One of America’s first-ever passenger seagliders spotted dangling from a crane
- This American seaglider has been spotted dangling from a crane
- The Regent Craft seaglider was hanging over the bay in Rhode Island
- While it looks questionable, the company says it’s an important test
Published on Apr 18, 2025 at 4:33 PM (UTC+4)
by Kate Bain
Last updated on Apr 18, 2025 at 4:33 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
One of America’s first-ever passenger seagliders has been spotted dangling from a crane.
And no, it’s not part of a publicity stunt gone wrong; it’s apparently an integral part of testing for the vessel.
The seaglider – a vessel designed to travel like a boat, hydrofoil, and airplane – sounds like something out of a sci-fi action movie.
But it’s a very real thing, and closer to production than ever.
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Rhode Island company Regent Craft has been working hard to bring its Viceroy seaglider to the water.
The prototype vessel – named Paladin – was just spotted dangling from a crane over the waters of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island.
While it looked questionable, the company said it had a very good reason for doing it.
Dangle test of the seagliders
Regent Craft said the test had to do with calibrating its sensors so they could accurately read the distance between the vessel and the water when it was in flight.
Regent Craft even had an official (and very apt) name for the test – ‘the dangle test’.
The company said the test would bring them one step closer to the first commercial flight of the Viceroy seaglider, which they expected to happen in 2027.
Float, foil and fly
When the seaglider is fully operational, the company said it would be a total game changer.
Why? Because it’s designed to float like a boat, foil, and fly.
But what exactly is foiling?
The company compared the hydrofoils to ‘driving above the water surface on stilts’.
With 12 electric motors powering propellers on its wings, the company said the seaglider will be able to reach cruising speeds of up to 180mph (290km/h) in flight mode.
It will also be able to travel up to 186 miles (300km) on a single charge.
The seaglider has also been designed to carry up to 12 passengers plus two crew.
Regent CEO and cofounder Billy Thalheimer described the vessel as ‘the next great moment in the history of human transportation’.
“There has not been a new mode of transport since the helicopter,” he said.
The Viceroy seaglider isn’t the only vessel the company’s working on either.
It also claims its much bigger Monarch seaglider is almost ready to take to the skies.
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Kate Bain is Lead Editor at supercarblondie.com. She is based in Dubai and coordinates coverage of the latest news across automotive, technology, and lifestyle. Kate has a bachelor's degree in business and post graduate in journalism. She is an experienced editor and journalist who has worked for News Corp, Daily Mail Australia, and Sky News. When she's not at work, you'll find her at the park with her daughter, Charlotte, and her dog, Thor.
