Boston-based company REGENT proudly announced the debut of its new vehicle: an all-electric seaglider – a unique mode of transportation that moves people along coastal routes by flying merely a few feet over the water. It’s got the comfort, speed, and navigation systems of an aircraft with the affordability, convenience, and maneuverability of a boat. They will be transporting critical cargo and commercial passengers by 2025 – operated by ferry companies, airlines, and governments, leveraging exiting dock infrastructure.
The REGENT seaglider boasts a range of 180 miles (290 kilometers) at speeds up to 180 mph (290-km/h). The company already received US$465 million in pre-orders for its super-fast fully-electric machine, with financing coming from the likes of Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban, Founders Fund, and others.
Regent said:
[We’ve] received $465M in provisional orders from some of the world’s largest airlines and ferry companies. Aircraft operators are excited because seagliders are half the operating cost of aircraft, and ferry operators are excited because the seagliders are six times faster. For all customers, REGENT enables faster door-to-door times and complete elimination of emissions.
Everyone involved expects this seaglider to be a revolution in coastal transportation. The electric propulsion keeps things simple and affordable, while the hydrofoil gives the Regent design some advantages in the water. It’s how the speedy mammoth uses the wing-in-ground effect to double the range of a conventional electric aircraft.
Mark Cuban, the first investor in the billion-dollar company Relativity Space, said:
The efficiency of coastal transportation will be 100x greater with REGENT. There is no other way to describe it. The idea of having to get between 2 coastal points is always stress-inducing. Regent changes all that and makes it fast and easy. REGENT will give people a step-change improvement in transportation. Passengers will spend less time in transit and more time with their families.
A seaglider is the latest iteration of a ground-effect vehicle (GEV) – an aircraft designed to fly so low (within a wingspan of the water’s surface) that they ride on a cushion of air pressure between the surface and the wing (similar to a hovercraft). This gives them extra lift and radically boosting their efficiency. Furthermore, they can be certified as boats since they don’t fly outside the ground effect.
REGENT’s seaglider lifts out of the water on a hydrofoil before taking off on the wings, increasing the comfort and efficiency of the takeoff and landing phases. And there’s no need to worry about the safety of flying at such low altitudes because a multiply-redundant, state-of-the-art navigation and control system ensures flight security.
Since REGENT’s seaglider operates from existing docks, its passengers will get a more pleasant marine-style experience than the indignities impose upon them at an airport nowadays. And the cruising experience will be nothing short of a thrill – streaking along the water’s surface at three times the highway speed!
This exotic vehicle is a fun adventure, and it’s a significant contribution to the clean transportation industry. It’s a win-win all around and might just change the world!
