A pioneering passenger craft that will float, hydrofoil and then fly, but not high enough to be considered an airplane, has won preliminary maritime approval.
Classification society Bureau Veritas granted the approval-in-principal of Regent Craft’s Viceroy, a fully-electric, 12-passenger vehicle known as a wing-in-ground effect (WIG) seaglider, which will operate without emissions on routes typically plied by ferries or commuter airlines.
“It’s very exciting to see shipping and aviation come together,” said Daniel Holmes, the Connecticut-based business development manager for Bureau Veritas in North America.