World’s first human-crewed Seaglider flight!

Yesterday morning in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, REGENT completed the world’s first flight of the Viceroy Seaglider prototype, the largest-ever all-electric wing-in-ground effect (WIG) craft to fly with people on board. The flight marks the first time a wing-in-ground effect vessel has been engineered and readied for commercial and defense operation at scale — solidifying America’s leadership in ground effect flight and positioning REGENT as the pioneer of this transformative transportation technology.

“This is the moment we have been envisioning and tirelessly pursuing for the past five and a half years: REGENT has successfully proven safe, efficient ground-effect flight,” said Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and CEO at REGENT. “The Viceroy Seaglider flight marks the start of a new era in mobility, unlocking opportunities across passenger travel, defense missions, and cargo transport. I’m so grateful to the amazing team who made history today. We’re now moving quickly toward production to deliver Seagliders to coastlines around the world.”

“Completing this flight test validates years of rigorous engineering and operational work and gives us the confidence to move into full-rate production,” said Mike Klinker, co-founder and CTO at REGENT. “We showed today that flying a Seaglider is every bit as smooth and safe as we designed it to be. I can’t wait to get onboard and to share the experience with others as we make our vision for the future of maritime mobility a reality.”