Visitors traveling across Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay earlier this month may have seen a strange-looking boat with wings and a whale-like tail floating in the estuary’s calm late-summer waters. Eventually, the vessel’s 12 electric propellers, six on each side, spun up and sent it churning forward. The “boat” advanced across the bay, faster and faster, rising onto hydrofoils until its hull cleared the surface. Then the foils lifted free, and the ship took to the sky, gliding low over the water like a pelican skimming the waves. It remained airborne, flying about 33 feet above the bay for another 30 seconds before gently landing back down on the water’s surface. In all, the flight covered 1,956 feet.
This marked the first crewed flight of the Viceroy Seaglider, a prototype part-plane, part-boat craft built by a Rhode Island startup called REGENT. The company hopes to bring to market a modern wing-in-ground-effect craft that combines the convenience of a boat with the speed and power of an aircraft. As currently designed, REGENT says their ship can carry 12 passengers at up to 180 miles per hour, or alternatively transport up to 3,500 pounds of cargo. The startup hopes this speed and flexibility could make it an attractive option for travelers looking for a breezy ride between coastal towns. It’s also already courting attention from the US military, which sees an opportunity to utilize the seagull glider for stealth missions and naval resupply efforts.
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