REGENT Brings Innovation To Boat/Air Travel!
REGENT Craft Inc, a Boston, Massachusetts-based company, the primary focus is bringing electric, zero-emission, high-speed air travel to the masses. REGENT is an acronym for Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transport, and they are the manufacturers of the Seaglider.
Seagliders are a new type of wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) vehicle that use hydrofoils and distributed propulsion systems. Our first vehicle will carry 12 passengers and our next will carry at least 50 passengers. With existing battery technology, both variants will have a 180-mile range and 180 mph top speed. The vehicles will be as safe as aircraft and have better wave and wind tolerance than existing seaplanes and WIGs.
There are many positives to having this type of technology as a means of travel. The Seaglider is significantly cheaper than the typical aircraft offered by Boeing or Airbus. They can be as much as 50% of the cost in many cases. The Seaglider is like a Seaplane and boat all-in-one, with the runway being the body of water in which it floats, and the existing infrastructure (docks) can be used for loading and unloading passengers. Given that it can be used in 3 primary ways, hull, hydrofoil, and WIG, it can be very versatile. Perhaps it is best to show a visual:
Their primary focus in the early going will be regional transportation amongst coastal cities. As battery technology improves, so will the 180-mile range and the “Skies the limit!”. Hawaiian Airlines just announced an investment in REGENT and their Seaglider technology. As someone who has used Hawaiian Airlines to travel from Oahu to Maui, I welcome the Seaglider and the potential it brings. Unfortunately we are still five years out before realizing the benefits of the Seaglider!
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