AirBoats and Alligators

In the past I have written strictly about Hovercraft in this blog, but my Backwater Adventures have taken me to other places using various means of transportation. On a  recent trip to Florida we decided to try an air boat to discover the difference and or similarities. Our captain for the day was Greg (shown in the picture to the right) a very personable southern gentleman who assured us from the start that he had many years of air boat experience. It did not take long to discover for ourselves that he was telling the truth. It was fun to watch his maneuvering through areas that were less than adequate for the size of air boat we were in. The boat was powered by a 450 HP V8. The Hostess Sharon, who signed us up was very friendly and most helpful. The tour took just over an hour and Greg allowed a young man about 11 to sit next to him and be our gator spotter. The lake contains over 3000 alligators so in our hour tour we spotted or at least counted 56, in addition to the gators the lake is also home to snakes, turtles, wild animals including panthers, and various local and migrating water birds,. The air boat is a unique vehicle with many of the hovercraft characteristics with one exception, it is on the water and land not above it like a hovercraft. If you have never tried air boating I recommend it for the simple reason it allows you to make an informed decision when purchasing a hovercraft. I will not be trading off my hover for an air boat but it was a fun trip. All in all the cruise cost is fun and worth the time to take it. If you are in the Naples FL. area look them up and take the tour. Tell them Terry from TLS WindSled sent you, they may give you a discount. Thank you Capt. Greg and Airboats & Alligators for a fun and informative outing.

 Airboats & Alligators

6001 Lake Trafford Rd., Immokalee, FL 34142

239-657-2401

  
All Photos of Airboats & Alligators are courtesy of TripAdvisor

Potential commercial uses for the hovercraft

After recently seeing the flurry of interest in the hovercraft as a golf cart novelty perhaps it's time to present some ideas for the use of hovercraft in untapped areas. TLS WindSled Inc is capable of custom designing any hovercraft on the market to fulfill all of the following uses. Since 2005 we have sold hover to many people who have used the units for these purposes.
1. Agricultural Sprayer- the unique properties of the hovercraft make it an ideal vehicle for applying various liquid fertilizers and minerals to crops. The hovers small footprint on cushion and at rest prevent damage to young plants and grasses.
2. Lawn Care- run a hover over the grass and see what it does to the lawn. This requires a segmented skirt which many hovers on the market today use. The segments work with the air in lifting and removing dead grasses and other debris trapped in the in the grass. This leaves a clean smooth lawn. I've used my hover on pro ball fields and the grounds keepers love it. Potential customers will include; Sod farms, Lawn Care companies, Pro Baseball, Football, and Golf courses
3. Track dryer- Water on race tracks can be easily removed using a hovercraft the downward motion of the air for lift and the outward motion of the thrust make quick work when applied to a race track. It also makes for a pretty good show for spectators
4. Low head dam whether it be inspection or rescue the hovers ability to operate unhindered around low head dams make the hover ideal for any work involving fast moving water
5. Survey companies- the hover can be used in all manner of terrain. Mud, Ice, Water, Grass, and Snow the hover can skim over the top of these surfaces with little to no impact on the surface most hovers can be landed on an unstable surface and due to the footprint of the vehicle even off cushion most hovers make for a very stable platform to operate from. Obviously high waves will impact the vehicle but mud, snow, weak ice, and surfaces that would be damaged by a tire track will be left untouched by most hovers.
6. Maintenance transporter- Maintaining cable systems or warning buoys can be difficult when the seasons change the hover makes perfect sense when it comes to this type of application. Reaching a barge frozen in the river way is simple with the hover
7. Rescue work- the hovers ability to skim over instead of plow through makes it the perfect match for rescue work. A victim has fallen through the ice the rescue worker simply flies the hover to the victim reaches over plucks the individual out of the thin ice and chilling water places them in the unit and flies them back to solid ground and a waiting medical team. The rescue worker never has to exit the hover. A rescue boom can be added to the deck of a hover and platforms to the sides and you have the perfect platform to perform many rescues. Since the hover flies over snow it can be used to reach stranded motorist on long stretches of road way or victims in flooded areas.
8. New form of spectator sport. Races on clay tracks with varying surfaces can make for an awesome draw for clay track owners. Rain and wet track will only improve the performance. Off season racing can help generate additional revenues for clay track owners. Pre-race hover exhibition races can draw in new crowds and new revenue.
9. Ice fishing, Hunting, Fishing- Whether tournament or novelist the hover is a smart choice in addition to camouflage the unit and it is the perfect mobile duck blind. Enclose the cockpit area and it is a toasty warm ice fishing shanty no packing and unpacking equipment just fly up to your favorite spot even if it is on thin ice or at the edge of the ice set the unit down shut off the engine fire up your heater and stay warm dry and safe. Meal time heat up your meal on your built in stove and enjoy. Add a small generator and watch your favorite program while you fish, camp out on the ice over night if you want. If the ice brakes away under you drop anchor and keep on fishing. For more information and or ideas contact me at the email under about me to the right of this article.

golf cart hovercraft

Congratulations Neoteric on landing a spot on a well watched TV show with a couple of great shots of the hover. I'm curious about a couple of things with regard to the hover on the golf course. Noise, first I don't know that much about golf but from what I understand they like to have it rather quiet and tranquil on the golf course. Second slide how you going to keep people from sliding into trees and other golfers when they are on the course. Having flown for a lot of years I am well aware of the new pilot’s hazard of sliding into things due to the nature of the Ground Effect on the hover. Now what happens when you fly across grass? Debris is lifted up and blown out the back. On pristine course this might not be much of a problem but on the typical course pilots are not going to like the mess.

I do not see hovers replacing the golf cart on the course, at least not in their current state, however I do believe that the hover would and will make a great addition to the grounds keeper arsenal. The hover is actually the ideal machine for moving equipment over the delicate surface of the course. The hover skirts gently rake the grass and the air blows the debris away. What is left is an incredibly healthy patch of grass. The hover's ability to carry weight without impacting the surface also makes it a great tool for the grounds keeper and the fact that it does not press down on the surface allows you to fly over a green without damaging it.

Winter flying on golf courses could boost the revenue of the course in the northern states where the course is not being used in the winter but that is the topic of another posting so I will wait on that one. However if someone would like to see for themselves before spending the money on a golf cart hover please contact us we are always up for a spin in the hover.

Snowmobile hovering

Funny how many people are surprised that the hover can travel over snow? Something just doesn’t seem to click when it comes to the ability of the hovercraft. Some of my best hover experiences have come during my winter flights either over a snow covered field or a frozen river or lake. The great thing about the hover on snow is the smoothness of the ride. The hover doesn’t just run over the snow it flies over it so the ride you get compared to a snowmobile or an ATV is totally different. Your hover actually floats over the ground like a bird and it makes no impact on the surface below. I have a local sod farm that has no issue with me flying my hover over his sod fields year round. He and I have talked about this in the past and he hates having snowmobiles run over his property because of the damage it does to the sod. ATV’s believe it or not also pack the sod when they run across the surface even with the snow covering. The hover however has a footprint equal to a seagull standing on one foot which is virtually no impact at all.

When you operate on slushy snow the hover is incredibly fast much like it is over flat smooth ice, when you fly over powder snow you get about the same amount of blow as you do when you are on water. What snow provides you with is a greater opportunity to fly. A little snow over an open field and you can basically fly your hover anywhere. A lot of snow and you can go where snowmobiles will typically bog down. Plus when you land you have such a wider impact surface that you don’t sink in.

Picture with me if you will flying on a river that is partially frozen, skimming over the ice and water with equal ease, you spot an open field that you want to explore so you point your hover toward the 4 foot bank and gun the engine the hover shoots up over the bank of the river that is snow covered and you go airborne as you clear the top of the riverbank. You land on the other side of the bank in an open field where no one has attacked the virgin snow. Your flying experience is awesome as you realize you are probably the only one who will view that spot on earth for a long time to come.

I’m looking forward to the 2012/13 winter season using my Hoverjet GT. This is an experience you have to try.

 

 

Survey hovercraft Gateway Services

To my knowledge Gateway Services Group are the first to utilize a hovercraft for survey purposes in the US. While the USGS has operated two Hovertechnics hovercraft for several years, Gateway Services Group has taken a bold step into the future by purchasing a hovercraft for use in their surveys for the pipeline industry. According to team member CB the situations they find themselves in requires a piece of equipment that can operate on a variety of surfaces and they believe the hovercraft will be the machine that will allow them to easily reach areas that previously they could not reach. On October 30th 2012 Gateway launched into a new era by purchasing and training their team as hover pilots. With a group of about 12 team members present on training day, we realized there are a lot of items that need to be ironed out with regard to use of the hover in the pipeline survey industry. According to SM a manager for Gateway Services Group the fact that the unit is registered as a boat but can be used as an ATV raises some interesting issues when it comes to regulations and safety requirements. The hovercraft is a crossover vehicle that operates as easily on water as it does on land, mud, and ice. While the Texas based company is doubtful they will see much ice they have had great concerns over reaching remote areas and moving people and equipment in and out of these areas.

Thank you, Gateway for choosing TLS WindSled as your supplier and for having the future vision to use a hovercraft in your industry. In future articles we will discuss some lessons we learned from partnering with Gateway and some innovative ideas it has spawned.

Prague OK Gateway servcies new hover

The road from Belvidere IL to Prague OK is a long one about 13 hours however the drive is awesome with clear skies and low wind. I've been listening to the weather reports and Hurricane Sandy is about to reach clear back into Chicago so being in Oklahoma is not a bad thing right now. My new customer Gateway Services Group is waiting for their new Hoverstar LC, I'm looking forward to delivering it to them and training some new hover pilots. We put a new type of coating on the upper hull of the hovercraft that should protect it against any obstacles they may run into (as new pilots often due) but this coating will also prevent the gel coat cracking that we've experienced in the past so I'm really excited about placing this new hover with them. Gateway is a survey company that has several other businesses and I am very happy to be working with them. My contacts at Gateway have been very nice people and I am looking forward to meeting them in person. I have about 2 hours left before the delivery and training session so I'm trying to put together all the last minute things I need to go over so I am prepared. New hovers to non-hover people is always a fun time, the look on their faces the first sight of the hover and the comments after they fly it for the first time are a huge reward. The hover travels over the surface like nothing you've ever experienced. I will be posting more about the delivery later.

Hovercraft Rescue Safely

It has always been a wonder to me that more fire and rescue departments don't use hovercraft as a rescue vehicle, with the ability to travel over land, water, snow, and ice it would seem to be a no brainer that the hovercraft is the most economical unit to purchase. To accomplish all the task a hover can do a department would need to purchase a boat, a snowmobile, and an ATV to be able to cover the same surface areas. Even if they purchased these vehicles it would fall short of the hovercraft. For instance, if you were traveling over ice on a snowmobile and it broke through it would be tough trying to go back and get the boat. Or consider this, if you are traveling along on water in your boat and you suddenly run into shallows with rocks, now wat do you do? In a hovercraft you simply continue on your way and complete the task at hand. The hover will travel over snow of any depth so if you need to rescue a person from the middle of a snow covered area you simply fly your hover to them. Due to the low footprint of the hover it is the perfect vehichle to perform mud rescue. The great thing about using a hovercraft for rescue is you can do it from the safety of the hover. No more climbing out to a victim on ladders or in inflatable suits, you simply fly up to the victim and pull them into the hovercraft and fly away. I was speaking with a Fire Chief recently and he was telling of a rescue they performed on ice, he said it took them nearly 45 minutes to get to the victim, he then asked me how long it would take if they used a hover and since the person was only 200 yards off shore I told him probably about 2-3 minutes from the time you launch the hover from the shore line to the point of returning. Huge difference when it comes to situations where time is of the essence. In addition to the reduction of time you would also eliminate or at least greatly reduce the danger factor for the rescue workers because they would not have to exit the hovercraft in most cases and if you did your rescue platform would be right there with you.  If you have any questions about using a hovercraft in your area for rescue purposes please contact me.