It’s been
a typical winter in the USA, with enough snow and ice to bring on an outbreak of
‘cabin fever’. But having a hovercraft keeps you immune – you’ll never get sick
of being stuck indoors during winter months!
John T.
Stewart and his father John C. Stewart from Milwaukee, Wisconsin are a perfect
example of those who broke the boundaries of winter by buying a hovercraft –
and training to fly it expertly on all terrain, including snow and ice.
The
Stewarts describe themselves as outdoor types: “We hunt, fish, quite a bit of everything.” And winter was making a
dent in their activities. They explained, “Our
second home is on an island near Milwaukee and, when the weather turns
inclement, we have to wait until the ice freezes solidly to cross with an ice
machine. And the same thing happens in the spring, when the ice is getting too
thin to walk across. With a hovercraft, we won’t have to wait.”
Their
first step was to buy a pre-owned Neoteric hovercraft from a long-time Neoteric
customer in the Chicago area. The Stewarts had Neoteric do a complete refurbishment
of the craft, and then they took the most important step of all – they came to
Hovercraft Training Centers to undergo flight training. As they said, “It’s a unique vehicle, a unique mode of
transportation, and we definitely want to make sure we know how to use it
properly.”
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Suited up for the cold weather, John T. Stewart (left) and HTC Flight Instructor Steve Stafford
are prepared for
John’s first training session on the Wabash River.
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After a productive training day, the Stewarts accept their HTC flight
certification. From left: HTC Flight
Instructor Steve Stafford; John T. Stewart; John C. Stewart; and HTC Senior
Flight Instructor Chris Fitzgerald.
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Neither father nor son had flown a hovercraft before, but they went
into their training course with the right attitudes. John T., understanding
that a hovercraft is a flying vehicle, said, “I think it will be challenging, like
learning to fly a helicopter or an airplane.” John C. added, “I thought it would be just like getting in a
car, but after doing some research and reading the training manual, it’s a
little intimidating. So I definitely want to take it slow and make sure that
I respect the vehicle and what it can do.”
Did the training meet their expectations? John T. described his flight
training course: “The excitement was more
than I expected; the learning curve was what I expected. Going from land to
water was a lot smoother than I expected; I thought it would be bumpier.”
His father added, “I’m very impressed! It’s
everything we thought it would be.”
And what advice would they give someone who wanted to own a hovercraft
without going through flight training? “I
think it would be a big mistake,” John T. said, “If you’ve never flown one, the feelings of falling over or turning over
or of falling out of the machine are so great – even though you’re not going to
– that it could be dangerous for somebody who doesn’t train and get the feel of
the craft.”
Get the feel of a hovercraft even
before you buy one:
