Hovercraft Operation: A Three-Legged Stool

We at Hovercraft Training Centers use the analogy of hovercraft operation as a three-legged stool: If one leg is weak, it topples. The three legs are: 1) A properly engineered hovercraft; 2) Thorough pilot training; and 3) A comprehensive maintenance program.

When you simply buy a hovercraft and take off on your own without pilot or maintenance training, most likely it’s going to end up parked in your garage and, whether you planned to use it for business or pleasure, your dream is going to topple.

But when you make sure your intentions have a strong foundation, your future with your hovercraft will play out like Barry Eison’s – its novelty and usefulness will increase over time. Barry is a 58-year-old mechanical engineer from Tennessee, who bought a hovercraft a year ago, but first underwent training at HTC.

Barry Eison (right) receives his Hovercraft Pilot Certification from HTC Senior Instructor Chris Fizgerald.

Barry keeps a journal of his hovercrafting and often sends us excerpts, so we’ll let him tell his story in his own words …

January 2014:

“I bought a hovercraft because every time we go out hunting, fishing, exploring, we see places we can’t get to. So many areas are inaccessible. Duck hunting is big in my area and one of the biggest frustrations for duck hunters is you have to be able to go from water to land to water – a hovercraft makes that possible. I’ve been looking at hovercraft for five years. I’ve looked at every hovercraft company out there … Neoteric is the only one that doesn’t have a single negative review.”

February 2014: (after his HTC training course)

“My biggest concern was being able to safely operate the craft. Here’s what I learned:

1) Training is absolutely necessary. If you don’t know how to use it, stay off of it!”

2) A hovercraft is a flying machine. Its capabilities must be learned and it takes time to learn to operate it.

3) If one gets too “cocky” or arrogant in their familiarization with the craft, you can get hurt of damage the machine.

4) It’s important to learn to feel the response of the craft and recognize that it doesn’t take much to alter its flight.

5) Anticipate the path you will take when you’re executing turns or other maneuvers.

6) Think, think, think! Starting, stopping – every move requires thought until you know it by heart.

7) Don’t overreact when responding to changes.

8) Learn the machine – inside and out, front to back.”

August 27, 2014:

“I love this machine. The more I use it, the more I realize the engineering and research & development that went into its development. Well done, Neoteric, well done. I am becoming quite confident with it and absolutely cannot wait to get it out hunting this winter. It has already opened up areas that I have hunted my entire life but have never been able to access.”

November 12, 2014:

“The hovercraft has performed very well on the Mississippi River and in and around the barge traffic we encounter. I was able to harvest my first deer from an area that I was previously unable to access but can now using the hovercraft. The state game wardens think it is fascinating and have given me the green light to use it freely on land or water within their motorized vehicle guidelines.”

December 15, 2014:

“I took the hovercraft out on the Mississippi River on Friday afternoon and deliberately targeted rough waters (barge wakes, small whirlpools, traversing small rapids over rock dikes, swift current) and the craft performed absolutely flawlessly. The more I use it the more impressed with it I am. You may want to pass this on to other clients: Do not take the training manual home and set it on a shelf. Print it, put it in a notebook and READ IT. Everything you need to know about the craft is enclosed! It has been a godsend for me.”

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Self-taught Rescue Hovercraft Pilot Takes Flight Training Course

Did you know that temperatures were below freezing this week in 50 U.S. states? At Hovercraft Training Centers, we train in all weather conditions but - especially if you live on the East Coast and are buried in snow - this seems like a good time for you to enjoy some photos of flight training in warm sunshine!

HTC is not only an all-weather hovercraft flight school, we’re also an all-levels-of-experience training center - we train pilots who have been flying hovercraft for years. Scott Hanseth, a first responder with George Larson Marine Rescue in Conway, Washington, has been flying rescue hovercraft for a couple of decades. Yet, shortly before we were hit with an early winter, Scott came to HTC to take a pilot training course. He explains why:

“We’ve been running SCAT hovercraft for 15 to 20 years. We trained ourselves. Some guys pick it up and some guys drive it and say, ‘Not for me.’ It took me awhile to learn how to get comfortable. I want to learn new techniques I can take back to my guys and train them. And I’m interested in learning more about maintenance,” Scott said.

Scott Hanseth (left) receives his Hovercraft Pilot Certification from HTC Senior Flight Instructor Chris Fitzgerald.

Last year, George Larson Marine Rescue bought a Neoteric rescue hovercraft for Scott to operate, so he was pleased that HTC trains exclusively on the Neoteric HoverTrek™. “I got tired of dealing with old worn-out machines. We had an opportunity to buy our own, so I researched different brands for a long time and decided on Neoteric,” he said, “When our interstate bridge collapsed, I got to see Snohomish County’s Neoteric craft in operation. Its maneuverability sold me on it.”

George Larson Marine Rescue’s Neoteric Rescue HoverTrek™

Scott described why maneuverability is an important feature. “We rescue a lot of duck hunters. We take care of the lower Skagit River where it hits saltwater. The tide fluctuates 8 to 12 feet a day, twice a day, so duck hunters get lost or the tide goes out and they can’t get back in, so we go get them.”

Although it didn’t exactly simulate a 12-foot tidal fluctuation, the Wabash River was flooded on the day that Scott underwent his HTC flight training …

And, as always, part of Scott’s pilot training included maneuvering the hovercraft in and out of places other vehicles have difficulty reaching …

As an experienced rescue hovercraft pilot, did Scott Hanseth learn anything new during his training course? “It was great - I learned a lot!” he said. “I had training a long time ago, but it wasn’t as structured like this was. There’s a quote in your Training Manual about a hovercraft being like a bar of soap with a motor on it … that’s true. If somebody starts flying without training, they’re likely to have a bad experience. Get some training, have a professional teach you. Don’t just wing it.”

Scott’s training course also reaffirmed his department’s decision to buy a Neoteric hovercraft. “The Neoteric handles completely differently than the SCAT. In the SCAT, you always have to shift your weight to keep it level and you have to lean to turn. With the Neoteric’s reverse thrust buckets, you just sit there. And on a SCAT, if you go around a corner the outside edge would just automatically go down. They would plow in, religiously, and I’ve seen guys crash into things with them. With the Neoteric, you don’t have to worry about it, and that’s the big difference. It’s a lot more stable.”

An email from Scott just a few days ago confirmed even more strongly that George Larson Marine Rescue’s decisions about pilot training and hovercraft brand were the right ones. He wrote …

“We used our new hovercraft on its first real incident last night and I was extremely pleased with how it performed. We had to go get two hunters that were stranded in Skagit Bay when the tide went out on them. It was dark, 26 degrees, and the hovercraft operated perfectly. There were no issues with the engine in the freezing conditions and the lights, especially the two we added to the fan shroud, were fantastic. The hovercraft was able to handle myself and the two hunters without trouble. Without a doubt, the Neoteric hovercraft is far superior to the SCAT hovercraft we have run in the past.

First responders: Don't just wing it ...

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Dan Brown: “If you don’t train, you’re taking your life into your own hands.”

Dan Brown, an optometrist from Olney, IL, had owned a Hovertechnics hovercraft for 15 years – but he rarely used it. “I had no training; I just read the manual and I wasn’t that confident in it. I probably flew it only 5 hours or so over the years.”

The craft’s previous owner was also untrained. “He had a bad experience with it,” explains Dan. “With no training, he just jumped in the darn thing and took off. He was out duck hunting and got thrown out of it because he didn’t really know how to run it. It scared the you-know-what out of him so he got rid of it.”

So when Dan decided to trade his Hovertechnics craft in on a new Neoteric HoverTrek, he took an HTC training course on the day he picked up his craft. Here, with his new hovercraft and wearing a pleased smile, Dan (right) accepts his pilot certification from HTC Senior Instructor Chris Fitzgerald …

When Dan decided he wanted “something new to play with”, he chose a Neoteric craft for one of the same reasons we use them exclusively at HTC. “I got on the Internet and read about Neoteric’s reverse thrust buckets – and that’s the ticket, right there. That’s what sold me. No other hovercraft can do that!”

Watch Dan’s Wabash River flight training session begin last Sunday, a cold and blustery day …

But at HTC, you don’t “just jump in the darn thing and take off.” First, you go through classroom training, covering hovercraft function, operation, and maintenance. Then, as pilot training begins, the instruction continues. First, Dan learned how to easily unload his hovercraft from its trailer …

Then, Chris Fitzgerald took him through a thorough preflight inspection …

Next, Dan learned how to fuel his hovercraft …

Before launching onto the river, both Dan and Chris donned wireless headsets so Dan could receive constant instruction and feedback while he learned to fly his hovercraft …

How did Dan feel after his cold but extensive day of training? “I feel like I got frostbite! But training is definitely important, there’s no question. I really learned a lot in the classroom session. I didn’t realize there was so much that went into it, and I understand it a lot more now. Great day!”  Then he added, “If you don’t train, you’re taking your life into your own hands. Just like the guy I bought the Hovertechnics from – he didn’t have any training, and he ended up getting thrown out of it. If he’d been trained, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Training on such a cold day was good practice for Dan, a waterfowl hunter, because he'll be using his new hovercraft primarily in winter. “I live on East Fork Lake, and when it’s frozen over I have trouble getting to places, to my duck blinds. In summer, there are boats everywhere, bass tournaments, water skiers, Sea-Doos – it’s just crazy. In winter, I’ll have the lake to myself. That’s the main thing – I want to be able to get out there when no one else can.”

And Dan may also be performing rescues. In 2010, he made headlines by using his Hovertechnics craft to rescue his neighbors’ two border collies when they fell through the ice on East Fork Lake. The Olney Fire Department and nearly 300 people had gathered to save the dogs. Dan relates, “The owner was out on a ladder, trying to grab the dogs with extension cords tied together and the firemen were telling him to get out of the icy water. Another person trying to help also fell through the ice. The dogs were just hanging there; they had the look of death in their eyes. The owner and I flew the hovercraft right up to them, grabbed them out of the water and hovered back right into his yard where he carried them into his house and started thawing them out in a hot bath.”

After that, the fire department asked Dan for his phone number, “so if we need you we can call you.” He may start getting those calls now that he owns a Neoteric hovercraft, known for its rescue capabilities and used by first responders across the world.

But whether its used for recreation or rescue, thanks to his training at HTC, Dan’s new hovercraft won’t just sit in his yard unused for years. “I’ll get out in this new one more,” he says, “I’ll be much more confident with it.”

Whether for rescue or recreation, find out if a hovercraft is right for you;

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