Seaglider: All-electric ‘flying ferry’ concept unveiled – A new all-electric craft concept has been unveiled that foils like a hydrofoil and flies like a plane – all with the comfort and convenience of a ferry.
Brittany Ferries is exploring the potential for a new high-speed, sustainable and more efficient form of ferry travel called a seaglider. The concept, an all-electric, wing-in-ground effect vehicle (WIG), is under development in the United States through Boston-based start-up REGENT (Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transport).
Seagliders combine the convenience of passenger ferries with the comfort of hydrofoils, the aerodynamic efficiency of hovercraft and the speed of aircraft. With the potential to connect existing ferry ports, the craft are expected to fly at speeds of up to 180 mph – six times faster than conventional ferries – with a battery-powered range of 180 miles. The voyage from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, for example, could be covered in as little as 40 minutes.
They work by harnessing a concept well-known to pilots – ground effect. This is the cushion created by high-pressure air trapped between wings and the ground or water while flying at low altitude. Seagliders are therefore akin to a hovercraft with wings, rather than a skirt.
Isn’t this just a friendlier name for an ekranoplan? (Like the big ones the Russian military experimented with and were briefly available on the Thames?)
We introduced this in the Russian on Thames story discussion. The Thames boat was a Hydrofoil. The Ekranoplan is more of a boat than plane. Engines were on or close to the body and tail more like a Hovercraft, the surface effect was from the Hull and Stubs.
The above open sea craft is more like a plane that flies above the waves using less energy for lift. The engines and wings are more aeronautical, like a Spruce Goose that does not soar.
If we were to have a trial Clipper service on the lower Thames estuary covering greater distances using a ground effect ferry to reach more central London I would anticipate the aero wings to be much stubbier with engines mounted Ekranoplan style.
@MilesT, Aleks
I don’t think the Brittany Ferries Seaglider is an ekranoplan as such, as it’s high wing. The ekranoplans all had low wings to maximise the wing in ground effect.
China and Singapore both built prototypes this century
https://www.wigetworks.com/airfish-8
DXF100 (Tianyi-1) – 15 seater wing-in-ground effect craft, designed by China Academy of Science & Technology Development. In 2000, the model is for commercial sale in China. The first buyer of Tianyi-1 used the vehicle to carry tourists around Lake Tai.
The Germans (2012) demonstrated a carbon-fibre electric single seater
https://www.wired.com/2012/06/electric-flynano/
The Japanese considered a tracked Aero-Train version
https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/ground-effect-robot-could-be-key-to-future-high-speed-trains
We’ve not had this one on here yet – Swiss BubbleJet.
They are starting in St Tropez next summer and evaluating a Thames offering – more like an UberX than a ferry.
It’s an electric Hydrofoil https://bubblefly.tech/
@Aleks
There is also this 2019 prototype Sea Bubble hydrofoil pod for the Parisien Seine. However no news hits on the progress of this scheme.
GM has invested in electric boats, CNBC have done a feature summarising progress.
This may be more suited to home in ‘reads’ or Thames Clippers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAwIOO8DSY
I treat WIGE / Ekranoplan stories with about as much scepticism as “revolutionary” new Fusion Energy or Battery Technology pieces – I think the Russians, who tried very seriously over several iterations to make them work well concluded that you need a pretty calm sea state for them to achieve a decent power / speed / payload performance. Also a bit surprised that Brittany Ferries has found enough money down the back of the sofa to punt on this given the dire problems they were having during and after the Covid travel bans!
Regent’s latest prototype completed its first series of test flights on August 15th in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The quarter-scale prototype represents a proof-of-concept of the float, foil, and fly method and is based on REGENT’s plans for a 12-passenger seaglider called Viceroy. Although the existing prototype is unmanned, REGENT now plans to start building full-scale manned seagliders with trials starting in 2024.
REGENT has secured over $18 million in funding and backing from big-name investors, including Hawaiian Airlines, Thiel Capital, and Mesa Air Group. The company has also already accrued over $7 billion in orders.