw rode in the hovercraft with me on several “test flights” where we spun around on Lake Las Vegas and then flew up the beach toward the cameras and other participants. 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! (Thanks to Hovercraft Training Centers, Chris Fitzgerald and Neoteric!) We filmed this approach four separate times at my fastest possible speed, and each time I landed almost exactly on the same spot.”

“The hovercraft was the main feature of the entire episode,” Gary adds. “I also did a separate interview where I described the Neoteric HoverTrek's features and benefits, and I hope that my many positive comments will survive the editing process!”

Enjoy a few more photos of the filming while you wait for Gary and Neo to make your jaw drop this fall on NatGeo’s None of the Above. And leave a comment below to let us know what you think and if you plan to watch the show!

Want to join the hovercraft hall of fame?

Take an HTC Test Flight or Training Course …

Read More

Is a hovercraft right for you? Here’s how the world decides!

You may not think of Terre Haute, Indiana as a global destination. But, thanks to Hovercraft Training Centers and Neoteric Hovercraft, that’s what this city has become.

As far back as 1976, Indiana Business Magazine labeled Terre Haute the “Small Hovercraft Capital of the World” - just a year after Neoteric moved from Australia to the USA and made Terre Haute its headquarters. Today, it might be appropriate to update the name to the “Hovercraft Training Capital of the World” - every week we have people from multiple nations coming to HTC for hovercraft training and test flights on Neoteric craft.

This week, just two of the nations represented for HTC test flights were Saudi Arabia and Canada. You've already met the delegation from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of the Interior; now we’d like to introduce you to our Canadian visitors.

In their quest to learn more about hovercraft, David Gingell (front left), his friend Akhter Mirza (back right) and Akhter’s young son Shaan Mirza (back left), traveled from Saskatchewan, Canada to Terre Haute for a test flight with HTC Senior Instructor Chris Fitzgerald (front right) …

Before launching the HTC Neoteric craft onto the Wabash River, Fitzgerald gives them a few spins to demonstrate the capabilities of the hovercraft’s reverse thrust system …

Off they go, flying onto a smooth but slightly flooded river on a perfect Spring day in Indiana …

An HTC test flight includes flying up and down the river, over sandbars, into shallow waters and various terrain that fully demonstrates the unique capabilities of hovercraft …

After transitioning back to shore, David, Ahkter and Shaan returned to HTC headquarters to fully discuss with Chris Fitzgerald the pros and cons of hovercraft for their intended application …

David and Ahkter were originally considering starting a hovercraft ride venture, but now they’re thinking about the possibility of opening a dealership in Canada. But whether you’re exploring a business opportunity or considering a hovercraft just for fun, there’s no better way to find out if your idea is a good one than to take a test flight. And an HTC Test Flight gives you far more than can be shown in just a few photos. Your test flight will:

·         Take you through ground training to teach you the core principles of hovercraft operation and maintenance;

·         Teach you to conduct a thorough pre-flight and post-flight inspection;

·         Let you experience the full capabilities of hovercraft in action, including takeoff, land-to-water transitions, reverse thrust performance, turning, spinning and accessing difficult areas such as shallow water, mud and other terrain.  

·         Give you a thorough question-and-answer session, with input from experts to help you decide if a hovercraft is the right choice for you.

Learn more and sign up today for an HTC Test Flight ...

Read More