Once Quarter-Scale Testing is Complete, Regent Eyes Full-Scale Demonstrations

Not much news on the Regent front since last October, when they got a $4.75 million deal with the US Marine Corps for a Seaglider demonstration - but the company remains hard at work for a commercial service entry in 2025.

The company gained a little blurb in mainstream press thanks to recent test flights in quarter-scale, proving out their design ahead of a full-size demonstrator in 2024. Once done, that testbed will take to low-altitude ground-effect flight with human passengers, too. Regent's Viceroy seaglider sports a 12-passenger, 3,500-lb payload and is slated to be able to travel 180 sm on a charge. The firm hopes that its pseudo-boat/plane combo will be easier to certify for commercial use than a traditional seaplane, and backers around the travel industry seem to see promise in the Seaglider. Regent reported an additional billion in pre-orders this year, up to $8B from a previous $7B this time last year.

“There are extraordinarily few companies today with battery powered vehicles that can fly human crew, and REGENT is about to join those ranks,” said Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and CEO of REGENT. “Seagliders will be the first electric flying machine to be economically viable, and I’m willing to bet, the first one that the majority of the world will take a ride in.”

FMI: www.regentcraft.com