If necessity is the mother of invention, versatility is Dad. That makes Stan Hewitt a perfect parent for a new kind of amphibious vehicle.
Hewitt is as much at home piloting a chopper as welding an aluminum boat hull or rebuilding a jet outdrive. The longtime Alaskan has run a restaurant and an air-taxi service -- but whatever else he's done, the backcountry called.
"My first concept for an amphibious vehicle was meant for duck-hunting in mud flats of the Stikine River," Hewitt says. "I also have property that's inaccessible at low tide. And Alaska has so much ice and boggy land. Gets you thinking." |
Travels in Louisiana and Florida, where land and water interlace and defy ordinary vehicles, furthered Hewitt's concepts. So he set to work in his Alaska shop. AmphibAlaska was born.
Hewitt learned to weld as a young man in the U.S. Air Force. He later worked as a commercial welder, specializing in aluminum welding. Hewitt earned commercial fixed-wing and helicopter pilot licenses and owned a Southeast Alaska air taxi business. He's built and rebuilt aircraft. He's built and rebuilt commercial marine vessels.
AmphibAlaska unites Stan Hewitt's mechanical virtuosity and his knowledge of the challenges posed by untamed backcountry. His uniquely versatile vehicle -- a successful work in progress -- is designed to conquer any course. Now, we're on to the second stage. |
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| Stan Hewitt at his shop |
"I love to build and I love to solve problems. When the problem is getting access across an area that's part land and part water, there's one answer. I think this is it." |
