Welcome to our 6th newsletter.  In this May 2000 edition, we pay tribute to Dr. William Bertelsen, our founder and main inspiration, who adds to his many achievements the distinction of reaching his
80th birthday on May 20th.

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I. Dr. William Bertelsen
 

Here is Dr. Bertelsen in the mid 1950s , with his VTOL model which introduced him to the world of the "ground effect", the basis of air cushion technology.	Dr. Bertelsen in recent years, after many achievements in the field of transportation.

II. Recent Press Release about Dr. Bertelsen

The following press release, sent to all major newspapers, wire services, television and radio news departments, gives a quick overview of Dr. Bertelsen's most prominent achievements.
 

Media Release Contact:         John Grant         CEO, Aeromobile Inc.         41 Seashore Drive.         Daly City, CA  94014         650-755-3920         aeromobile@aeromobile.com         www.aeromobile.com For Release on or before May 20th                    Transportation Pioneer and Visionary Celebrates 80th Birthday (Rock Island, IL)  Dr. William Bertelsen, founder of Aeromobile Inc. celebrates his 80th birthday Saturday, May 20th. An early pioneer of hovercraft (also known as air cushion vehicles) in the 1950s - he and one of his early vehicle were featured on the cover of  Popular Science in July of 1959 - he continues to develop air cushion technology to its fullest extent, and promises the world of transportation a bright future. He began his investigation into what he called a "flying automobile" in the mid 1950s.  As a country doctor, he needed to reach his rural patients over snowy, icy and muddy country roads. His thought was to develop a vehicle that would travel above the surface of the ground, immune to poor road conditions. In the early days of his research, he found that controlling the direction and speed of a vehicle riding on a cushion of air was a formidable challenge.  With characteristic persistence, by the late 1960s, he developed the solution, which he called the "Gimbal Fan System of Integrated Lift and Propulsion".  With this invention, he could precisely control his frictionless craft. He saw his controllable hovercraft as having many applications, including amphibious vehicles for search and rescue, wetlands transportation, coastal law enforcement and ferries. Dr. Bertelsen's real interest went beyond amphibious craft.  He wanted to solve the many drawbacks of ground transportation - poor road conditions, accidents, expensive roads and bridges, endless maintenance, increasing traffic jams, and catastrophic environmental impact. This motivated him in the 1980s and 1990s  to embark on an ambitious project of harnessing his air cushion vehicles to operate in elevated tubes or guideways.  Here they could travel at high speed, above pedestrians and environmentally sensitive lands, with minimal wear and tear on the guideways.  A cushion of air can lift a great deal of weight, and the movement of cargo as well as people can be made very efficient. Dr. Bertelsen called his guideway system the "Aeromobile-Aeroduct System" and built a successful prototype.  This prototype was featured in the Learning Channel's 1997 show "Extreme Machines: Hovercraft".  As computer technology advanced in the 1990s, he conceived the idea of completely automating the vehicles in the guideways.  A computer network will control the scheduling of vehicles, the routing of them to destinations (known as "stations")  and their speed in the guideways.  Taken to its full potential, the Aeromobile-Aeroduct System will replace the wheel based system in use today, with stations in every home and office building, and anyone of any age or physical disability  able to get anywhere simply by knowing the destination. Turning 80 presents Dr. Bertelsen with yet another decade to promote his vision of ideal transportation to the world, and as if that were not enough, to continue to practice medicine as well.  More about Dr. Bertelsen can be found on the Aeromobile Inc. web site: www.aeromobile.com, or by calling 650-755-3920.                                                                       end

 

III.  Audio Clip of Dr. Bertelsen

Interview with Dr. Bertelsen - streaming audio - using Real Player -  of Dr. Bertelsen relating his early years of pioneering research
 

IV.  Other Links

Follow these links to other parts of the Aeromobile Inc. Web site, where you can learn more about Dr. Bertelsen and his activities.
 

Dr. William Bertelsen

Gimbal Fan Amphibious Hovercraft

Aeromobile - Aeroduct System

Photo Gallery of Dr. Bertelsen's Long and Productive History

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Last Update:  5/20/00  webmaster