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:: about
discoverhover :: advisory board :: |
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Chris Fitzgerald, USA
Chairman
Office@worldHovercraft.org
An Australian-born engineer, Chris Fitzgerald is Chairman of the World Hovercraft Organization and President of Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. USA, the world's original light hovercraft manufacturer. For decades, he has served as organizer and Chairman of major hovercraft racing events, including World Hovercraft Week 2002. He was a participant in the World's First Hovercraft Race in 1964, and founded the Hoverclub of America in 1976. Fitzgerald was the Judge in the popular Emmy Award-winning Junkyard Wars Hovercraft episode, televised by The Learning Channel, and is co-author of two hovercraft books, Hovercraft Technology, Economics and Applications, and Light Hovercraft Design.
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Bob Windt, USA
Consultant
mail@hovercraft.com
Bob Windt, an aeronautical engineer, is the founder of Universal Hovercraft, USA and created the prototype design for the DiscoverHover One. Windt is considered by the Learning Channel's Junkyard Wars to be "the godfather of personal hovercraft." He is also the designer of the world's fastest light hovercraft and holds the Guinness Hovercraft World Speed Record of 85.376 mph (137.40 km/h). Windt presented a keynote address at World Hovercraft Week 2002, covering the evolution of homebuilt hovercraft in America.
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Alan Bliault, Holland
Consultant
alan.a.bliault@shell.com
Alan Bliault has been a hovercraft enthusiast most of his life. Bliault's father was an office holder in the young days of the Hovercraft Club of Great Britain. Together they published one the greatest hovercraft magazines, Air Cushion Review, which Bliault continued for more than 5 years. He went on to become one of the leading engineers for Shell Petroleum, International Exploration and Production, Holland. In recent times Alan, together with professor Liang Yun, the Deputy Chief Naval Architect of the Marine Design and Research Institute of China, produced Theory and Design of Air Cushion Craft, the leading book on the subject, published by Arnold and John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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Cecil Scalf, USA
Chief Marshal
cscalf@charter.net
Scalf is former President and current Chief Marshal of the Hoverclub of America, Inc. and serves as Chief Marshal for the World Hovercraft Organization and DiscoverHover. He is Adjunct Professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and at St. Louis Community College. A retired U.S. Army Officer and helicopter pilot, Scalf holds commercial airplane and helicopter licenses, flew Hueys and Cobra Gunships in Vietnam, and was a helicopter maintenance test pilot.
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Ken Osmond, Australia
Consultant
osmondoutdoor@bigpond.com
Ken Osmond is 2005 President of the Australian Hovercraft Federation. His long involvement with hovercraft includes three terms as President of Victorian Hovercraft Club, Australia, and four terms as President of the Australian Hovercraft Federation.
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Nick Jokay, USA
Consultant
nickjokay@aol.com
Nick Jokay is a consulting geomorphologist with a degree in mechanical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He has had a lifelong interest in hovercraft. Jokay previously served as factory manager in the design and fabrication of recreational and rescue hovercraft at Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. He has been an active member of the Hoverclub of America since 1989, where he served on the Board of Directors and promoted the Hoverclub's entry-level high school hovercraft program.
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Bill Zang, USA
Consultant
billzang@hovercraft.com
Bill Zang is one of the world's top hovercraft racers and winner of numerous championships. As President of Universal Hovercraft, USA, Zang provided DiscoverHover with founder Bob Windt's prototype hovercraft design. These original plans were then improved and refined into a professional model, the DiscoverHover One, which meets established educational standards.
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Eric
Goldstein, USA
Consultant
goldstein@GoHover.com
Eric Goldstein is the president of Goldstein Hovercraft, LLC in Chicago, Illinois, a producer of model hovercraft. With a background in both education and computer science, Goldstein was a researcher at Northwestern University's Institute for the Learning Sciences and is a staunch advocate of the learning-by-doing philosophy of education.
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James C. Wallace
II, USA
Education Consultant
james@worldhovercraft.org
James Wallace serves as Education Consultant for
DiscoverHover, as well as advisor and author in
the development of Curriculum Guides and other
educational materials. Wallace also constructed
the HoverChair and created DiscoverHover's interactive
exhibit for museums. He has a Masters Degree in
Science, and has managed the astronomy department
of the Children's Museums of both Indianapolis
and Arkansas. Wallace also worked at Neoteric
Hovercraft, Inc. as a specialist in thrust duct
manufacturing and fiberglassing in the construction
of light hovercraft.
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James
E. Benini, USA
Education Consultant
jbenini@parish.ctschool.net
James Benini serves as Education Consultant for DiscoverHover and is a contributor of both drawings and text for the DiscoverHover Curriculum Guides. For 22 years, he has been a Technology Education instructor at Parish Hill High School in Chaplin, CT. Benini received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Oswego State University 1981, and his Masters Degree in Special Education from the University of Connecticut in 1986. He and his students have successfully constructed and flown four entry-level hovercraft since 2002. |
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Kamal Yadav, USA
Curriculum Development Engineer
kamal@worldhovercraft.org
A native of India, Kamal Yadav came to DiscoverHover
with an exemplary educational background in Engineering
and Physics. His scores on the entrance examinations
for the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay
placed him in the top 1200 of a field of 150,000
applicants. ITT is India's premier institute of
technology and is one of Asia's top colleges.
As a top graduate of ITT with a degree in Engineering
Physics, Yadav was a distinguished recipient of
full financial support from Rose-Hulman Institute
of Technology, consistently rated at the #1 engineering
institute in the U.S., where he completed his
Master of Science Degree. At DiscoverHover, he
employed his notable background in Engineering
and Physics, and his extensive computer skills,
to develop curriculum materials that best illustrate
the fundamental principles of hovercraft construction
and operation. |
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Tristan Linck, USA
Curriculum Development Engineer
tristan@worldhovercraft.org
Tristan Linck, of Grand Junction, Colorado, USA,
is working at Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. on the
DiscoverHover program. At DiscoverHover, Linck
applies his expertise in the development of programs
and curriculum materials for member schools that
will facilitate the teaching of fundamental Physics
principles and their application to hovercraft. |
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Aaron Hogan,
USA
Webmaster, Graphic Design
aaron@worldhovercraft.org
Aaron Hogan designed both the DiscoverHover and World Hovercraft Organization's web sites, and serves as Graphic Designer for all online and printed materials for both organizations.
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Dr. Patrick Ferro, USA
Science/Engineering Consultant
ferro@rose-hulman.edu
Dr. Patrick Ferro is a Registered Professional Engineer and serves as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the top-rated engineering institute in the USA. He received his B.S. degree from Cornell University, his M.S. degree from Oregon Graduate Center, and his Ph.D. from Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Ferro implements quality control of the technical aspects of the DiscoverHover Curriculum Guides, ensuring that all materials are accurate, timely, and adhere to the highest science and engineering standards. |
The DiscoverHover Engineering Standards and Drafting Team
The DiscoverHover One hovercraft AutoCAD/ProE drawings were developed by: |
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Robert
Wilson,
Australia
Chief Engineer
neorob@bigpond.net.au
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Robert Wilson is President of Neoteric Engineering Affiliates, Pty. Ltd. in Australia, and Technical Director for Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. USA, the world's original light hovercraft manufacturer. With lifelong experience in hovercraft design and CAD, he leads the Engineering and Design functions for all DiscoverHover hovercraft, setting new standards with the new DiscoverHover One design. Wilson is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Footscray Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, and co-author of Light Hovercraft Design. His former experience includes: a four-year apprenticeship in Automotive Electronics and an Automotive Technicians Certificate from Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria; Engineer Intern at Steelweld Cranes Pty. Ltd.; Project Engineer, REPCO Engine Technical Centre, Pty. Ltd.; and Product Development Engineer and Technical Director, Fitzgerald and Sons Pty. Ltd. Wilson is a member of the Australian Society of Automotive Engineers and the Hoverclub of Australia.
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Tim Envall, Australia
An active member of the Australian Hovercraft Federation, Envall began his drafting experience in an automotive mechanic apprenticeship. He has since earned an Associate Diploma of Engineering and is an independent contractor in Melbourne, Australia, where he performs CAD drafting for his clients.
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Martin
Shima, USA
Martin Shima, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, graduated
from Vincennes University in Indiana, after which
he worked as a Detail Draftsman for Matsushita
Home Appliance Co. in Kentucky. In May 2004 he
earned a degree from Indiana State University,
where he studied Mechanical Design Technology.
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David Oelschlager,
USA
David Oelschlager served an internship at Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc., utilizing AutoCAD on hovercraft drawings and bills of materials. As a student leader earning a Technology degree at Indiana State University, he was head of the local chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers as well as the AMIE Chapter's DiscoverHover program.
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