We’re thrilled to announce Samson Sky’s landmark $80 million funding. The news was featured across major media outlets, including Yahoo Finance, Fox News, and hundreds of others. This financing will launch production of the Switchblade with our first facility in the US.
“We can now broadly announce the commitments for funding we have received, and start the hiring process for expansion.”
CEO & Founder
Securing Big Funding
We were thrilled to see Samson Sky’s landmark $80 million funding announcement featured across major media outlets, including Yahoo Finance, Fox News, and hundreds of other news organizations worldwide. Our big news gave us an enormous potential viewership of almost 300 million. This was our first broad public announcement of the financing that will launch production of the Switchblade with our first facility in the US.
Our partner, The Matin Group of Dubai, has worked closely with us to structure this transformational $100 million investment initiative. The Matin Group is providing 80% of the required funding along with the implementation strategy needed to bring this vision to life. Together, we are helping make history by bringing the world’s first practical flying sports car into production and preparing to serve the thousands of reservation holders eager to experience a whole new form of personal transportation.
Please see the Yahoo Finance article at the bottom of this newsletter to learn more about the Matin group and our relationship with them.
Momentum continues to build. We are currently in discussions with investors regarding the remaining $20 million required to fully fund production, and the level of interest in the Switchblade has been both encouraging and exciting. As awareness grows, so does confidence that a new era of personal mobility is rapidly approaching.
Click the links below to read the coverage and learn more about this exciting milestone.
Hybrid Generator System – Testing Next Phase
Recently we finished the assembly of the hybrid generator stack composed of three axial flux electric generators. This type of generator/motor is often called a pancake motor due to it being flat compared to standard electric motors. Axial flux motors are more often used in aviation due to being lighter than the heavier radial (standard) design.
The image below shows the stack of three generators physically connected together, ready for wiring and mounting on the 4-cylinder gas engine that will power the generator set. This is the third phase of hybrid design and testing. The earlier phases included software development and then computer simulations of the operations to validate the programming and hardware involved.
The next steps involve mounting the generator set to the gas engine and then wiring the system up for testing, using two of the three generators to produce power, while using the third generator as a motor opposing the generators. This will allow the system to operate as it would, with real-time loads being imposed on both generator and electric motors to test the efficiency of our software.
The mounting ring and hardware are shown in the image below, ready for the assembly work to be done. This single test will provide confidence in three things: first, that the motor controllers are properly matched to the electric generators and motors; second, that the controlling computers are able to synch the generators to the gas engine; and third, that our system can operate without a battery reservoir like traditional hybrid electric vehicles are required to do.
The image below shows how this generator set attaches to the gas engine with the plate above, and the image below that shows the future setup with two Asruk generators replacing the three AIM generators being used now for testing. The Asruk are more powerful, so only two are required for our production vehicles. We are using the three AIM generators to validate the hybrid engineering prior to production.
Production Setups
At the Oregon R&D Facility, Samson Sky is preparing for production by upgrading equipment and capabilities to support the first three Switchblade test fleet vehicles. Following completion of the test fleet, the facility will continue to supply some parts for production aircraft, as well as create new one-off parts for R&D.
We maintain strong relationships with several highly capable and responsive machine shops who continue to be our primary source for manufactured components. Our in-house CNC machining capability provides an additional production resource and serves as a backup for rapid R&D prototyping and part fabrication when needed.
The machine shown below is a 5-axis CNC machining center, capable of machining parts in multiple directions and orientations, including vertical, horizontal, rotational, and complex angled surfaces. This versatility allows the production of highly precise and complex aerospace components with minimal setup time.
There are also two smaller 3-axis machines shown in the image below that are being positioned in the R&D facility. These are heavy machines that need a special forklift to be able to move them around. The second image below is that huge forklift shown next to a standard size forklift for comparison. We have the only forklift of this size in the region that we know of!
These CNC machines complement our 3D printing capabilities, allowing our R&D staff to be more responsive to part changes and upgrades. It can also help with future production as well. This is the latest step in moving from R&D into production!
Ready for a Switchblade?
The dream of a lifetime is at your fingertips. Flying or driving, the choice is yours. Remember when you were a kid, and dreamed of flight? That is the future.
You don’t have to own one, but just think what it would give you. Freedom of travel on your own schedule and terms – no TSA, rental car lines, cancelled flights. More time visiting friends and relatives and less time getting there. The feeling of competence that good pilot training provides. A way to expand your business without being away from home so much. And it is fun to drive. Try 0-60 in 5 seconds and see what that feels like.
When you make a $500 non-refundable Deposit, you are given a fixed Delivery Position for your Switchblade. The other option is to simply Reserve and get your name on the Switchblade Reservation List with no money down.
Explore Options
Yours,
Sam Bousfield
Captain, Switchblade Team
Recent Media
Switchblade news worth celebrating
Yahoo Finance
Samson Sky Secures $80 Million Investment for Production of the Switchblade Flying Car
Fox News – CyberGuy
In this CyberGuy report featured on Fox News, Kurt Knutsson does a deep dive on what makes the Switchblade unique, the new production design, promised performance, and how this $80MM investment “gives the Switchblade production push more muscle”.
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/flying-sports-car-hides-wings-production-gets-closer
