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Regent – Electric coastal travel

regentcraft.com

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Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#81

Post by gedy »

lastofthemojito wrote: post #63

I was initially skeptical, but seeing Mokulele Airlines (an airline serving Hawaii) flash by on the carousel made me consider that this might have at least some real-world uses. It's insane to me that the vast majority of inter-island travel in Hawaii (an archipelago where generally each island is visible from the next) is via jet aircraft. You have to spend hours (especially if you're checking bags) getting to the a…

> The protesters' concerns were that a ferry of this size could strike and kill whales during its voyages despite this never occurring during the years the faster Seaflite interisland ferries operated.

NIMBYs ruin everything, I doubt they were really concerned about the whales.

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#82

Post by wthalheimer »

lastofthemojito wrote: post #63

I was initially skeptical, but seeing Mokulele Airlines (an airline serving Hawaii) flash by on the carousel made me consider that this might have at least some real-world uses. It's insane to me that the vast majority of inter-island travel in Hawaii (an archipelago where generally each island is visible from the next) is via jet aircraft. You have to spend hours (especially if you're checking bags) getting to the a…

Superferry was a huge case study for us. We went to Hawaii, interviewed everyone involved, and learned the lessons.

We're taking a different approach that focuses on community and environmental considerations first. Look for more exciting news in Hawaii soon!

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#83

Post by wthalheimer »

moneywoes wrote: post #78
wthalheimer wrote: post #52

Hey guys - Billy Thalheimer, Co-founder and CEO of REGENT here. A friend reached out to say this is blowing up - so cool! (Thank you beefman lol) Here to answer any questions

How did you start this venture? Very impressive work

Applied to YC! :)

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#84

Post by gedy »

wthalheimer wrote: post #67
wendyshu wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is coastal travel?

Lots of examples! To pick a few: - Manhattan to the Hamptons - Los Angeles to San Diego or Santa Barbara - Interisland in Hawaii, New Zealand, Japan, Caribbean, Pacific Northwest - The global ferry market, huge in places like the Mediterranean, North Sea, Baltic Sea, English Channel, Southeast Asia. Actually, there are as many ferry passengers every year as there are airline passengers! ~4.5B on both... its a key mod…

Bring on San Diego to Santa Barbara! Hopefully it's cheaper than SurfAir was.

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#85

Post by lastofthemojito »

wthalheimer wrote: post #82
lastofthemojito wrote: post #63

I was initially skeptical, but seeing Mokulele Airlines (an airline serving Hawaii) flash by on the carousel made me consider that this might have at least some real-world uses. It's insane to me that the vast majority of inter-island travel in Hawaii (an archipelago where generally each island is visible from the next) is via jet aircraft. You have to spend hours (especially if you're checking bags) getting to the a…

Superferry was a huge case study for us. We went to Hawaii, interviewed everyone involved, and learned the lessons. We're taking a different approach that focuses on community and environmental considerations first. Look for more exciting news in Hawaii soon!

That's great to hear. Good luck!

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#86

Post by rossjudson »

fnord77 wrote: post #22
ok_dad wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are rules of the road for seafaring which apply even to these types of craft. A sailboat usually wins over a powered craft.

so if a sailboat suddenly veers into the path of this thing, what is it going to do? Collide or ditch "GEVs may be unable to climb over or turn sharply enough to avoid collisions, while drastic, low-level maneuvers risk contact with solid or water hazards beneath. Aircraft can climb over most obstacles, but GEVs are more limited. "

Hang out on Lake Union sometime in the summer. Boats everywhere, and seaplanes everywhere dodging them while they land and take off.

Near as I can tell as a boat driver your job is to stay very, very predictable while the planes weave around everything. Those pilots are good. ;)

It's pretty fun for people to see a float plane zipping by at 80mph, 20 feet away, while it's taking off.

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#87

Post by jordemort »

I'd love to see this in Lake Michigan doing a route from Milwaukee through Chicago and all the way up to Traverse City, with stops at all the cool little towns on the Michigan lakefront along the way. Probably not viable as a year-round thing around here but it could be great fun in the summer.

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#88

Post by wthalheimer »

mark242 wrote: post #34
ggm wrote: post #16

We've sold over 467 seagliders with a $7.9B order backlog spanning global aviation and ferry customers. I would think this is pre-launch sales. It's probably hedged with "subject to certification" risk, but it's still pretty solid, and if it came with sufficient deposit fundings to bootstrap the assembly line, all to the good. But, my understanding is that both boats and aircraft (and this is a join over the two) inc…

> Could it make the Catalinas from California coastline? Yes -- but there is probably no business case where that makes sense. Presumably your launch points are San Pedro/Long Beach, Dana Point, or maybe Redondo. In all three cases, if you want to get to Avalon within 15 minutes, you're paying for the helicopter service. If you're okay with taking an hour, you're paying for the existing boat shuttles, which take a wh…

Depends on the price. All electric means we operate for about half the cost of an aircraft (and about 1/10th of a helicopter). Combine that with similar speeds to aircraft, convenience of not having to use an airport, and zero emissions - and the use case becomes very attractive.

We have some prospective customers eyeing Catalina, but that's actually on the short end of our range at ~25 miles vs our 180 mile max.

Shuttle service to SD and SB is very much in the cards - and we can do it with existing battery tech!

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#89

Post by oh_sigh »

qingcharles wrote: post #79
lastofthemojito wrote: post #63

I was initially skeptical, but seeing Mokulele Airlines (an airline serving Hawaii) flash by on the carousel made me consider that this might have at least some real-world uses. It's insane to me that the vast majority of inter-island travel in Hawaii (an archipelago where generally each island is visible from the next) is via jet aircraft. You have to spend hours (especially if you're checking bags) getting to the a…

Crazy. Suspended due to "the potential to bring drugs and homeless people to Kauaʻi".

Not at all. It seems they suspended it because of neverending lawsuits regarding environmental impact. Chopping up whales was apparently a big concern, so I suppose a ground effect service might alleviate some of those concerns(just kidding, I'm sure the environmental lawsuits were really just about control and not a genuine care for the environment)

Re: Regent – Electric coastal travel

#90

Post by mikeklinker129 »

Reason077 wrote: post #4

What are the operating limits in terms of weather? At only 10m above the surface, I assume bad things could happen in stormy conditions! I'm guessing these will be best suited to sheltered areas and fair-weather tourist operations?

High winds and weather systems occasionally effect air travel, but once flying above the water at 10m, you can fly over normal ocean swell conditions. The introduction of the foils is a key for making the seaglider comfortable from the inner harbors to the outer harbor in realistic operation conditions (wind/wave combinations).
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