Regent eyes air cargo market with seaglider

Regent intends to enter the middle-mile cargo segment with its new Viceroy seaglider. The North Kingstown, R.I.-based company, which unveiled a full-size mockup of the Viceroy last month, plans to conduct human test flights in 2024, with entry into service planned in the middle of the decade, the company told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_56863441" align="alignright" width="460"] The Viceroy will have both cargo and passenger versions. (Photo/Regent)[/caption] The seaglider intends to become a next-generation ekranoplan — a vehicle that takes advantage of ground effect to lift heavy payloads at high speeds. The Viceroy will have two variants: cargo and passenger, with the primary difference being the interior configuration. The cargo version will have the same performance as the passenger version, giving it the capability to carry 3,500 pounds of cargo at ranges of 156 nautical miles and speeds of 156 knots. Regent told Cargo Facts that its all-electric seaglider, with twelve battery-powered engines, was inspired by past wing-in-ground-effect vehicles, or ekranoplans. Ekranoplans were primarily developed for military purposes by the Soviet Union in the 1970s. However, most projects struggled to find commercial success. Regent’s design will address one of the primary challenges for ekranoplans by encompassing an intermediate hydrofoil mode to help transition the aircraft into ground effect, the company said. Japan-based logistics company Yamato Group announced in March that it had made a strategic investment in Regent, supporting Regent’s entry into the cargo market. However, the Japanese company did not disclose any orders. The first Cargo Facts LATAM takes place May 15-17 in Panama City. Register today.

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