Out on Narragansett Bay, the Regent Viceroy was an unusual sight. Like a big bird of prey with its wings bent down at the elbows, it perched on the flat, calm water on Wednesday as boatloads of potential investors looked on.
Part plane, part boat, the Viceroy was designed to disrupt short-haul air travel with a new way to commute. This seaglider prototype, powered by 12 ultra-quiet electric motors, can carry up to 12 passengers.
No runway required. It takes off and lands directly from the water and, according to the company, can travel up to 180 mph on routes up to 180 miles.
“That’s Narragansett to New York in about an hour,” boasted the emcee of Wednesday’s test flight, as the aircraft quietly lifted off and soared briefly over the boats in the bay.
The demonstration coincided with the opening of Regent’s new factory at Quonset Point, where the company plans to build the seagliders and hire hundreds of new workers by the end of next year.
Regent borrowed some design features from Soviet-era “ekranoplans,” whose engines sat up front near the nose to blast air beneath the wings, taking advantage of an aerodynamic principle known as the ground effect.
Like the Viceroy, these Soviet aircraft flew at high speed almost uncomfortably close to the water. The biggest version, nicknamed “the Caspian Sea Monster,” was longer than a 747. A later model was armed with anti-ship missiles.
Today the International Maritime Organization classifies these ground effect vehicles as ships, not planes.
Regent combined that Cold War concept with the latest hydrofoil technology pioneered by sailboats competing in the America’s Cup. Underwater fins beneath the fuselage and wing tips lift the entire vessel out of the water, which the company claims will make it fast and maneuverable even on rough seas.
Sailing expertise is one reason the company chose Rhode Island for its headquarters. Regent CEO Billy Thalheimer, a licensed aerobatic pilot, was also a competitive sailor during his college days, when he studied aerospace engineering at MIT.
The sprawling new factory in Quonset is where workers will assemble the Viceroy and its remotely operated little brother, the Squire.
“The vehicles we’re going to build here have already been sold; the customers are waiting for them,” said Mark Duchesne, vice president of manufacturing.
He said by the time they’re finished building the first 75 seagliders, they expect to have another three years of customers lined up behind that.
The company plans to build another factory in Abu Dhabi to serve a growing international clientele, which includes ferry operators, transport companies, private individuals and the military.
Even after the company delivers those first models, operators will still have to satisfy regulators. In the U.S., that means mainly the Coast Guard, not the FAA, plus local authorities where the seagliders would take off and land. Many communities restrict seaplanes and helicopters because they’re too loud, but Regent hopes the Viceroy will be unobtrusive.
The Viceroy is mainly being pitched for commercial use, but the military is interested too, because these craft can travel below radar and above sonar, making them harder to detect. The company says the electric motors also reduce the vehicle’s infrared heat signature.
The U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is among the company’s early investors and added another $5 million to its investment this week, according to Regent.
The company says the Marine Corps has already tested the Squire drone in field exercises. The larger Viceroy is also of interest to the military, according to the company, as a means to move troops and equipment close to their military objectives.
Foreign militaries are watching too. Among the guests at Wednesday’s test flight was an admiral for the Australian Navy who said the Aussies are not yet Regent customers, but he liked what he saw.
For Rhode Islanders, in the short term, the rollout of this new technology means jobs – nearly 400 of them! – by the end of next year.
“Everything from highly skilled composite technicians to people that want to learn the trade,” said Duchesne. “Quality control inspectors, engineers, pretty much we run the gamut.”
It’s early days for this company. Narragansett to New York in an hour is still a sales pitch. But the job openings in Quonset are already posted.
