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Showing posts with label Bubba's Hover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bubba's Hover. Show all posts

08 April 2015

Let Bubba’s Hover star at your next event!

Remember how the viral video of Bubba Watson’s BWI - Bubba’s Hover - took the world by storm? Just imagine how the appearance of that phenomenal hovercraft golf cart at your next event could boost attendance and publicity!

No, you don’t have to buy one to make that happen. Neoteric Hovercraft, who created Bubba's BWI and manufactured the limited edition series of official Bubba’s Hover replicas, has just announced that their hovercraft golf carts – complete with a professional HTC-trained pilot – are now available for you to rent!

Everyone knows that Bubba’s Hover draws major attention wherever it appears. It’s the ideal attraction to explode media coverage and attendance, not just at golf tournaments but at any type of function: fundraisers, corporate events, grand openings, trade shows, private celebrations – any event imaginable! How about a hover-wedding? 

If you’re involved in the planning or hosting of an upcoming event, there’s no better way to put the “special” in that event than to give your guests exciting rides on a hovercraft. And it doesn’t have to be a golf course event – the Neoteric Hovercraft Golf Cart will fly anywhere, even over ice, snow or mud. 

Be sure to pass this on! Even if you’ve simply been invited to attend an upcoming event, let the event planners or venue owners know about this exciting opportunity!

See how easy it is to rent a Neoteric Hovercraft Golf Cart …

Call 1-812-234-1120


Make this happen at your upcoming event ...




19 February 2015

#Throwback Thursday Vintage Hovercraft Video

Long before the formal founding of Hovercraft Training Centers – and before the development of the ultra-modern HoverTrek™ we train with today – Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. was making history. That longevity as the world’s original light hovercraft manufacturer is one of the reasons we use Neoteric craft exclusively.

On this #TBT, let’s look back to a couple of Neoteric’s precursors to today’s HoverTrek™ - the Neova II and the LeMere. In the early 1980s, as their hovercraft were chosen to star in international television commercials, Neoteric was well on the way to the kind of fame they’ve earned today with Bubba’s Hover.

In this commercial for Brazil’s Hollywood Cigarettes, filmed on Lake Isabella in California, Neoteric provided four pilots, two LeMere and two Neova II hovercraft. When ordinary boats just aren’t glamorous enough, Neoteric hovercraft save the day! …


Also check out this video of vintage Neoteric hovercraft featured in a 1983 commercial for Canada’s Labatt’s Beer … and enjoy a Photographic Half-Century History of Hovercraft Training Centers and the Neoteric training hovercraft.

Essential even for a short commercial shoot, training has always been, and always will be, – the single most important factor for the successful operation of a hovercraft. And as the originator of the first successful light hovercraft, Neoteric and HTC founder Chris Fitzgerald has spent more than 50 years piloting, designing and developing hovercraft – and training those who fly them. Who better to be your instructor?

Time to step out of the past and into your future –
See how a hovercraft can make it brighter: Take a Test Flight or Training Course!










19 December 2014

“It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Bubba Claus!”

There’s a reason Hovercraft Training Centers trains exclusively on Neoteric hovercraft – the Neoteric HoverTrek™ is undisputedly the most innovative, effective and interesting hovercraft on the market. That’s why Bubba Watson chose Neoteric to manufacture his BW1 hovercraft golf cart – and chose HTC to teach him to fly it.

Following on the heels of Bubba’s Hover, his world-famous viral video, Bubba is now ‘rapping’ his Christmas gift. He just released a new rap video, “Bubba Claus – The Single” – and after just a couple of days, it already has more than half a million views on YouTube.

The media worldwide are all over it – but the reviews are a bit mixed. For instance, UK’s Daily Mail reported, “Every rapper should have a cool set of wheels – and Watson’s golf buggy certainly oozes class.” The Washington Post said, “Bubba Watson knows the best way to offer a Christmas gift – he breaks out his hovercraft, making sure to remind everyone that he owns the awesome vehicle.” But Golf Channel wrote, “Bubba Claus brings joy to your heart, pain to your ears.

We’re not qualified to judge Bubba’s talent as a musician – we only taught him to fly his hovercraft golf cart. Take a look at his video and leave a comment to tell us what you think – about Bubba the rapper and Bubba’s hovercraft …





27 May 2014

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







25 March 2014

VIDEO: Bubba Watson has nothing on Gary Meyers!

Bubba’s hovercraft golf cart made a major splash with the Bubba’s Hover viral video. Let's make this one go viral, too!  

Watch HTC grad Gary Meyers turn the Refuge Golf & Country Club’s Wine Festival in Lake Havasu City, Arizona into an extraordinary event. (By the way, "Neo" is his hovercraft's name.) Just goes to show you that with proper training and any Neoteric HoverTrek you, too, can hover like Bubba … 





Hover like Bubba and Gary – Take a Test Flight! …




08 February 2014

Let Cupid take flight in a whole new way!

A card, chocolates, dinner … sure, that’s fine. But here’s a way to make this Valentine’s Day the sweetest one ever. Treat your significant other to a Neoteric hovercraft joyride at HTC headquarters in Terre Haute, Indiana!

Learn a bit more about Neoteric Hovercraft from Wealth TV’s Boys Toys, hosted by Emmy-nominated Jenn Barlow …



Are you ready to give the most unique gift possible? Just click the link below to sign up and we’ll contact you within 48 hours to schedule the flight for the date of your choice. Then we’ll email you a gift certificate to enclose in that Valentine’s Day card.

There’s no better way to hover into your lover’s heart than the gift of a flight on a Neoteric Hovercraft – the makers of Bubba’s Hover, Bubba Watson’s BWI hovercraft golf cart!

01 February 2014

HTC grad Alberto Torruella: “I think training should be required.”

Alberto Torruella is a man who knows his business. The 80-year-old attorney comes from a background of sugar cane farming in Puerto Rico. Then things got interesting: “Initially our business was sugar, but my great-grandfather started producing rum. After Prohibition, we set up a distillery and went into the rum business, which was kind of a secondary business at the time.” Alberto’s “secondary business” is now the Serralles Distillery, makers of Don Q Rum. It’s not only the largest rum producer in Puerto Rico, but the second largest producer of quality rums in the United States. Then a decade ago he went into the hotel business as well, and when he bought his first hotel, he added a golf course.

Alberto lives on a beach in Puerto Rico and when he retired last year, he discovered the hovercraft golf cart via the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog. “I figured this was something to keep me busy,” he says. But business is never far from his mind, so he realized he could also benefit from the Bubba’s Hover phenomenon: “And I thought it would help the golf course. Puerto Rico has 12 or 13 golf courses – lots of competition for attracting golfers – so we can offer rides.”

Like all good businessmen, Alberto decided to test the viability of his plan – so his first step was to undergo pilot and maintenance training at HTC last November before he bought his Neoteric HoverGolf™ Cart…
Alberto Torruella (left) receives his pilot certification from HTC Senior Instructor Chris Fitzgerald.
I decided to take training to see how it works out, whether I can handle it.” he said. “Obviously I know it takes practice; you don’t do it overnight. You don’t do anything like that. It’s not just knowing you have to press X button; it’s doing it, and doing it with instruction.

Alberto is a pilot and has operated boats and motorcycles since he was a child. But after completing his training course at HTC he said, “This is different. I used to drive motorcycles so I’m used to speed and some crazy things – but not this crazy! I mean, you’re going 30 mph and all of a sudden you can spin and go backwards!

Then he added, “There are some things you’re never going to do by yourself until you see it done by someone else and learn what works. You have to know what can be done and practice it. I think training should be required.”


Considering a hovercraft for business or pleasure?
Test the viability of your plan with a Test Flight or Training Course.


16 January 2014

HTC Instructor & HoverGolf Cart Join Wall Street Execs at Club Med

Did you think Bubba’s Hover was just a passing fad? If so, think again! Since the world discovered that Neoteric’s Hovercraft Golf Cart is an attention-getter, it has definitely been going places - events throughout the world are featuring it as a major attraction.

This weekend, HTC’s Flight Instructor Steve Stafford will join Wall Street executives, investors, and world business leaders at Club Med in Port St. Lucie, Florida for “the ultimate adventure in capitalism”: the Noble Financial Capital Markets 10th Annual Equity Conference. While Cadillac provides general transportation at this famed event (last year it was Porsche), Steve will really have them flying high with rides in the HoverGolf Cart.


The 550 attendees will enjoy every luxury and leisure activity imaginable – from sailing, paddle boarding and flying trapeze lessons, to tennis with world-famous coach Gabriel Jaramillo and golf with the Club Med Academy and its renowned teaching pros. And, of course, gliding over the greens and hazards with an HTC pro in the most famous golf cart in the world!

In every way, this annual event is business at its best. As Mark Pinvidic, Noble’s managing partner and chief organizer of Noble 10 says, “We’re sure this one is going to score a perfect ten!”

No doubt about it, with HTC and the Neoteric HoverGolf Cart on board!


Check back next week to see event photos!




10 January 2014

Watch tomorrow! HTC hovercraft on Discovery Channel/Velocity TV Tech Toys 360!

This will show you why HTC trains on Neoteric hovercraft! Discovery Channel/Velocity TV’s Tech Toys 360 travels the world to find the most innovative vehicles and let you meet the people behind them. So of course they found the Neoteric Hovercraft and Bubba’s Hover!  

Tune in tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 11 at 8:30 p.m. (7:30c), to meet Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald (HTC’s Senior Instructor) and take a tour through the Neoteric factory on the latest Tech Toys 360 episode, Above and Beyond! Here’s a preview …





27 December 2013

This weekend: HTC on Inside INdiana Business Television

Last April, in the midst of the Bubba’s Hover hubbub, HTC founder and senior instructor Chris Fitzgerald was featured on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.


The show was such a hit that it’s being broadcast again this weekend as part of IIB’s Special 2013 Look Back Show. In case you missed out in April, here’s the programming schedule so you can still get the inside scoop!

27 November 2013

HTC Trains Hovercraft Golf Cart Pilots in Ukraine

As the Bubba's Hover phenomenon continues to spread, HTC is traveling the world to train Hovercraft Golf Cart pilots!

Watch Superior Golf and Spa Resort - owners of the first Neoteric Hovercraft Golf Cart in Ukraine - undergo pilot training on site in their new craft. And check back soon for the full story, with lots of photos!

25 November 2013

"Hovering" on the Coattails of Bubba's Hover

The Neoteric hovercraft exclusively used by HTC are the most copied hovercraft in the world – check it out at the World Hovercraft Organization’s Hovercraft Ripoff Report. As the old saying goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

And since the Bubba’s Hover phenomenon, even major companies like Fiat are jumping on the hovercraft bandwagon. Last week the MSC Divina Cruise ship was escorted into Miami by a fleet of “Fiat 500 Hovercraft” …
But wait – those Fiats are in no way hovercraft. They’re not flying on a cushion of air – they’ve just been made into boats by sticking a propeller or water jet beneath them. This is like calling a canoe a hot air balloon!

Watch the video – would you call these hovercraft?

You definitely wouldn’t after you take a Test Flight or go through Training at HTC. Rest assured – we use the real thing!



14 November 2013

HTC and Neoteric hit the jackpot in Las Vegas

HTC and Neoteric Hovercraft were a smash hit in Las Vegas last week, when the Neoteric Hovercraft Golf Cart was showcased at the 2013 Caesars Palace Great Gift Wrap Up for high rollers at the Flamingo Ballroom.

It’s a sure bet that this is a vehicle like no other. Nancy & Frank D’Amico are a perfect example of how attendees reacted to this innovative vehicle – even if they’re not golfers …



As Caesars Palace promoted it, "This is the first time a "jackpot" item is up for grabs: a Neoteric Hovercraft Golf Cart, an exact replica of the BW1 hovercraft golf cart Neoteric designed for Masters Champion Bubba Watson. As one of few built in the world, think of it as an ultra-modern golf cart - on steroids. Behind the wheel, be the James Bond of the golf course, as it effortlessly glides over fairway grass, water, sand traps and ice."

But just as the D'Amicos quickly recognized, the Neoteric Hovercraft Golf Cart gives you an incredible drive even if you never swing a golf club. It meets all U.S. Coast Guard standards and can be flown on any waters, snow or ice worldwide. What other golf cart can you use for river cruising, island hopping, ice fishing, snowmobiling and even surfing across mudflats? This is it, folks.

And here’s the real jackpot: Everyone who ordered Neoteric Hovercraft at the Great Gift Wrap Up gets a Standard Training Course at HTC – free!

What else might Caesars Palace do with their Neoteric Hovercraft Golf Cart? Follow Caesars on Facebook and find out!


12 November 2013

Fiberglass Supervisor job opening at Neoteric Hovercraft

Want to play an important role in building the hovercraft we use for training at HTC – and join the team that Bubba Watson chose to build his BW1 hovercraft golf cart for the viral video Bubba’s Hover? For more than 50 years, Neoteric has been globally recognized for innovation and artistry in design, and this is your chance to be a hands-on contributor. Neoteric is looking for a Fiberglass Supervisor to lead a crew of accomplished craftspeople.

Their ideal candidate will have hands-on fiberglassing experience at a high-end boat or aircraft factory. The position offers a competitive salary along with health, vision and dental insurance – not to mention a stable career with a fast-growing, internationally-renowned company with clientele in more than 50 nations.

If you meet the requirements below and would like to apply, you can complete Neoteric’s online application, or email your cover letter, resume and references to hovermail@neoterichovercraft.com.

Primary responsibilities include:
·         Independently manage day-to-day operations in the fiberglass shop, and to do all needed fiberglass handwork
·         Eliminate waste; increase capabilities and efficiencies
·         Foster a positive work environment
·         Develop standards and training for new and current employees
·         Ensure employee compliance with all company policies, standards and lean manufacturing methods
·         Devise and implement manufacturing strategies to ensure goals are met
·         Review and evaluate processes with engineering department
·         Create teamwork and foster positive attitudes
·         Ensure quality throughout manufacturing processes

Qualifications:
·         Extensive hands-on fiberglass manufacturing experience: repair, gel coating, lamination, mold building and repair, design and build plugs, composite and polyester
·         Past training / apprenticeship in fiberglass fabrication
·         5+ years in a supervisory position
·         Experience in lean manufacturing (Kaizen)
·         Ability to oversee and manage technicians
·         Strong analytical and problem solving skills
·         Solid computer skills
·         Leadership, teamwork, and communication skills

17 September 2013

Hovercraft Golf Cart Training

By now you probably know that Windy Knoll Golf Club in Springfield, Ohio is the first golf course in the world to feature Neoteric HoverGolf™ Carts - the official replicas of Bubba’s Hover. What you may not know is Windy Knoll personnel were trained at HTC!

Windy Knoll General Manager Dave Duffey and Golf Course Superintendent Gary Price traveled to HTC headquarters to undergo pilot and maintenance training before their hovering golf carts debuted. As Dave said before his training began, “It’s just like with the equipment we use to maintain our golf course – if you don’t train properly, you pay the price for that in repairs.”

After intensive classroom training, Dave and Gary, like every HTC trainee, learn to perform a thorough preflight inspection before a hovercraft – golf cart or not – is fired up …

Wireless headsets in place for constant communication, Gary (left) and Dave (right) are all set for their first flight training session at the Wabash River with flight instructor Chris Fitzgerald (center). Yes, this is a flying golf cart! …

With Dave in the passenger seat, instructor Chris Fitzgerald launches the Windy Knoll HoverGolf™ onto the river. Warning: Don’t try this in your traditional old golf cart! …

Flying easily up the river, Dave appreciates the exceptional maneuverability of his new hover golf cart – on water hazards, sand traps or greens …

Concerns about the hovercraft golf cart’s noise? Well, if it doesn’t fluster the wildlife, it isn’t going to disturb golfers! …

After earning their hovercraft pilot certification at HTC, Dave and Gary both agreed that training was a “very humbling experience. We can’t imagine owning a hovercraft without the kind of training HTC offers.” ...

And their afternoon of flight training showed them the versatility of the hovercraft golf cart. It isn’t just good for the greens – it’s good for a fishing trip or river cruise after that round of golf. Or how about ice fishing or hovering over snow in winter when golf courses are closed? You can learn how to do it all at Hovercraft Training Centers!


13 September 2013

Pete Garland: "It's all about excitement, adventure!"

Pete Garland of Coldspring, Texas, is a retired oil company engineer who enrolled in a Hovercraft Training Centers course for the same reason he went into the oil business: “It’s interesting – and I look for excitement, adventure.”

Pete Garland (left) receives his hovercraft pilot certification from HTC President Chris Fitzgerald.
But to Pete, retirement is definitely not the world’s longest coffee break. He has jet skis, four wheelers, a couple of boats and four ATVs – and grandchildren to enjoy his vehicles with him. He explains why he signed up for training before buying a hovercraft: “The reason I thought about a hovercraft is it looks like it could be a new adventure, a lot of fun. But I don’t think you can just toss your keys to the grandkids and say, ‘Here, give it a go’ like you can with jet skis. You’ve got to know what you’re doing. And I’m not sure how you repair these things, so today I’ll learn.”

And he did. After a morning of classroom and maintenance training, Pete learned how to conduct a preflight inspection before his first flight training session …


Pete first learned about hovercraft from his son-in-law, an avid golfer who got really excited when he saw the Bubba’s Hover viral video of the hovercraft golf cart Neoteric created for Bubba Watson. “He’s just as excited about me coming here for training,” Pete says. “He wants me to buy him a hovercraft, too!

Before his flight session began, Pete anticipated that flying a hovercraft would be different than operating other watercraft: “Directly on the water you have a lot of control, but from reading the manual, when you’re floating on air there’s a little more of a control issue.”

But control wasn’t an issue once he learned to fly. In the pilot seat, Pete takes over the hovercraft controls while HTC instructor Chris Fitzgerald provides constant guidance …

At the end of his training day, when asked what three words would best describe him, Pete said, “Adventurous, outgoing and in good health.” Then he added, “I’m not too old for this!”

You bet he isn’t! As Henry Ford - a man who knew a thing or two about vehicles - said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”


Hold back time - learn to fly a hovercraft!