Switchblade Flying Car Gets an Enhanced Body Design As It Nears Production Phase

Humans have been dreaming about flying cars for more than a century, but though significant progress has been made in the world of air mobility, widespread use is still on the horizon. Oregon-based Samson Sky is now telling us that this fantasy is closer to reality than ever, as its Switchblade flying car has taken a giant step toward real-world usage.

The Samson Switchblade flying car took to the sky for the first time last year, and now its makers have unveiled they have moved into the next phase, that of Production Engineering, with a redesigned model. The Prineville, Oregon-based aviation company says their initial tests have yielded fantastic results and validated many key parameters, and the new and enhanced body design for their production vehicle is based on the lessons learned during that first flight.

“The new design improves performance and shortens the pathway to production by transferring much of what worked well in the test vehicle that flew, into the new streamlined design,” commented Sam Bousfield, Samson Sky CEO and the mastermind behind the Switchblade.

More than 14 years in the making, the Switchblade Flying Sports Car is a hybrid dual-purpose vehicle aimed at the civilian market. Designed as a flexible transportation solution, this innovative vehicle transforms from a road-legal car to a fixed-wing aircraft in under three minutes. With three wheels, a two-seat configuration, a rear tail, and wings that are neatly tucked under its body and swing out in flight mode, it promises high performance both on the road and in the air.

It measures 16.8 feet (5.1 meters) in ground mode, meaning it can be kept in a regular garage and driven on the roads like a typical car. When you need to reach a further destination, you simply drive it to the closest airport or airstrip and switch to flight mode, which involves extending its tail and folding out its wings. This is an automatic process that will turn the Switchblade into a small aircraft measuring 20.2 feet (6.2 meters). After landing, the vehicle transforms back to driving mode, allowing you to drive the remaining distance to your destination.

“From your garage to your destination, in one vehicle,” the company advertises. “Flies through the air as a superbly capable aircraft. Drives nimbly through winding curves as a high-performance sports car. The best of both worlds, at your fingertips.”

The Switchblade is equipped with a hybrid power system that runs on regular 91-octane gasoline. When rolling on the street as a typical car, it can reach a top speed of 125 mph (201 kph), while in the air, it can fly up to 500 miles (805 km) on a single tank.

During its first flight, which took place last November at the Grant Country International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, the Switchblade test vehicle reached an altitude of 500 feet (152 meters) and stayed in the air for six minutes. This initial flight provided the design team with essential data, and since the company aims for an altitude of 13,000 feet (3,962 meters), the team quickly got to work on improving the design for production.

The updated version preserves everything that worked from the flying prototype, “including the signature wing swing that gives the Switchblade its name,” but it comes with some changes meant to improve its aerodynamics and performance. The most notable is a folding mechanism for the tail structure and two rear thruster propellers. While on the test model, these propellers were mounted in fixed scoops on the sides of the vehicle, they now retract and stow away completely within the vehicle’s body when not in use. With this modification, it looks more like a sports car than ever.

The redesigned Switchblade also has a new wing shape, which has been enlarged from 67 square feet to 99 square feet and swept back slightly for aerodynamic reasons. The flying car now has a maximum gross take-off weight of 2,600 pounds/1,180 kg, and wind tunnel tests indicate this streamlined design should allow the vehicle to attain its target flying cruise speed of 160 mph (257 kph).

According to the company, “the bigger wing allows us to increase the maximum gross take-off weight of the vehicle to include more fuel, bigger people, and also to reduce our landing speed for greater safety.” In fact, the fuel capacity has already been increased from 33 gallons to 40 gallons. The side windows on the revamped model are also a bit larger to provide better visibility and greater safety, and the company is working with automotive designers to complete the interior.

Other notable additions compared to the previous version include folding side wing mirrors, headlights, tail lights, a nose radiator inlet, and a performance radiator outlet.

Samson Sky says that, apart from the performance improvements, the new design makes the Switchblade easier to build. This is a great thing, considering the company is prepping for large-scale production and claims to already have over 2,300 reservations from 57 different countries.

At the moment, Samson Sky is busy building three new prototypes that will be extensively tested over the next 18 months in real-world fly-and-drive conditions to further refine the vehicle before starting production. In terms of pricing, the Switchblade flying car is expected to start at approximately $170,000 and can go upwards of $770,000 for the Limited Edition, which is individually crafted for each client with bespoke features and options. 

Ancuta Iosub, Author