By: Rénald Fortier
Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
A down to earth machine which could… fly – MHV Industries Limited / Modern Hover Vehicles Limited of Ottawa, Ontario, and its multi-purpose recreational hovercraft, part 2
Mar 1, 2025
Media
Two typical MHV Spectra 1 recreational hovercraft in a reasonably typical Canadian wilderness environment. Anon., “MP al aire libre.” Mecánica Popular, February 1972, 9.
Hola querido lectora o lector y bienvenido a bordo. The world of air cushion vehicles beckons. Let us dive into the saga of a defunct manufacturer of recreational hovercraft based in Ottawa, Ontario, namely MHV Industries Limited / Modern Hover Vehicles Limited.
A quick question if I may. Did you know that the popular American magazine Popular Mechanics was also available in Spanish between 1947 and 2010? Yes, yes, it was. Mecánica Popular was initially published in Mexico. By 1972, it was published in Venezuela, but I digress.
By January 1970, MHV Industries hoped to produce 9 600 or so MHV Spectra 1 hovercraft during that very year. Indeed, the firm’s president, Geoffrey “Geoff” Voyce, claimed it had sold 8 000 or so Spectra 1s in advance to distributors. Interest was such that, had MHV Industries been able to produce 30 000 or so hovercraft in 1970, it could have sold all of them, or so he claimed.
It went without saying that a majority of those hovercraft would have been sold in the United States.
Incidentally, by early 1970, the employees of MHV Industries, which numbered 70 or so by then, had seemingly produced 120 or so Spectra 1s. Another 60 or so were said to be under construction in the firm’s trio of small temporary facilities.
And yes, you are quite correct, MHV Industries would have had to hire and train a lot of new employees to produce 30 000 hovercraft in one year.
Another potential catch with the firm’s production claim was that it had not moved into its brand spanking new factory, in Kanata, Ontario, near Ottawa, in December 1969, as planned. Indeed, said factory was not yet in operation as of mid January 1970.
Even so, MHV Industries continued to promote far and wide its recreational hovercraft. In mid-February 1970, for example, one of its Spectra 1 was on display at the Sports and Outdoor Show held in Salem, Oregon. Those same days, another Spectra 1 was taking part in the Latchford Winter Carnival, held in… Latchford, Ontario, near Sudbury.
And yes, my geographically aware reading friend, a Spectra 1 was indeed to be demonstrated on a small (human-made?) lake in Sun City, Arizona, near Phoenix, in early February, and this for the Phoenix Boat and Sports Show. To quote a captioned photograph published in The Arizona Republic, a daily newspaper published in Phoenix, however, “The putt-putt went kaput.” Yours truly cannot state with any degree of certainty if that vehicle could be repaired.
The good people of Air Cushion Vehicles Limited of Salem, a hovercraft distribution firm incorporated in July 1968, I think, were rather embarrassed. By the looks of it, no embarrassment marred its presence at the Intermountain-Utah Boat, Sports and Travel Show, held in mid March, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Indeed, yours truly does not know if the Spectra 1 present on the site was demonstrated.
The same could be said of the hovercraft present in mid-March, at the Home and Sport Show held in Windsor, Ontario.
Incidentally, a Lockheed CT-133 Silver Star of the Canadian Armed Forces seemingly flew over the revellers on the 2nd day of the Latchford Winter Carnival. As you know very well, an aircraft of that type can be found on the floor of the utterly stunning Canada Aviation and Space Museum, in Ottawa.
Would you believe that the Silver Star was at the heart of a February 2023 issue of our equally stunning blog / bulletin / thingee? But I digress.
All was not well with MHV Industries, however. Early production Spectra 1 had glitches. Some dealers grew so frustrated that they sent back the ones they had ordered. The glitches were soon fixed but worse was to come.
You see, production of the Spectra 1 had all but stopped by early March 1970. Only 12 or so of the firm’s employees were still on the payroll.
The hammer fell a tad before mid March 1970, when MHV Industries went into voluntary receivership, a decision made following a recommendation made by one of its main shareholders. Although understandably nervous, the firm’s creditors agreed not to force it into bankruptcy. For the moment.
According to Voyce, the rather drastic step taken by MHV Industries was taken “as a result of the very precarious financial position of the company […] to protect the company’s assets and to ensure that no funds are paid by the company.”
Had MHV Industries promised what it could not deliver, you ask, my reading friend who has seen many startup firms crash and burn in recent years? A good question. The firm’s management might have believed in its product a tad too much.
MHV Industries’ dire strait was seemingly a direct consequence of the credit squeeze / crunch which hit North America in 1969. A crunch fueled by a succession of currency crises which had battered the world since 1966. Canada was thus faced with strong inflationary pressures and increases in consumer prices which were seen as unacceptable. Tightening credit was seen as a way to bring those strong inflationary pressures under control.
By the way, the annual inflation rate in 1969 was 4.8%, with maximums of almost 5.4 % achieved in April and May.
For MHV Industries, that credit squeeze / crunch proved to be very bad news indeed, the financial houses it was counting on to obtain the large sums of money it needed to produce the 9 600 or so Spectra 1s it planned to build in 1970 being unable to provide said funding.
This being said (typed?), Voyce remained confident that enough money could be raised to mass produce the firm’s hovercraft, albeit at a less grandiose scale, with 4 500 made during the first year of operation perhaps, and this at a factory other than the one in Kanata. You see, the factory’s builder, J. Dix Construction (Limited?) of Ottawa, I think, had taken possession of it and was hunting for a buyer.
Voyce thought that an influx of $ 300 000, or almost $ 2 400 000 in 2025 currency, would allow MHV Industries to start production. He did not rule out the possibility of negotiating some sort of lease deal with J. Dix Construction, provided that this aforementioned bonanza came his way quickly.
Given the proven capabilities of the Spectra 1, given its obvious saleability and good export potential also, Voyce could not believe that MHV Industries would not receive new financing offers from parties as yet unknown.
Oddly enough, a most interesting advertisement began to appear in Canadian newspapers in late March. That advertisement…
An advertisement issued by Harvey’s Foods Limited of Toronto, Ontario, for a contest involving 2 MHV Spectra 1 recreational hovercraft and 100 Polaroid Model 20 Swinger cameras as prizes. “Harvey’s Foods Limited.” The Windsor Star, 26 March 1970, 41.
That advertisement could be found in many Ontario newspapers, as well as in at least four Québec newspapers and one New Brunswick newspaper, and this both in March and April 1970.
Incidentally, the correct answer to the contest operated by Harvey’s Foods Limited of Toronto, Ontario, a Canadian fast food restaurant chain, was 64. There were 64 ways to enjoy a Harvey’s Foods hamburger, from all 6 trimmings at once to no trimming at all.
To answer your question, I have no idea of who won the hovercraft. Their names were seemingly displayed in various Harvey’s Foods fast food restaurants in July 1970, but back to the history of MHV Industries.
Given the precarious situation in which that firm found itself in March 1970, yours truly was left scratching his follically challenged noggin after reading an article published in a mid-April edition of The Windsor Star of… Windsor, Ontario, an article which began with the following words: “On water… fine. But gas masks, diving suits, helmets and a periscope are absolutely necessary for road use.” With friends like that, who needs enemies?
You see, that daily newspaper had decided at some point to publish a story on how it felt to drive a recreational hovercraft. It soon contacted the regional Spectra 1 distributor, Lakeview Marina (Incorporated / Limited?), in Tecumseh, Ontario, which was kind enough to loan one those vehicles, as well as an expert mechanic, to the newspaper, in case things went sideways.
To quote the journalist who wrote that article, “Let’s face it, with a go-anywhere, do-anything craft with about as many propellers, engines, pressure-skirts and gadgets as a lunar landing module, anything could go wrong.”
Need yours truly remind you of what a lunar landing module, or Lunar Excursion Module, was, my reading friend? I thought not.
And no, I doubt that Lakeview Marina knew that The Windsor Star would publish the type of article it published in the end.
The spectacular crossing of Lesperance Road, in Tecumseh, Ontario, made by the MHV Spectra 1 recreational hovercraft loaned to The Windsor Star of Windsor, Ontario, by Lakeview Marina (Incorporated / Limited?) of Tecumseh. Bob Meyer, “Come fly (almost) with me.” The Windsor Star, 17 April 1970, 30.
The remainder of the article was a rather sarcastic if slightly humourous, or was it the other around, description of the brief journey made by the Spectra 1 from the site of Lakeview Marina to the waters of Lake St. Clair and back, and…
Yes, yes, my reading friend, a rather sarcastic description. Yours truly does know a thing or three about sarcasm, as you might have noticed in recent years.
Again, given the precarious situation in which MHV Industries found itself, I am left scratching his follically challenged noggin after reading that article. With friends like that, who needs enemies?
This being said (typed?), my limited experience in the world of museums was that journalists were not my friends, nor were they my enemies. They were not looking for dirt, thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster, they were looking for information, period, and thought that a national museum like the Canada Aviation and Space Museum was worth contacting, but I digress.
At some point in May 1970, a group of MHV Industries shareholders put together a proposal aimed at refinancing the firm. Said offer was presented to the creditors at a meeting held at the end of the month. Aware as they were that the proposed proposal might put more moolah in their pockets, the creditors gave it their blessing.
As part of the deal, the aforementioned Voyce, the last remaining member of the founding triumvirate by that time, would be replaced as president by David G. Findlay, an engineer, former commodore (1963) of the Canadian Canoe Association and vice-president of Findlay Foundry Limited, a small foundry located in Carleton Place, Ontario, near Ottawa.
A new general manager would be appointed as well. Voyce, by the way, became the firm’s new marketing manager. He might not, however, have occupied that position for very long.
A court ruling made slightly after mid-May tied a nice bow over the proceedings.
It is worth noting that the MHV Industries’ technical manager at the time was an English engineer by the name of Terence F. “Terry” Melhuish, a former employee of Hovercraft Development Limited, an English firm mentioned in the 1st part of this article and the one from whom MHV Industries had acquired the patents which had allowed it to produce hovercraft.
Sadly, yours truly does not know when Melhuish moved to Ottawa to join the staff of MHV Industries.
As might have been expected, MHV Industries’ massive production dreams had to be put aside, albeit temporarily perhaps. It seemingly expected to limit production to 30 or so Spectra 1s a month until the end of 1970, for example.
Many of those hovercraft produced in the firm’s small, leased facility went to several Canadian provinces, as well as to the Northwest Territories. Mind you, a number of Spectra 1s went to half a dozen American states. Given an import of duty of only 2%, the American market seemed very promising indeed.
The firm was then working on a slightly longer utility version of a new 2 or 3 seat hovercraft, the MHV Spectra II. Designed specifically for the North American market after discussions with government agency, industry and public utility representatives, the MHV SII-U would sell for $ 4 000 to $ 5 000, sums which corresponded to $ 32 000 to $ 40 000 or so in 2025 currency.
In any event, a prototype of the Spectra II was completed in the late spring or early Summer of 1971. Early tests showed a marked improvement in thrust and lift efficiency, not to mention fuel economy. The new hovercraft was also significantly quieter.
Those improvements resulted to a large extent from the use of a new propulsion unit designed and produced by Hoverproducts Limited of Ottawa, a firm whose products included propellers for airboats, aircraft, hovercraft and snowplanes, not to mention centreboards and rudders for small sailboats.
Said propulsion unit, known as the QT-30, the letters QT standing for quiet thrust, was developed with the help of MHV Industries and Canada’s National Research Council (NRC), in Ottawa.
Incidentally, Hoverproducts’ president was W. Stanley Kendall, president of an engineering consultant firm, Kendall Associates Limited of Ottawa, and member of the board of directors of MHV Industries, and…
The puzzled expression on your face leads me to think that the word snowplane is not one you are familiar with. A snowplane, say I (type I?), is a cross country wintertime vehicle mounted on skis and driven forward by a propeller.
The first shipment of MHV Spectra 1s on its way to a new distributor of MHV Industries’ recreational hovercraft, Poundmaker Limited of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Anon., “Winnipeg Bound.” The Ottawa Citizen, 16 June 1971, 8.
More good news soon hovered toward MHV Industries. You see, a distribution firm based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, signed a four-year $ 4 000 000 sales agreement in the late Spring of 1971. Poundmaker Limited would sell Spectra 1s in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Incidentally, the mountain of dough we just came across corresponded to $ 31 600 000 in 2025 currency. MHV Industries, it seemed, was no longer in deep trouble.
Indeed, the firm sent the final payment to its creditors in October 1971.
David G. Findlay, president of MHV Industries Limited of Ottawa, Ontario, on the right, and Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer, president of the American firm Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors Incorporated and new director of the Ontario firm. R.U. Mahaffy, “MHV Industries Ltd. – Ottawa Hovercraft Company Now Going Into High Gear.” The Ottawa Journal, 10 July 1971, 9.
In addition, MHV Industries signed a deal with Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors Incorporated, a firm headed by a famous if controversial figure in the American outboard motor industry, Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer. That American firm would now be supplying the engines of the Ottawa firm’s hovercraft.
Those engines were specifically designed for use on hovercraft. This was in fact a new line of products for Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors, a producer of engines for all terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles, motorboats, ultralight / homebuilt aircraft, etc.
Better yet, Kiekhaefer joined the board of directors of MHV Industries around June or July 1971.
Incidentally, that board also included Markward W. “Mark” Bormann, the German Canadian vice-president (finance) and secretary treasurer of Leigh Instruments Limited of Carleton Place, an early darling of Ottawa’s high tech industry.
Was Leigh Instruments the firm which produced one of the greatest Canadian inventions, the Automatic Crash Position Indicator (ACPI), a radio distress beacon completely embedded in shock-absorbing foam rubber placed within a flat, airfoil-shaped box and located in the aft section or tail of an aircraft, you ask, my wing nutty reading friend? Why, it was.
An automatic launcher ejected the ACPI away from the aircraft which carried it during the seconds which followed a crash, or some severe stress on that aircraft’s structure.
Able operate on land or in water, the original version of the ACPI would transmit a signal during 4 or so days at temperatures as low as -40° Celsius or so (-40° Fahrenheit or so). It had a range of 65 or so kilometres (40 or so miles).
Production of that life saving device had begun in the fall of 1963.
My memory could be playing tricks with me here, but yours truly remembers seeing 1 or 2 early examples of ACPIs, prototypes made in NRC shops, I think, in the collection of the incomparable Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
And yes, NRC was indeed mentioned many times in our excellent blog / bulletin / thingee, and this since May 2018. You thought I had forgotten to mention that detail, did you not? Yes, yes, you did, but back to MHV Industries and the middle of 1971.
Would you believe that the Ottawa firm was then trying to bring together a number of small (Ottawa- or Ontario-based?) hovercraft manufacturing firms in order to create a single entity, a larger and stronger entity?
More good news came when the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affaires, Stanley Ronald Basford, introduced Bill C-256, or Competition Act, in the House of Commons of Canada. You see, MHV Industries was of the opinion that this legislative measure which permitted export and specialisation agreements, among other things, was just what it needed.
And now a brief message from this writer. Given that the 1st and 2nd days of March 2025 are respectively a Saturday and a Sunday, given also that the inveterate fribbler that I am likes to fribble more than a little, me thinks that this issue of our fantastic blog / bulletin / thingee should be the only one issued this weekend.
Any objection, my reading friend? […] Objection denied and for gosh’s sake, watch your language, if I may quote, out of context, the American industrialist / inventor / superhero Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark in the 2015 American superhero motion picture Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Rénald Fortier
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