Viceroy by Regent Craft

Posted by Hermit-hawk@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 23 comments

Source: Flying Seaglider Will Also Be One of the World's Fastest Hydrofoils

The seaglider I'm talking about is called Viceroy, and it's being put together by Rhode Island-based Regent Craft. A prototype of the design is currently under testing in Narragansett Bay, and we just got word of it completing its first crewed foil-mode testing...

The achievement comes on the heels of the initial float-mode tests conducted back in March, and according to the company it marks "a significant step forward in the validation of the full-scale Seaglider vessel."

During the procedure, the hydrofoils the vessel is equipped with did their thing and lifted the Viceroy out of the water. Although we're not told exactly how fast it went this time, Regent claims that, when fully operational, the vessel will be able to reach top speeds of 57 mph, just as fast as a America Cup 75 class racer.

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We have come full circle now, first huge planes had tons of engines because they couldn't build powerful enough ones, then came the twinjet era with huge fans, now we are back at a ton of small engines. Another post just displayed Chinas Ekranoplan. I mean I don't object going back to cool early cold war designs, haha.

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AresV92@reddit

Is this an electric ekranoplan?

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Clickclickdoh@reddit

So... it's a hydrofoil that can also be a wing in ground effect craft.

But... why?

Seems like an awful lot of extra engineering challenges and airframe complexity for marginal, if any gain.

I don't even want to think about trying to land that thing on a hydrofoil.

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Epiphany818@reddit

Massively improved take off distance is one compelling reason. Sea planes can take ages to "unstick" from the surface

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Clickclickdoh@reddit

There are technologically simpler solutions:

https://youtu.be/_lY2GlzBAtM?si=5eDUUt9xyO7r1n7T

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Epiphany818@reddit

Not sure I'd call boundary layer control technologically simpler..

Regardless the foil also allows them to cruise super efficiently into say, a port where they wouldn't be able to land. Also it's considerably more energy efficient as a take off method. Efficiency is EVERYTHING with an electric aircraft.

Even more also, the reason they have propellers all along the wing is to blow the wing and create an effect similar to the US2

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r34changedmylife@reddit

Then why fly in ground effect at all? Just build a standard hydrofoil boat and get 90% of the speed and efficiency for half the complexity

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FourteenTwenty-Seven@reddit

In WIG mode it would be more than twice as fast as the fastest hydrofoil craft.

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Clickclickdoh@reddit

Boundary layer is the US2s most famous trick, but it's only a portion of why the US2 has such impressive takeoff performance. The hull shape and skirting direct water to push the hull out of the water and onto the keel step.

So, both aircraft use a blown wing. The US2 uses hull shaping to push itself onto its keel step. This plane uses a hydrofoil.

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ronzobot@reddit

boundary layer control system

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DeficiencyOfGravitas@reddit

But... why?

It's electric so they get government subsidies to build an alternative to fossil fuel powered aircraft.

Unfortunately, there is rarely a "has to be practical" clause in these contracts.

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Raguleader@reddit

Although the history of aviation is full of designs that are mostly justifiable as "we just think it's neat" or "for science!"

Glancing at their website, this one seems to be aiming at a niche where folks would pay good money for the novelty of something that isn't quite as mundane as a boat or an airplane for traveling around resort locations.

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ziper1221@reddit

As far as I can tell, it is for regulatory reasons. This thing is considered a vessel and not a plane.

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RockstarQuaff@reddit

The link goes a little bit deeper, but unfortunately not too much into the engineering. I imagine the foil retracts into the hull like landing gear, so it can land. But does it have any kind of terrestrial landing gear at all? If not, they'll probably have to trailer it around for maintenance and storage. The boat hull is probably a great place to put all the batteries it needs to get 300km range. It's niche, but pretty interesting, and definitely weird!

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Raguleader@reddit

Mind, needing a trailer or a hoist to get boats out of the water for maintenance isn't an unusual challenge for watercraft. This is probably why another name for an apron or pad at an airport is a "ramp," after the ramps you'd find at marinas for getting boats in and out of the water and off/on trailers/beaching gear.

For airplanes this is a more unusual thing to consider especially since seaplanes and flying boats fell out of fashion, just as for boats and ships the question of what you do with the landing gear once you're underway is probably a pretty weird question to have to ask.

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NassauTropicBird@reddit

Wow, an airplane that can achieve the same speeds as a top of the line racing...sailboat.

That will come in handy if it has the stall speed of a Cessna

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Xivios@reddit

Just on the water. Once in flight it'll do about 180.

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NassauTropicBird@reddit

I'll believe this will be successful when I see it.

It makes no sense to have a hydrofoil ferry that can also fly. It adds needless weight to something that flies, and needless wings to something that floats.

In flight, meaning at a distance of up to 60 feet (18 meters) above the water, it will be capable of reaching speeds of up to 180 mph (290 kph).

Russia made ground effect aircraft 35 years ago. If it was as astoundingly awesome as these folks make it sound there would be thousands of such aircraft operating today. There are not, mainly because they can't fly above weather. They also start to suck in choppy water.

There is this promise that the travel time between Miami and West Palm Beach will be cut to just 35 minutes, and the cost will be a fraction of what alternative means of transport require.

Whoa! Hold the presses! 35 minutes? WOW! So an hour in the airport (or two?) and then 35 minutes to do what you can do in a car in a little over an hour. Brilliant.

It reminds me of the Amphicar. "What a great idea! A car you can drive right into the water then use as a boat!" It sucked as a car and it sucked as a boat, and with less than 4000 made over 5 years it was hardly a success.

I wonder what it's like to have to get certified by both the FAA as well as the USCG.

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