Regent Seaglider faster cheaper transport solution - ListenHub

Regent Seaglider faster cheaper transport solution

May 6

Frominc

Regent's seaglider, an electric flying boat, seeks Coast Guard certification for faster approval and cheaper development, offering potential for revolutionary, efficient, and affordable overwater transportation.

The Problem: Getting a new aircraft certified by the FAA takes a decade and a billion dollars.
The Solution: Build a flying boat (seaglider) and get it certified by the U.S. Coast Guard instead.
Regent: Founded in 2020 by MIT-trained engineers Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker.
Seaglider: An all-electric flying boat that can transform transportation and cargo shipments.
Mark Cuban's Take: "It’s a revolutionary product that can change transportation for so many cities. Faster, better, cheaper is always a winning combination." (Cuban invested in Regent's $60 million Series A round.)
Certification Advantage: Coast Guard certification is faster and cheaper than FAA certification due to less bureaucracy and more design variation in boats.
Seaglider Design: 65-foot wingspan, dozen propellers, two operators, 12 passengers.
How it Works: "Float, foil, fly." Lifts out of the water on hydrofoils before flying close to the surface, using the cushion of air.
Speed: 180 miles per hour.
Benefits of Overwater Travel: Efficient due to flat terrain and straight lines.
Future Plans: Passenger trips by 2027, e.g., NYC to the Hamptons for $80.
Cost to Market: Estimated $200-300 million, much less than FAA certification.
Investment and Orders: Regent has raised over $100 million and has $10 billion in backlog orders.
Key Insight: FAA certification is difficult and expensive, especially for new aircraft designs. The maritime world is more open to varied designs.
Electric Advantage: Seagliders can use full battery range because they always have a safe place to land on the water.
Range: Estimated 180 miles per charge.
Market Potential: Larger than $500 billion, including passenger, cargo, offshore, and defense applications.
Founders' Background: Thalheimer and Klinker previously worked on electric aircraft at Aurora Flight Sciences and realized the challenges of FAA certification early on

Outline

Regent's seaglider, an electric flying boat, seeks Coast Guard certification for faster approval and cheaper development, offering potential for revolutionary, efficient, and affordable overwater transportation.

The Problem: Getting a new aircraft certified by the FAA takes a decade and a billion dollars.
The Solution: Build a flying boat (seaglider) and get it certified by the U.S. Coast Guard instead.
Regent: Founded in 2020 by MIT-trained engineers Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker.
Seaglider: An all-electric flying boat that can transform transportation and cargo shipments.
Mark Cuban's Take: "It’s a revolutionary product that can change transportation for so many cities. Faster, better, cheaper is always a winning combination." (Cuban invested in Regent's $60 million Series A round.)
Certification Advantage: Coast Guard certification is faster and cheaper than FAA certification due to less bureaucracy and more design variation in boats.
Seaglider Design: 65-foot wingspan, dozen propellers, two operators, 12 passengers.
How it Works: "Float, foil, fly." Lifts out of the water on hydrofoils before flying close to the surface, using the cushion of air.
Speed: 180 miles per hour.
Benefits of Overwater Travel: Efficient due to flat terrain and straight lines.
Future Plans: Passenger trips by 2027, e.g., NYC to the Hamptons for $80.
Cost to Market: Estimated $200-300 million, much less than FAA certification.
Investment and Orders: Regent has raised over $100 million and has $10 billion in backlog orders.
Key Insight: FAA certification is difficult and expensive, especially for new aircraft designs. The maritime world is more open to varied designs.
Electric Advantage: Seagliders can use full battery range because they always have a safe place to land on the water.
Range: Estimated 180 miles per charge.
Market Potential: Larger than $500 billion, including passenger, cargo, offshore, and defense applications.
Founders' Background: Thalheimer and Klinker previously worked on electric aircraft at Aurora Flight Sciences and realized the challenges of FAA certification early on

Script

Mia: Alright, so picture this: a plane… but like, *also* a boat? Sounds kinda crazy, right? But that’s the deal with Regent's Seaglider. We’re diving into “Regent Seaglider: faster, cheaper transport solution.” So, lay it on me – what problem are they *actually* trying to solve here?

Mars: Okay, so usually getting a new aircraft certified with the FAA? Think ten years and *a billion* dollars. Seriously. It’s like, you’re starting a lemonade stand, but you spend more on permits than lemons!

Mia: A *billion* bucks just to get the thumbs-up? That's insane! So what’s their… angle?

Mars: They're basically saying, Nah, let's call it a boat. Instead of the FAA, they're going through the U.S. Coast Guard. Boats have way less red tape, and they're cool with all sorts of weird hull shapes and engine setups. It’s a total game changer.

Mia: Sneaking in the side door, huh? I dig it. But how does it *actually* work? It's not like, dipping a wing in the water like some amphibian car, is it?

Mars: Nope, it's way slicker. Picture “float, foil, fly.” First, it putts around like a regular boat. Then these hydrofoils – underwater wings – lift it *out* of the water. Once it's riding high, a bunch of electric propellers kick in and it zips along just a few feet above the waves.

Mia: So, boat mode: low drag with the foils. Air mode: flying wing… barge? How big are we talking?

Mars: Wingspan is 65 feet - think a school bus parked sideways. Two pilots up front, room for a dozen passengers. Top speed? Around 180 miles per hour.

Mia: Whoa! Faster than most small planes, and *way* faster than a ferry. Plus, water is a straight line, right? No winding roads, so you save time.

Mars: Exactly! Flat water is like a perfect highway. And it's all electric, so no emergency landings in a cornfield – you always have water underneath.

Mia: Nice safety net. So, battery life? Could I hop from Manhattan to the Hamptons?

Mars: Funny you ask! They’re aiming for New York to Hamptons trips by 2027, about eighty bucks a ticket. The range is around 180 miles on a full charge, so you've got some water to spare.

Mia: Are investors buying this?

Mars: Big time. Mark Cuban called it revolutionary - faster, better, cheaper. He threw cash into their $60 million Series A. They've raised over a hundred million overall, and have a ten-billion-dollar backlog of orders!

Mia: Ten billion? That's serious. And the cost to market is way lower than a regular jet, right?

Mars: Yep. They’re figuring $200-300 million to get Coast Guard-certified, versus the FAA's billion-dollar price tag. Huge difference.

Mia: Clever move by those MIT engineers – Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker – ditching Aurora Flight Sciences when they saw the FAA grind.

Mars: Right? They saw the bottleneck early and switched to a maritime route. Boats are more forgiving design-wise, so you can experiment faster.

Mia: Alright, so the bottom line: an all-electric seaplane that floats, foils, and flies, gets certified by the Coast Guard, skips years of red tape, saves cash, and could zoom people and cargo at 180 mph over open water. Sounds like the future of coastal travel.

Mars: Pretty much. If it all works out, we’ll be riding seagliders in just a few years.

Mia: Can't wait to book that first flight! Thanks for breaking it down!