Surf, Sky, and a $538K Coastal Aviation Gamble

State funding of $538,000 supports Chesapeake Regional Airport hangar expansion for coastal aviation hopeful Tidal Flight

4 May 2026

Virginia has committed $538,000 to support the expansion of Tidal Flight, a Hampton Roads start-up developing a hybrid-electric seaplane, in a move that signals the state's growing appetite for early-stage aviation investment.

Announced by Governor Abigail Spanberger on 7 April, the package, channelled through the Virginia Economic Development Partnership's Jobs Investment Program, will fund a 13,000 sq ft hangar at Chesapeake Regional Airport and support six new hires, tripling the company's current headcount.

The aircraft at the centre of the investment, the Polaris, is designed to carry nine to twelve passengers on coastal routes of between 100 and 500 miles. Its developers claim it will use 85 per cent less fuel than conventional seaplanes and cut operating costs by 40 per cent. Tidal Flight, founded three years ago through Hampton's REaKTOR incubator, says the new facility will support research and full-scale subsystem testing ahead of a prototype flight and eventual Federal Aviation Administration certification.

The Polaris targets a gap in regional air travel that urban air taxis, the so-called eVTOL aircraft that have attracted most venture capital in recent years, are not built to fill at comparable distances.

Chief executive Jude Augustine said Hampton Roads was "the perfect place to build the aircraft manufacturer of the future," pointing to the area's naval heritage and engineering workforce. Virginia Secretary of Commerce Carrie Chenery said the state offered "a cooperative regulatory environment and sites that support rapid prototyping."

Certification timelines and commercial launch dates remain unconfirmed. The broader US electric aviation sector continues to face questions over regulatory readiness and infrastructure.