REGENT: New phase in seaglider prototype development kicks off

REGENT Craft, a US manufacturer of all-electric seagliders, has begun hardware and systems integration of its full-scale seaglider prototype, described as ‘a key step forward’ in the company’s journey to revolutionize regional coastal mobility.

The Viceroy seaglider prototype will provide technical validation of full-scale operations and offer the ‘world’s first’ opportunity for a human to experience seaglider travel, according to the company.

Over the next few months, REGENT will assemble major structural components and install the critical onboard systems, including motors, batteries, electronics, mechanical systems, and vehicle control software. The company intends to begin sea trials with humans on board later this year.

“We’re moving more quickly than any other advanced electric mobility platform to create the world’s first passenger-carrying seaglider,” Billy Thalheimer, Co-Founder and CEO, REGENT, said.

“We’ve proven seagliders can successfully float, foil, and fly — the integration phase is a major moment that brings us closer to experiencing float, foil, and fly firsthand. I’m looking forward to getting onboard myself.”

After coming up with the idea for the seaglider in 2020, REGENT designed and operated a quarter-scale prototype over a period of 18 months, conducting hundreds of hours of on-water tests and demonstrating the world’s first seaglider flight.

Last spring, the company unveiled a full-scale seaglider mockup. Over the past year, REGENT has been developing and conducting rigorous tests of the seaglider subsystems both in physical and emulated tests. REGENT takes advantage of digital twin technology to simulate real-world testing and will verify these tests on the water with our first full-scale seaglider prototype.

REGENT recently received approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for its Navigational Safety Risk Assessment, which allows the company to test the prototype in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. This followed an extensive third-party analysis of navigational safety and consultation with more than 20 local stakeholders on environmental concerns and economic impacts from operations.

REGENT will test the prototype in its three modes: floating on the hull at the dock and in speed-restricted waterways, foiling on wave-tolerant hydrofoils in marked channels and commercially navigable waterways, and flying over the open water in ground effect, always staying within one wingspan of the surface of the water.

REGENT has so far secured more than 600 seaglider orders valued at more than $9 billion from airline, ferry, freight and lessor operators around the world.

Last week, the company won an order for 27 all-electric seagliders placed by South Florida’s UrbanLink Air Mobility.

As informed, the seagliders were ordered to ‘augment’ existing transportation networks in Miami, Florida, and San Juan in Puerto Rico—a route that the vessels will regularly operate once they set sail sometime in 2027.

In related news, a few days ago, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation awarded REGENT new incentives to support the seaglider manufacturer’s expansion in the state. Specifically, REGENT will receive $1 million under the First Wave Closing Fund Act to support expansion in Rhode Island and $3 million under the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit Act. REGENT plans to build a manufacturing center with 255,000 additional square feet in North Kingstown’s Quonset Business Park.