“We want to make sure that it’s clear that we have a single set of regulations that apply to our vessel.” “The most important thing for us is regulatory certainty,” Thalheimer adds. The maritime regulator’s website says it is developing WIG safety standards with FAA assistance. Despite repeated requests, the FAA declines to elaborate.Īsked to comment, the USCG says: “Any WIG craft carrying more than one passenger aboard is classified as a passenger vessel, which will require a certificate of inspection issued by the local Coast Guard office.” “The FAA and United States Coast Guard share regulatory responsibility for these type of aircraft, just as they do with seaplanes. The agencies are working together to address certification needs of this re-emerging industry,” the FAA tells FlightGlobal. Regent has said Viceroy is not an aircraft and calls the design a “seaglider”. “We’re expecting to continue down that route.” “We have very high confidence… following the rules that have been prescribed, that we will remain under maritime regulation,” Regent chief executive Billy Thalheimer tells FlightGlobal. Title 14 regulations lay out the FAA’s regulatory remit. “For Type A WIGs, no regulations in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations apply.” “The US Coast Guard has statutory authority to regulate WIGs under its authority to regulate small passenger vessels, including design approval, inspection, construction and crewing,” Regent told the marine regulator in 2022. Ground-effect flight is typically within one wingspan of the surface. Viceroy is to be a “Type A” WIG under marine standards, meaning it will not fly above the altitude at which ground effect exists. Rhode Island-based Regent is developing an all-electric 12-passenger WIG called Viceroy, with a 2025 in-service goal. WIGs are floating, winged vehicles that take off from the water and fly close to the surface, staying in ground effect and consequently benefiting from increased lift and reduced aerodynamic drag. “The ability to be regulated exclusively in the maritime environment is the overriding economic advantage that makes a modern WIG viable at all – this likely reduces the cost of development to get to market by 10 compared to an equivalent aircraft,” a California WIG developer called Seaflight Technologies told the USCG in 2022. Now, the USCG and FAA are trying to figure out the regulatory questions, with potentially far-reaching implications for Regent and other developers. Being subject to FAA regulations would pose insurmountable economic problems, killing an emerging sector, some developers argue.ĭocuments reviewed by FlightGlobal also reveal uncertainty about how such fast-moving craft could operate safely in an environment otherwise occupied by relatively slow boats. Such companies insist their designs are marine craft under law and industry standards, and therefore subject to oversight by the USCG. Regent Craft hopes to begin testing its Viceroy seaglider in 2024, enabling service entry from 2025
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