January 2013:
“I want to share with you that we are pretty sold here in Beaver Dam on the Hovercraft concept. We have had multiple saves on our lake that would have been significantly different had we had another type of apparatus." - Don Smith, Firefighter/Medic, Beaver Dam Fire Department, WI, USA.

December 2012:
“I like the design, absolutely love the machine. A lot of thought must go while flying, unless you are a gifted person who can pick it up naturally." - Dave Ogden, Muskegon Fire Department, Michigan.

September 2012:
“The time has come to replace our hovercraft. We have learned many lessons over the years, and we have become highly dependent on the hovercraft. We are in the early phases of re-tooling our water rescue team. Our new response cache will include only one 6-passenger hovercraft and one rigid inflatable boat. We will no longer deploy with two hovercraft. It has been nice having two, but we have found that most of the time we only need one.

We have a long history with Neoteric, and I look forward to continuing that history with you, because I believe you have the best product out there. We have enjoyed representing your company to area responders. I'm pretty sure that everyone who has approached us about your product has chosen Neoteric.

I am seeking a quote from you to replace our two hovercraft with one 6-passenger deluxe configuration. We are seeking to complete the purchase by the end of this year.”

November 2009:
“Thanks a bunch. You guys are always there for us which reaffirms my belief that we truly have the best.”

June 2007:
Wylie Fire-Rescue’s two Neoteric rescue hovercraft served a critical function during the June 18 flood disaster in North Texas. Captain Brian Ritter reports, "Our two Neoteric rescue hovercraft impacted many lives on June 18. Gainesville is an hour northwest of us near the Oklahoma border, and we were the quickest team to respond.

Wylie Fire Department's Neoteric Hovercraft received national news coverage for their recent flood rescue operations in North Texas. ABC News photo

Our team arrived and was in action before the water crested at the roof lines, and we rescued 25-35 victims in imminent danger.

Of great importance, we were able to provide intelligence about flood conditions because our hovercraft could access areas that no other vehicle could even come close to. I am sure you saw on CNN and other channels that the other rescue teams had to pull their rafts and boats around the flooded areas. At least two rescue boats were lost, as well as numerous jet skis.

So far this spring, our hovercraft have been deployed five times throughout North Texas. Our rapid response team is now recognized by the State of Texas Department of Emergency Management as a readily available solution to urban flooding.
As always, if anyone has any questions, or needs input, we will be happy to explain all the benefits of using Neoteric Hovercraft."

March 2006:
"All in all, we couldn't be more pleased with their performance. Two weeks ago we received 10 inches of rain in about 6 hours. The hovercraft were deployed many times in a short period of time to assist stranded motorists and check locally flooded homes. They performed better than expected."

Feb. 2006:
"Officer Blythe and I have about 10 hours logged on our two new hovercraft. Everything has worked out well. We are about to send them for our special Fire Department paint scheme. We will send photos."

June 2004: 
"Thanks again for the VERY informative hovercraft pilot training class. It was a pleasure meeting you and obviously you made a real impression on Brandon and me. I look forward to working with you and relying on your expertise.

Lt. Brian Ritter, Battalion Fire Chief
Lt. Brandon Blythe
Wylie Fire-Rescue
Wylie, Texas

Fire Chief Ricky Spencer and Logistics Officer Jeremy Adams undergo pilot training on 1 June, 2011 in their new 6-passenger rescue HoverTrek. Left to right: Neoteric Training Pilot Steve Stafford; Chief Ricky Spencer; Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald; Jeremy Adams.

“When we go to unload Hover 1 at the river, crowds of people are amazed by its presence and how it works. We are proud to be one of the only fire departments in Georgia to be lucky enough to have such a wonderful machine.”

14 June, 2011:

“On low water, our aluminum boat can only go so far. With the hovercraft we can travel over rocks, shallow water, sandbars. The shoals don’t exist anymore for us. Before, they were our obstacle, and we’re so excited about the ability of this hovercraft to get up the river quicker, to take the obstacles away that we’ve had in the past, and make it where we can actually go up and make a difference in someone’s life.”

For several years a leading Italian Aquatic Rescue team has looked for a hovercraft to use in their operations. They tested hovercraft from more than six manufacturers across the world, including Hi Tech International Srl., who counterfeited the Neoteric hovercraft design. They were not satisfied with HTI; the craft wasn’t leveled and they were not satisfied with the company.

After this testing, they decided that the only useful hovercraft for rescue operations must have reverse thrust … so they contacted me and we settled an appointment.

After a few days they decided to buy the HoverTrek™ - without even testing it! They told me, “We decided to buy from you because Neoteric is a reliable company with “mass” production and because we feel that you are very competent and your company is very well structured so we can trust in it.”

Roberto Bellini, Neoteric Hovercraft Dealer
Hovercraft Europe, Srl.
Trento, Italy

"I'd researched hovercraft for 10 years. A lot of manufacturers are fly-by-nights, they come and go, but you need a company who will be there for you. A big seller was Neoteric's reversing capabilities - that's what Chris’ hovercraft are known for. And it's great; it gets us into areas our jet boat can't get into. With brakes you're able to control that hovercraft in an uncontrollable environment ... Christopher Cockerell invented the hovercraft and I think Chris Fitzgerald perfected it! It’s a great little machine."

See photos of night rescue operations training

“The trailer is great! Its a small manageable size, pulls well behind the units and makes loading and unloading the Hovercraft a breeze.”

“This was our 2nd ice rescue incident in two days. Both the North Muskegon and Muskegon Fire Departments use hovercraft for their ice rescue operations. The hovercraft have saved more lives than our engines have. 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.”

Steve Lague
Fire Chief
City of North Muskegon Fire Department

“This is a vehicle with tremendous potential to save lives.”

Israeli Fire Department Chief of Special Rescue
Quote from Neoteric Israel dealer Or Haviv

“First of all: Our hovercraft arrived yesterday. Everything’s o.k. with it, no damages, everything we ordered was delivered and that’s why it is so nice to make dealings with you. Everything you make, works exact as you promised. Thank you for working like that. Nowadays it’s not really common.

Besides our hovercraft’s name will be Herbie, like the beetle in the Disney film. We all hope that it will help us to help other people in the same way.”

Susanne Kamencek
Bezirksstellenleiterin
Österreichische Wasser-Rettung

“Thank you so much, we’re looking forward to [hovercraft parts’] arrival. I also have to say that Neoteric has been a total pleasure to deal with!”

“I just wanted to say thanks to Neoteric for making the whole process of purchasing and training with the hovercraft, a total pleasure. Your employees need a pat on the back for producing such a high quality life saving machine!”

Scot Sinclaire
Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

“Tampere Area Rescue in Finland tested the Hovertrek™ Rescue and realized its value immediately. They purchased their Hovertrek™ in April 2007, and named it Liituri. In autumn and spring, when lake ice is thin in Finland, the hovercraft has performed rescues at least every second day. Tampere Area Rescue reports that the Hovertrek™ Rescue is light enough to handle well and has excellent maneuvering capabilities, thanks to the reverse thrust system.

They work in extremely hard weather conditions and the hovercraft is working beautifully for them. They are always recommending it to other rescue officers, and now expect to order additional units, so two more Neoteric rescue hovercraft and trailers will be in use in Tampere next winter.”

(See more photos in the Craftima Oy gallery)

Markku Huvinen
President
Craftima Oy
Vantaa, Finland

"Thanks, Ralph and Chris, for all your advice on repairs to this wonderful craft! I just love it and it was the highlight of our open house! I gave rides to kids for over 2.5 hours straight and everyone walked away with a huge smile!

What a awesome addition to our fire dept. !!!!!"

Mike Ahrens
Assistant Chief
Big Flats Fire Department
Big Flats, New York

"The Utah Test and Training Range purchased two Neoteric hovercraft in August 2005 and on March 31, 2006 we completed our first rescue of a downed F-16 aircraft with one pilot. We were in a race against time because life flight was dispatched at the same time we were. We launched our hovercraft and beat the life flight helicopter to the pilot. Luckily the ejection from the F-16 was successful and we found him in good health.

He was amazed to see us there and surprised we beat the helo to his location. We launched from land then hit the water, then land, water, and land again. This just goes to show you the hovercraft is very versatile."

Cory Lingelbach
Rescue Hovercraft Training Officer
Utah Test and Training Range
U.S. Department of Defense

"Overall I love the craft, it's a joy to operate, I'm quite impressed. It is a huge improvement over our earlier Neoteric model which we operated since 1990."

"We have developed a special technique for swift water body dragging using the craft's reverse thrust."

Scott Schroeder
Deputy
Mecosta County Sheriff's Department, Michigan

Mecosta County Sheriff's Department Hovercraft Rescue Team in action during a rescue and recovery mission on the Muskegon River.

11 April 2006
"We had a demo a couple of days ago and it was covered by two television stations and a daily newspaper. The hovercraft performed like a charm! We love it so far."

"We really like the hovercraft and enjoyed our day with Neoteric. Feel free to use us as a reference to the departments."

Detective Captain Gary Lenon
Mecosta County Sheriff's Department
Big Rapids, Michigan USA
glenon@co.mecosta.mi.us

Use of the hovercraft isn't limited to aircraft crashes. They will also be used for search and rescue operations and to respond to vehicle accidents along the I-80 corridor. Last winter there were about 25 accidents where people ended up in the canals along I-80. Tooele County emergency responders had to send for boats after their initial response. With the hovercraft, we'll be able to get to the victims a lot faster.

They are state of the art … it's good to have the equipment necessary for a timely response."

As a part of our Ditch Water Safety Taskforce, we had a press conference in which we performed a mock water rescue to remind parents and children about the hazards of the ditches and their swift water. I have enclosed mock rescue pictures and I will also send a video of all the local news coverage.

I also want to thank you again for your support with the hovercraft. Your dedication to the rescue community is strong, and is greatly appreciated by all of us. Your hovercraft and support give us the highest confidence when we are out there doing our job!"

"Having the ability to traverse all types of terrain both safely and expediently truly makes this hovercraft a must-have piece of water rescue equipment. We had our first night time training evaluation with it and although operation was a bit slower, it performed wonderfully. To all the crew at Neoteric, not only are you providing recreational opportunities for people, but you are saving lives, both rescuers and victims alike. That is something anyone should be proud to be part of."

"I've had the hovercraft out for two three-hour flights. It performs very well with four people in it. I'm doing my break-in period on frozen Lake Hood. Both days it was about twenty degree (F) and about twelve knots of wind."

26 March 2002
“We had a large water main break during the night near the southeast side of Lake Hood. Lake Hood is a Sea Plane Base within the Anchorage Airport. This resulted in three ski planes sinking. The water apparently caused the entire section of ice, on which the aircraft were tied down, to collapse and sink - The aircraft still attached to the ice layer, which was now on the bottom of the lake.

Neoteric Hovercraft to the rescue! Andy Helm and I had to fly across a lot of deep and drifted snow to get to the affected section of the lake. Once on scene we were able to start cutting the aircraft tie down lines to prepare for towing the aircraft out of the water. Two tail tie downs had to be cut under water. With the help of the aircraft owners, we were able to tie ropes to the main landing gear of each aircraft. We then used the hovercraft to tow long, heavy cables from tow trucks to each aircraft. During the operation, the water was rapidly turning to heavy slush and the surface was icing over. We used the hovercraft to break through the ice between the aircraft and the tow trucks. Otherwise there would have been no way to get the aircraft out.

We had a fair amount of wind and snow throughout the mission, but were able to maneuver the hovercraft in very tight quarters around the aircraft. The Neoteric Hovercraft handled every part of the mission beautifully - hauling a lot of people and gear over snow, heavy slush and open water, tight maneuvering, and towing heavy cables. Great craft! Timely recovery of three aircraft."

My name is Mike Patrick and I have the pleasure of owning one of your Hovercraft.

It spends the winter at Larry Taylor's and has been a very useful tool in the past, when the river gets so low that no boat can travel then it is for sure hovercraft time. As I live 10 miles down the 40mile river and the only way is by river!

This summer we had the lowest water in the river rocks sticking up everywhere and a MONSTER FIRE. Your old hover craft was the only thing that could get up and down the river, The BLM Fire Dept. needed to get pumps, Hoses and personnel down river to save historical Cabins, Yes you guessed it my hover craft was hired to do the work and let me tell you one of the boys that I took down was 290 lbs. and his gear was 60lbs and I weigh 220 Lbs and the bottom of the craft had holes in it 3 feet long and 8 inches wide both sides and still did its job! I Patched it with plastic trash cans and pop rivets, no time to fiber glass it, fire people needed to haul people and equipment every day for a couple of weeks!