![]() ![]() Initially, the fire department, which responds to water incidents covering a 10-mile stretch on the Connecticut River, envisioned the hovercraft as being helpful in rescue calls during winter when the river is iced over or during transition seasons when the river’s surface is broken with ice chunks.īut Chief McMillan said the department’s other equipment, such as a Marsars ice sled, Marine 1 rescue craft and rope gun have proved sufficient assets for emergencies the department would encounter on the river. “Our group was trying to keep it at around 30 mph,” he noted, adding “even at 30 mph it can be a little unnerving.” ![]() The hovercraft, which sounds like a snowmobile, reaches a top speed of 50 mph when skimming across smooth surfaces it can hit 70 mph “with a tailwind,” Whitehair said. “It can be a bit tricky,” Whitehair said about piloting the hovercraft, who added it took “about six hours in the saddle” to learn the basics of operating it.įor starters, there are no brakes - bringing it to a stop, or rest, requires rotating “reverse thrust buckets” on the tail and turning the vehicle at an angle in order to counter its forward motion. The chief steward, so to speak, of the hovercraft at the fire department has been Jay Whitehair, a veteran firefighter and advanced emergency medical technician, who was dispatched to Neoteric’s headquarters in Terre Haute, Ind., several years ago to learn how to pilot the vessel and train other department members how to operate it. As of Wednesday at noon with 48 hours left before close of bidding, the listing had 32 bids with the highest at $4,950. ![]() The hippodrome-shaped vehicle, which resembles a flying saucer and blows air downward to create an air cushion underneath, is currently listed for sale on the website Municibid, which auctions municipal equipment to the public. “The specific skills to operate it are acquired skills that take a lot of time to learn.” “We toyed with it and trained on it but we felt it was not something we would utilize on a regular basis,” Chief McMillan said Wednesday as he had the hovercraft rolled out to the lot behind the fire and rescue station for a visitor to inspect. It occasionally has been taken out on exercises on the Connecticut River, but it has largely remained resting on a trailer at the police and fire department’s facility on Lyme Road. The white fiberglass 2004 Neoteric Hovertrek Model 1874 was donated to the town by Cam and Heidi Eldred in 2017. Part boat, part plane, part helicopter, part snowmobile and steered with motorcycle-like handle bars, the hovercraft initially seemed like a good piece of equipment to use in water rescues on the Connecticut River.Īs it turned out, however, the cost in time and effort maintaining the machine outweighed its potential benefits, according to Hanover Fire Department Chief Martin McMillan. The town of Hanover is auctioning off its hovercraft - that’s right, Hanover has a hovercraft in its fleet of rescue equipment - which a local family donated to the town four years ago but which has never been deployed in service and the fire department has deemed is too time-consuming to train staff to operate. That’s one reason Hanover is jettisoning it. Then again, it never did a lot of hovering to begin with. HANOVER - The town’s hovercraft won’t be hovering around much longer. Send requests to Valley News file photograph - Jennifer Hauck May not be reprinted or used online without permission. (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News. It can be used for rescues on the ice or in water. The craft was donated to the department by a Hanover resident. Hanover Fire Chief Martin McMillan, left, and Deputy Fire Chief Michael Hinsley test a hovercraft on the Connecticut River on Jan. Send requests to News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. “Some of us are really sad it’s going,” said Whitehair, who has the most experience operating the vehicle and has taught other members of the department how to use it. The hovercraft, which was donated to the department in 2017, is up for auction. Jeremiah Linehan pushing the vehicle from behind at the Hanover Fire Department in Hanover, N.H., on Tuesday, Nov. Firefighter Jay Whitehair, left, pulls a hovercraft out of its parking spot with the help of Lt. ![]()
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