Yesterday was truly a dream come true. I finally had the opportunity to take the controls and drive the REGENT Viceroy Seaglider prototype myself. It's been almost 5 years since @mikeklinker1 and I quit our cushy, stable, aerospace engineering jobs to co-found @regentcraft. Working at monitors side by side on the kitchen table of his apartment in the early days, the seaglider was a dream and a powerpoint deck. Yesterday I climbed aboard the 15,000 lb vehicle and situated myself in the cockpit. As we sat side by side and looked at the monitors in front of us controlling the machine, I couldnt help flash back to us working side by side years before. As the vessel powered on, it all became so real. Building a vehicle is an incredible thing: as the electric motors spun up to speed and began their low, comforting whirring, the Seaglider almost took on a life of its own. I was filled with excitement, and confidence - but I can also tell you - it makes your attention to detail and safety all the more paramount when you are strapping yourself inside. Mike has been captaining the Viceroy prototype for several months now and he gave me the full checkout. I knew it ahead of time from my crew training of course, but somehow it still struck me that the controls and performance were EXACTLY as we envisioned when we dreamed the Seaglider up. An incredibly complicated machine of carbon fiber, electronics, and automatic control software - all controlled by the captain with the ease of driving a boat: left and right, fast and slow. Rising out of the water on the hydrofoils was majestic - and would have been exhilarating if it wasn't so smooth and quiet! Once up on the foils, we effortlessly powered through the waves. The rise was comfortable and stable and gave us a beautiful view of Narragansett Bay. It was obvious how this will soon become a transformational mobility technology. At the end of the test sortie, not only did I pass my Seaglider Captain's checkout, but we collected great data too! We are getting faster on the hydrofoil every day and expect to be in flight in the coming months. In all, it was probably the single greatest day of my professional career. It was so cool to finally, after almost 5 years, drive this vehicle with my co-founder, and it is a constant privilege to work with the incredible team at REGENT that makes this all possible. Onwards to flight!