Float, Foil, Fly! Electric Seaglider Makes a Splash and Takes to the Air!
Image Credit: REGENT Craft.
It's Monday, and we're about to dive into the wild world of… what do we even call this thing? A flying boat? A hydrofoil with wings? Let's just go with "the electric seaglider that's making waves" – literally!
The scene: Rhode Island, a bunch of bright sparks at Regent Craft, and a dream to make the ocean a little less… ordinary, I guess? They've just successfully tested their full-size electric seaglider, the Viceroy, with actual human passengers on board. Oh yeah, they didn't just chuck a mannequin in there and hope for the best. They had real, live, probably slightly nervous people!
The Viceroy can float like a boat when it needs to, foil like a hydrofoil, and fly like a low-flying plane. That's what a seaglider is. And, of course, it's electric! No more smelly diesel fumes. Just the gentle hum of electric motors and the soothing sound of waves. Or, you know, the screaming of delighted passengers.
What in the name of Poseidon is a seaglider? That's easy - imagine a plane, a boat, and a hydrofoil had a rather quirky baby. That's the Viceroy. It uses the "wing-in-ground-effect," which basically means it gets extra lift when it's skimming super close to the water. A giant pelican on a caffeine buzz, but electric.
This winged beast is a hefty 55 feet long, with a wingspan of 65 feet. That's bigger than my first apartment, and trust me, that was a tight squeeze. It's designed to carry 12 passengers and two crew, or a whopping 3,500 pounds of cargo. How much is that? That's a small herd of very well-behaved sheep, I'm told.
What's really tickling my fancy is the speed. We're talking a cruise speed of 180 miles per hour, flying just 30 to 60 feet above the water. That's fast! Faster than my morning commute, for sure, and definitely more scenic. And it can do this for 180 miles on a single charge. Flying at this speed, so close to the water, must be an amazing experience.
Image Credit: REGENT Craft.
Regent Craft has been working on this for years. They built a quarter-scale prototype first, just to make sure they weren't completely bonkers. And now, after months of testing motors, batteries, and the all-important software, they've done it. They've got the full-size Viceroy gliding, foiling, and flying.
Here's proof this isn't just a wild dream: they've already got over $9 billion in orders! People are practically throwing money at them. They're talking about using these things for everything from tourist trips between tropical islands to emergency response and even military applications. Imagine the Marines rolling up in one of these!
Regent Craft is building a massive manufacturing facility in Rhode Island, which is set to open next year, just to keep up with the tsunami of orders. It looks like pretty soon, we'll be seeing these electric seagliders zipping across the water like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Honestly, I'm just excited to see what happens next. Will they revolutionize coastal travel? Will they make my next island vacation a breeze? Will I finally get to say I've ridden in a flying boat? Honestly, who doesn't want to fly just above the water at 180 mph? It's a rollercoaster, but wetter and with a much better view. I can't wait to jump on board.
