Flying Car Gets New Electric Motor; 100 mph Ground Speed

The flying car has a range of 500 miles using premium automotive gas, which can come from a local gas station.

Samson Sky

Flying sports car company Samson Sky has selected the hybrid motor supplier for its Switchblade flying car.

Samson said the Slovenian company Beyond Motors, which supplies motors for the marine, aviation and automotive industries, would provide the hybrid electric motor system for its flying sports car.

The Switchblade has an estimated 100 mph ground speed and 160 mph flying speed.

The flying car has a range of 500 miles using premium automotive gas, which can come from a local gas station.

The Switchblade is one of the flying cars in development that is closest to actual launch.

Another is from flying car company Klein Vision, which recently introduced a production prototype vehicle scheduled to go on sale in early 2026 for a price of $800,000 to $1 million.

The Samson Sky Switchblade has been many years in development and hardly a quick creation.

“The Switchblade took 14 years to achieve first flight, with the lofty goal of high performance in both modes, unique among flying cars,” Samson Sky CEO Sam Bousfield told me.

The Samson Sky vision was always to create a flying car that did not compromise either the ground or the air component, which led to complex development processes to get it right.

This involved wind tunnel testing to validate the design.

Bousfield said a test fleet of three vehicles is being produced, while the main production facility is being designed, along with specialized equipment and processes.

“Intense testing of these vehicles will validate the supply chain being established now, and dovetail into the major production slated to provide the first Switchblades to buyers in 2026,” Bousfield said. 

Samson Sky last year introduced a new design for its production vehicles at the AirVenture Air Show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The new body style was more streamlined than the previous version and has an increased wing area. 

Samson Sky

The idea is for the two-seater Switchblade to be parked in a home garage and driven to a nearby airport to fly.

The wings swing out and the tail extends in fewer than three minutes, according to the company. 

After landing, the wings and tail can be stowed and protected as the vehicle converts to a road vehicle.

The maiden flight of the Switchblade took place last year at Lake Moses, Washington.

The prototype test vehicle took off and flew at 500 feet and for nearly six minutes before landing.

The vehicle can be registered as an Experimental Category aircraft and as a custom motorcycle or kit car on the ground, depending on local regulations. 

Flying cars are now approved to drive to airports on some state roads and highways, with Minnesota becoming the second state to approve such flying car road travel, following similar legislation passed in New Hampshire several years ago.

Samson Sky was a main proponent and supporter of the legislation.

The Minnesota law specifies that drivers of roadable aircraft are required to adhere to the rules of the road while driving, the same as other motor vehicles. 

Samson Sky has been pushing states to adopt legislation to allow flying cars like the Switchblade to legally drive on roads so they can get to an airport to take off, not necessarily a swift legislative process.

States that delay take the chance of missing being part of the electric aerial revolution.

Samson was granted a patent for its wing-swing design by the European Union, bringing the number of patents to six for the Oregon company.

The Minnesota and New Hampshire laws relate only to the road-driving part. The flying part is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Samson Sky said it has received more than 2,400 reservations valued at more than $405 million from people in more than 50 countries and all U.S. states to purchase the $170,000 Switchblade.

The vehicle needs to be flown under Visual Flight Rules or can be customized for pilots certified to fly under Instrument Flight Rules.

Flying the vehicle would require a Private Pilot Certificate.

Chuck Martin, Editorial Director AI & IoT