Thiel Capital and regional airline Mesa invest in electric seaglider start-up Regent
Thiel Capital and regional aviation providers Mesa Air Group are investing in Regent, a start-up building electric seagliders that can fly low over the water at a top speed of 180 miles per hour.
Rather than taking off from a runway at an airport, Regent's 12-passenger seagliders motor out of a harbor on a hydrofoil, and and can take off at a low speed due to their fixed-wing design. The company wants to make trips between coastal cities fast, safe, and affordable with the smallest possible environmental footprint, says CEO and co-founder Billy Thalheimer. (The startup's name is an acronym for Regional Electric Ground Effect Naval Transport.)
Regent's seagliders should also be able to fly to islands and coastal hubs where airports are inadequate, non-existent, or when infrastructure has taken a hit due to a natural disaster. Because they can fly low under a fog line, unlike helicopters, the company is developing prototypes with an interior fit for emergency medical transportation with capacity to hold equipment, and patients on stretchers, safely in place.
Mesa Air Group CEO Jonathan Ornstein told CNBC that in addition to investing a small amount in Regent's $18 million venture funding round, co-led by Thiel Capital and JAM Fund, his company plans to purchase 200 of its fast-flying seagliders.
When it is able to put them into use, Mesa will supplement routes already served by its aircraft, and establish new city-to-city direct routes on the coasts, Ornstein said.
Because Regent's electric seagliders are technically categorized as Wing in Ground Effect craft, or WIGs, they're regulated by the U.S. Coast Guard rather than the Federal Aviation Administration. That may also help Mesa Airlines cope with a pilot shortage.
“There is a very significant pilot shortage today after government regulations put in place a few years back are coming home to roost. The 1,500-hour requirement has crippled the industry,” Ornstein notes. Laws in the U.S. require airline pilots to have 1,500 hours of flight time to work at a commercial airline, but there are exceptions for some students and military -- and WIGs have a different set of requirements.
Thalheimer says the startup will be using its new capital infusion to build and test prototypes out on the water in Tampa, Florida, later this year. The company, which has about 20 full-time employees today and more on contract, will also use the funding for hiring.
Thiel Capital 和区域航空供应商 Mesa Air Group 正在投资 Regent，这是一家初创公司，该公司正在建造电动海上滑翔机，可以以每小时 180 英里的最高速度在水面上低空飞行。 Regent 的 12 座海上滑翔机不是从机场的跑道起飞，而是乘坐水翼飞机从港口起飞，并且由于采用固定翼设计，因此可以低速起飞。该公司首席执行官兼联合创始人比利·塔尔海默 (Billy Thalheimer) 表示，该公司希望以尽可能小的环境足迹在沿海城市之间进行快速、安全和负担得起的旅行。 （这家初创公司的名字是区域电力地面效应海军运输的首字母缩写。）
Regent 的海上滑翔机还应该能够飞往机场不足、不存在或基础设施因自然灾害而受到打击的岛屿和沿海枢纽。因为它们可以在雾线下低空飞行，与直升机不同，该公司正在开发内部适合紧急医疗运输的原型，能够将设备和担架上的病人安全地放置在适当的位置。
Mesa Air Group 首席执行官乔纳森·奥恩斯坦 (Jonathan Ornstein) 告诉 CNBC，除了在由 Thiel Capital 和 JAM Fund 共同领投的 Regent 的 1800 万美元风险投资中投入少量资金外，他的公司还计划购买 200 架快速飞行的海上滑翔机。
Ornstein 说，当它能够投入使用时，Mesa 将补充其飞机已经服务的航线，并在海岸建立新的城市到城市的直达航线。
由于 Regent 的电动海上滑翔机在技术上被归类为地效飞行器或 WIG，它们由美国海岸警卫队而非联邦航空管理局监管。这也可能有助于梅萨航空公司应对飞行员短缺的问题。
“在几年前制定的政府法规正在回归后，今天的飞行员短缺非常严重。 1,500 小时的要求已经削弱了整个行业，”Ornstein 指出。美国的法律要求航空公司飞行员有 1,500 小时的飞行时间才能在商业航空公司工作，但一些学生和军人除外——而 WIG 有不同的要求。
Thalheimer 表示，这家初创公司将利用其新的资本注入，于今年晚些时候在佛罗里达州坦帕市的水上建造和测试原型。该公司目前拥有约 20 名全职员工，合同中还有更多员工，也将利用这笔资金进行招聘
