The start-up is, currently, developing an “electric seaglider” that can motor out of a harbor on a hydrofoil and take off at a low speed using the water as a runway, then fly over the waves at a top speed of 180 miles per hour to bring passengers to their destinations.
The electric seaglider was co-founders CEO Billy Thalheimer and CTO Michael Klinker.
They previously worked for a Boeing company, Aurora Flight Sciences, and both are FAA-licensed private pilots. Thalheimer said that Regent wants to make trips between coastal cities fast, safe, affordable and reliable with the smallest possible environmental footprint. (The company’s name is an acronym for Regional Electric Ground Effect Naval Transport.)
The seagliders that Regent designed technically belongs to the category of Wing in Ground Effect craft, or WIGs. They have not historically been regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, but instead by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Significantly, Regent is developing its seagliders to work with existing harbor infrastructure, the CEO says. He said that charging is still needed at harbors for mainstream adoption of electric vehicles there, whether electric air taxis, boats or ground vehicles.
The company will seek to set up major passenger routes between major hubs like Boston and New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, or shorter routes like New York City to the Hamptons or routes connecting the islands of Hawaii.
As of now, with $9 million in fresh seed funding in hand, the start-up is focusing on a prototype.
“We’re going to be flying a quarter-scale prototype by the end of this year,” said Thalheimer. “The prototype will have about a 15-foot wingspan, and will weigh about 400 pounds. We need to make sure it works in representative operational environments, like in waves and different weather.”
The company aims to launch its first flight in the Boston area. However, it is looking around for someplace to conduct testing elsewhere during the harsh New England winters.
