During the week-long world famous AirVenture aviation celebration in Oshkosh, WI, USA, the world’s most popular flying car, the Switchblade added 115 vehicles to their order books, valued at nearly $22MM. This two-seat flying sports car is arguably the most sought-after flying car in history, with over 2400 Reservations from 57 countries, including all 50 US states. In addition to Reservations, over 100 vehicles have been pre-purchased by those wanting to gain the earliest delivery positions.
Samson Sky, developers of the Switchblade, interrupted their ongoing flight test program to display the vehicle at the world-class event. Support for the Switchblade program has been overwhelming. “Over the years, I’ve looked at several flying cars, but the Switchblade is one-of-a-kind and truly revolutionary! I’m going to use it for recreation and in my business. My daughter and I are both pilots and we can’t wait to get our flying sports car!” said Heather G. Samson Reservations Manager, Martha Hall Bousfield, reported that during the week-long event, hundreds of people shared their enthusiasm for Samson’s innovative vehicle. “I’ve been following the Samson Switchblade for over a decade and as a pilot and engineer I’m eager to have my own! To always have a car with you wherever you fly is such a huge asset and convenience,” stated Jon H.
“It was great to be back at AirVenture to take advantage of all the industry experts and suppliers who attend the show,” said Sam Bousfield, designer of the Switchblade, and Founder and CEO of Samson Sky. “We were able to hold several key meetings with future partners and investors that made the show an even bigger success for us.”
The test flights so far have been held at the Moses Lake Airport in Central Washington, with a flight test team making certain that the testing was accomplished successfully. Powered by a 200 hp liquid cooled Samson 3 engine, the vehicle is being run through a rigorous flight test program to validate flight capabilities and find and correct any deviations from the company’s lofty goal of “high performance in both modes” as a car and a plane. Flight testing will continue for several months while the Samson Team learns from these flights and finalizes the production engineering that will allow Samson to start Switchblade production.
Samson has been working through the details of production to keep up with the great demand being expressed for the Switchblade. The team spent nearly four years developing carbon fiber production processes to enable the company to ramp up parts production quickly and at much less cost than the current state of the art.
The Switchblade is a three-wheel, street-legal vehicle that you keep parked in your garage. You drive it from your garage to a nearby airport. Once there, the wings swing out and the tail extends in under three minutes. You fly your registered aircraft to the airport nearest your destination, at up to 160mph. Then you simply land, transform your flying sports car back to driving mode – the wings and tail safely stowed and protected – and drive to your final destination.
“The feedback we’re getting is, the practicality of the Switchblade checks all the boxes for what people truly want in a flying car,” says Bousfield. “We hope a Switchblade will grace the skies and streets of your city very soon.”
For more information about the Switchblade and to follow its progress into production, visit: www.SamsonSky.com
