LAST CHANCE! Don’t miss Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft at #FDIC Booth 2704 today!

#FDIC2017 ends today. This is your last chance to visit Booth 2704 and see why the Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft performs the safest and fastest rescue operations – especially in areas other vehicles can’t access, such as thin/broken ice, mud flats, intertidal areas, shallow rivers, swift water, and debris-filled flooded inland areas.

And be sure to enter our giveaway for your chance to learn to fly a rescue hovercraft - FREE! There’s no better way for you to experience for yourself why your fellow first responders in 50+ nations rely on the Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft to keep them, and their victims, safely above the danger, rather than in it.

Come meet Neoteric President/Founder Chris Fitzgerald and Vice President/Flight Instructor Steve Stafford. Neoteric is the world’s original light hovercraft manufacturer, in business for more than four decades. You’ll never meet anyone who knows more about rescue hovercraft than Chris and Steve, and they’re eagerly waiting to answer all your questions …

But don’t just take our word for it. Let your fellow first responders tell you why Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft Booth 2704 should be your top priority tomorrow at the closing day of the #FDIC …

North Muskegon Fire Department, Michigan: 

"Both the North Muskegon and Muskegon Fire Departments use hovercraft for their ice rescue operations. The hovercraft have saved more lives than our all our fire engines combined. Since 1985, 255 people have been rescued or removed from Muskegon area lakes using hovercraft. 50% would have drowned not having the hovercraft as a safe rescue tool." Read more ...

WOPR, a national water rescue organization in Poland:

“Regardless of the weather, our hovercraft can fly over water, ice, mud, sand, grass or wetlands – allowing us to get to those places you can’t reach either by boat or by foot. This machine can save people under the most difficult conditions that prevent the use of a helicopter.”

Mansfield Fire Department, Texas:

“The benefit of having the hovercraft is we do not have to send our personnel into the water to retrieve victims. It can also hover over logs, car tires and any other debris, unlike boats that could be a hazard in flood water. A hovercraft is the answer to a faster rescue – a safer rescue.” Read more ...

Central Fraser Valley Search & Rescue Society, Canada:

"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."

Council Bluffs Fire Department, Iowa:

"Our hovercraft can handle some of the most dangerous rescues that would otherwise be out of reach. It's the only vehicle able to operate on any surface; you can get it anywhere that basically nothing else can get to. With it, we're not sending first responders out into bad water or ice. We can go over it all with the hovercraft, grab the victim and bring them back." Read more ...

Davis County, Utah Sheriff's Office:

"Our hovercraft, without question, has saved lives. Much of our county is covered by the Great Salt Lake, and when the water is low it leaves miles of mudflats boats can't reach. We can't get airboats out there. When it's extremely windy it's hard to get an aircraft or helicopter out there, and even walking out is impossible. We were putting rescuers in harm's way, but the hovercraft allows us to hover over mud, ice or water and get right to the patient - to literally reach out our hand and pull them out. It's built like a plane: light, fast, maneuverable. It fills that "what if" need. And it's an awesome asset to have."

Read More

Neoteric Hovercraft’s Booth 2704 is Popular Attraction at #FDIC2017

Booth 2704 is drawing attention of firefighters and first responders at the first day of the #FDIC Exhibit in Indianapolis. That’s no surprise, since Neoteric Hovercraft is the ONLY rescue hovercraft exhibitor at the FDIC – and is also the only rescue vehicle that can easily and safely operate in areas no other apparatus can reach: on thin or broken ice, swift water, shallow water, mud, quicksand and more.

Stop in to watch videos of Neoteric Hovercraft in action and see why the it is the primary rescue vehicle of choice by fire departments and rescue agencies across the world. President and Founder Chris Fitzgerald is present and ready to personally answer all your questions.

And don’t miss your chance to fly a hovercraft! Neoteric is giving away three FREE Rescue Hovercraft Flight Training Courses, valued at $1,575 each! There’s no better way to see why your fellow first responders in more than 50 nations rely on the Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft to save lives safely.

Check out what the FDIC site says about Neoteric Hovercraft ...

Read More

#Firefighters: Win a FREE Rescue Hovercraft Flight Training Course at #FDIC 2017

Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. is honored to be the only rescue hovercraft exhibitor at this year's #FDIC International. And at Booth 2704, they’re giving away something important to first responders: a chance to for you to experience how a hovercraft improves the speed and success of your rescue operations – and lets you save lives safely.

Be sure to stop by Neoteric’s Booth 2704 and register to win one of three FREE Rescue Hovercraft Pilot Training Courses, valued at $1,575 each. Winners will be notified by May 8, and you can schedule your training course at your convenience. This is the ideal way for you to see first-hand how a Neoteric hovercraft keeps you above the danger – not in it.

Win a FREE Rescue Hovercraft Flight Training Course at Neoteric Hovercraft Booth 2704 at #FDIC 2017

If you still rely on boats, ropes, airboats and other equipment for ice, mud, swift water and shallow water rescues, you’ll definitely want to visit us at Booth 2704 to watch videos of hovercraft rescue operations - and see for yourself how a hovercraft safely and easily flies you into areas that absolutely no other vehicle can reach.

Neoteric is the world’s original and most experienced light hovercraft manufacturer; and their rescue hovercraft are in operation in more than 50 nations. And Neoteric offer the only rescue hovercraft that gives you the ability to brake and back up – critical in rescue operations.

That’s why HovercraftTraining Centers trains exclusively on Neoteric Hovercraft!

Read what your fellow first responders say about their Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft …

Perry-Clear Creek Fire Department, Indiana:

"We once had to carry a 300 lb. person on a backboard across some questionable open ice. Sure, we wear rescue suits for things like this, but they are not made for long hikes over open ice. If we get hurt while performing a rescue, all we've done is become another victim. It’s times like that when a hovercraft comes into play. The hovercraft is like a life insurance policy for our guys - that's what it boils down to.”

North Muskegon Fire Department, Michigan:

"Our hovercraft have saved more lives that all our fire engines combined. Since 1985, more than 255 people have been rescued from Muskegon area lakes using the hovercraft. More than half of them would have drowned not having the hovercraft as a safe rescue tool."

Mansfield Fire Department, Texas:

"The benefit of having the hovercraft is we do not have to send our personnel into the water to retrieve victims. It can also hover over logs, car tires and any other debris, unlike boats, that could be a hazard in the water. A hovercraft is the answer to a faster rescue - a safer rescue."

Central Fraser Valley Search & Rescue Society, Canada:

"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."

Read more about Neoteric on the FDIC website ...

Read More

Fire Department says hovercraft training has “paid off”

In 2015, Iowa’s Council Bluffs Fire Department purchased a new 6-passenger Neoteric rescue hovercraft. Immediately their first responders completed a Flight Training Course at Hovercraft Training Centers, which included flood rescue techniques on the Wabash River, then at 22.8 ft. flood stage.

The steep Wabash River boat ramp is submerged in water all the way to the parking lot

as Council Bluffs’ first responders begin their training.

After their pilot training, Fire Chief Justin James reported, “It was awesome being able to operate in deep and shallow flood water without having to worry about destroying a motor or a boat. We also got to train rescuing victims that may be stranded in trees or roofs of homes due to rising waters. We simply used the craft to hover into and hold position near these real obstacles.”

In less than a month, their training started paying off, with the rescue of a man from a muddy flooded river, with more than 60 feet of deep mud and 20 feet of shallow water to cross before reaching him. Chief James said, “The amount of time it took us to get out there would have been drastically longer if we didn’t have the hovercraft.”

And two years later, Council Bluffs’ flight training and rescue hovercraft are still proving their worth. Last weekend the department rescued a fisherman who had fallen through the ice and was submerged in frigid water while clinging to the ice shelf. Capt. Jim Maaske said their hovercraft let the rescuers find the man quickly and hover directly to him without putting themselves at risk … and added, “All the training paid off today.”

Council Bluffs Fire Dept. takes a quick test flight after a successful ice rescue Feb. 11 on Lake Manawa.

First Responders:

See Hovercraft Training Centers & Neoteric Hovercraft at FDIC 2017, Booth 2704

and

Register to win one of three FREE Hovercraft Flight Training Courses

(Valued at $1,575 each)

Read More

Firefighters / First Responders: See Hovercraft Training Centers & Neoteric Hovercraft at FDIC 2017

Hovercraft Training Centers and Neoteric Hovercraft will be featured at this year’s FDIC (Fire Department Instructor Conference). The world’s largest firefighter conference and expo - attended by 35,000+ firefighters, chiefs and instructors from more than 53 nations - takes place April 24-29 in Indianapolis at the Lucas Oil Stadium and Indiana Convention Center.

If your department still relies on ropes, boats and other apparatus for water, ice and mud rescues, you’ll definitely want to visit us at Booth #2704 and …

1) Watch videos of hovercraft rescue operations by HTC-trained pilots

2) Fly a remote-controlled hovercraft.

3) Get answers to all your questions about rescue hovercraft and pilot training.

4) Register to win one of three FREE Hovercraft Flight Training Courses, valued at $1,575 each!    

The Hovercraft Training Centers / Neoteric Hovercraft booth at last year's FDIC.

Flat bottom Jon boats and other watercraft are of questionable use in shallow water, swiftwater, flood, ice and mud rescues, and they can be seriously dangerous to you and to the lives you’re tasked to save. Come see how a Neoteric rescue hovercraft can greatly improve the safety, ease, speed and success of your rescue operations … while keeping you above the danger – not in it. It quickly flies you into areas where no other vehicle can go, and it’s the only hovercraft with the ability to brake and back up. 

But don’t just take our word for it. See what HTC-trained first responders around the world say about their Neoteric Hovercraft in comparison to other rescue vehicles …

Council Bluffs Fire Department, Iowa:

Central Fraser Valley Search & Rescue Society, Canada:

"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."

North Muskegon Fire Department, Michigan:

"Our hovercraft have saved more lives that all our fire engines combined. Since 1985, more than 255 people have been rescued from Muskegon area lakes using the hovercraft. More than half of them would have drowned not having the hovercraft as a safe rescue tool."

Mansfield Fire Department, Texas:

"The benefit of having the hovercraft is we do not have to send our personnel into the water to retrieve victims. It can also hover over logs, car tires and any other debris, unlike boats, that could be a hazard in the water. A hovercraft is the answer to a faster rescue - a safer rescue."

Davis County Sheriff's Office, Utah:

"Our hovercraft, without question, has saved lives. Much of our county is covered by the Great Salt Lake, and when the water is low it leaves miles of mudflats boats can't reach. We can't get airboats out there. When it's extremely windy it's hard to get an aircraft or helicopter out there, and even walking out is impossible. We were putting rescuers in harm's way, but the hovercraft allows us to hover over mud, ice or water and get right to the patient - to literally reach out our hand and pull them out."

Read more about Hovercraft Pilot Training ...

and

Learn more about Neoteric Hovercraft ...

Read More

Neoteric Hovercraft: A popular tourist attraction in China

At Hovercraft Training Centers, we provide far more than standard hovercraft flight training. For instance, our Master Hovercraft Pilot & Maintenance Training course teaches those who use hovercraft professionally to train others and to independently maintain and repair their hovercraft. This minimizes travel expenses for our customers and for our personnel, as well.

A good example is the recent hovercraft flight training that took place in China. Yellow River Tourist Attractions in LuLiang City, Shanxi Province, already owns one 4-passenger Model 3877 Neoteric hovercraft and, due to its popularity, the company has increased their fleet with two additional 6-passenger Model 5854 Neoteric craft.

Neoteric’s agent, Mr. Huang Xiaogang, President of China Hai Pai Hovercraft, Ltd. – the leading hovercraft company in China – sent two of his engineers to conduct the training.

First, the Hai Pai engineers (in red) conduct ground instruction for Yellow River Tourist Attractions’ additional pilots, which includes the basics of hovercraft function, operation and maintenance …

Next, flight training begins. Hai Pai Engineer Mr. Lu Chun Zhong (in red) familiarizes the pilot trainees with the operational features of the Neoteric hovercraft. Here, he explains that its patented reverse thrust buckets make the Neoteric Hovertrek™ the only hovercraft on the market than can brake, fly backward and hover in place …

The Yellow River, where training took place and where all three hovercraft will be operated for tourism, is the second-longest river in China and the fifth-longest in the world. It’s famous for being the “mother river” of China and the cradle of Chinese civilization (2100-1046 BC).

It takes its name from its muddy yellow water coming from the sediments it carries. Because of its heavy silting, ordinary boats can’t be used on the Yellow River. And in the last five years, it has flooded more than 1,600 times. Since Neoteric hovercraft are used globally as flood rescue vehicles, these three tourism hovercraft could serve a double purpose!

Unlike other vehicles, the Neoteric hovercraft flies easily across water and mud during flight training …

At the end of the day, Yellow River Tourist Attractions’ newly-trained additional hovercraft pilots proudly display their flight training certifications …

LuLiang City, with a population of more than 3.7 million, is located in the LuLiang Mountains. It has four distinct seasons, but is a tourist destination all year. Now its visitors, from China and from elsewhere in the world, will have an increased opportunity to see the many attractions along the Yellow River in areas that no vehicle other than a hovercraft can reach.

But the Neoteric hovercraft as a Chinese tourist attraction doesn’t stop there …

Recently, Neoteric’s China Hai Pai Hovercraft arranged a HoverTrek™presentation in YiWu, China for Mr. Gu ChaoXi, Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs, and Major General WenPing Feng, a Commander in the Chinese People's Liberation Army.  

The presentation took place while the YiWu Emergency Rescue Team used their Neoteric Model 3626 65hp 4-passenger hovercraft to conduct flight training for additional pilots.

After the flight training, the Team’s Neoteric craft appeared at the famous annual Jujube (Red Date) Festival in Qikou Ancient City, near LuLiang. The festival celebrates the jujube fruit, also known as red dates or Chinese dates – which have been cultivated in China for more than 4,000 years - and includes a wide assortment of cultural entertainment such as folk operas and dance performances …

And this year, one of the festival's popular features was a Neoteric hovercraft ...

For more than two centuries, Qikou, a unique terraced city carved into a steep hillside on the banks of the Yellow River, served as a vital trade hub. Goods coming by river had to be off-loaded in Qikou because the water was too shallow for boats to pass, then everything was loaded onto camel trains. But following the introduction of rail transport in the 1930s, the town fell into economic decline.

On a positive note, the decline helped preserve Qikou’s ancient structures from being redeveloped into new buildings … and now new life has been injected into the city by the rapidly growing tourism industry.

It’s official: Hovercraft + Training + Tourism = success in China!

Learn more about our hovercraft training courses …

Read More

Pakistan Air Force discovers importance of hovercraft pilot training

In 2013, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Sea Survival School (SSS) purchased two 4-passenger Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft for security patrol along the Korangi Creek Air Force Base shoreline in Karachi, Pakistan. The curved shoreline contains mudflats and mangroves that make it inaccessible to vehicles other than hovercraft. 

One of the two Neoteric Rescue Hovercraft purchased by the Pakistan Air Force

Sea Survival School is shown here during preliminary testing on the

Wabash River in Terre Haute, IN.

At the time of purchase, the PAF’s budget did not allow for their hovercraft to be equipped for saltwater operation, or for flight training and maintenance instruction. Due to this lack of training – which includes teaching the additional maintenance procedures required when a hovercraft is not equipped for saltwater operation – both of the PAF’s hovercraft suffered deterioration.

Fortunately, both Hovercraft Training Centers and Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. offer dedicated customer service. Chris Fitzgerald, HTC Senior Instructor and Neoteric President, traveled to Pakistan for a week to conduct maintenance instruction, to provide onsite flight training, and to assist in upgrading both Air Force hovercraft for saltwater operations.

The work was done at the PAF Sea Survival School, under the command of Squadron Leader Raza Khan, the Commanding Officer of the SSS. Wing Commander Mahmood traveled from Islamabad to review the training program. The following personnel were involved in the restoration of the two hovercraft: Squadron Leader Raza Khan; Senior Technician Mahid (electronics & weapons); Chief Technician Mairaj (ground transport engines); HS-1 Rashid (electrical); Skilled TM Wagar (student fitter); HS-2 Iqbal (painter); Skilled TM Najam (maintenance) and Chief Technician Farooq (road transportation driver).

The Pakistan Air Force hovercraft maintenance crew and pilots pose for a photo in their workshop/storage facility. Left to right: Chief Tech Mairij, HS-2 Iqbal, HS-1 Rashid (electrical), Skilled TM Wagar, instructor Chris Fitzgerald, a security guard,

Skilled TM Najam and Senior Technician Majid.

Senior Technician Majid (left) and Chief Technician Mairij undergo maintenance training

while assisting in upgrading the two rescue hovercraft for saltwater operation.

The Pakistan Air Force Sea Survival School hovercraft team, from the left: Skilled TM Wagar, HS-1 Rashid, Skilled TM Najam, Senior Technician Majid, HS-2 Iqbal, 
Security Guard, Chief Technician Mairij, and a visitor on the far right.

The PAF Sea Survival School:

The primary role of the Pakistan Air Force Sea Survival School is to train fighter pilots in “survival at sea.” In addition to their two hovercraft, the SSS also operates several fleets of sailboats, windsurfing boards, motor launches, jet skis and inflatable dinghies for rescue missions, training and for the PAF’s participation in national and international competitions. In addition, Pakistan and surrounding nations rely heavily on the PAF for tsunami, cyclone, earthquake and flood rescue operations.

The Pakistan Air Force Sea Survival School in Karachi, Pakistan.

Chris Fitzgerald reports that the SSS has an excellent, wide and gently sloping concrete hoverway reaching out to the sea. During his visit, the prevailing 15 mph winds continually generated 1- to 2-foot waves. He says, “This was an outstanding team of dedicated and cheerful people who worked relentlessly under harsh conditions to restore both hovercraft in a limited time frame.”

The importance of hovercraft training:

Due to the omission of flight and maintenance training when the Pakistan Air Force purchased their two hovercraft in 2013, the craft suffered enough damage that their refurbishment, and maintenance training to personnel, took longer than anticipated. This left insufficient time for flight training. Chris Fitzgerald was able to give preliminary pilot training only to Commander Raza and Chief Technician Mairij. But this can be rectified by additional flight training either onsite in Pakistan or at Hovercraft Training Centers in the U.S.

Make no mistake: a hovercraft is a flying machine. You don’t drive it - you fly it 9 inches above the surface. Just as you wouldn’t jump into a helicopter and take off without proper flight training, neither should you do so with a hovercraft.

Capt. Cory Lingelbach, a U.S. Air Force firefighter and hovercraft pilot at the Hill Air Force Base Utah Test & Training Range, explains the importance of training quite concisely: 

“Trying to fly a hovercraft without training would be nuts! We use our hovercraft on and off our base. Without the level of training sophistication that Hovercraft Training Centers provided, we would never be able to perform our missions the way we do.”

Capt. Cory Lingelbach (left) and his fellow U.S. Air Force personnel

went through flight training and maintenance instruction when they took

possession of their new rescue hovercraft at the Neoteric factory.

Capt. Lingelbach enrolled in Hovercraft Training Centers’ Advanced Training Course, which includes hard access, fast-flowing water rescue and nighttime operational training. For he and his team, learning how to operate a hovercraft properly has not only proven to boost the safety of their rescues, but it has also dramatically improved their response times. The UTTR Air Force rescue team has reduced its recovery time from an average of two hours with ATVs to just 20 minutes with hovercraft.

Military personnel and first responders: 

Learn how a Neoteric Hovercraft gives you faster, safer rescues ...

Then take a Test Flight to see for yourselves.

Read More