“The path to a flying car future is being built at Samson. Right now, the first of our production vehicles is underway, and later next year we plan to send it out for the world to see first-hand in a city near you.”
Sam Bousfield
CEO & Founder
More images of the new body!
We have started to release the new images of the Switchblade as it is being built for production. Here are a couple in case you haven’t seen some of our latest press releases, where the images were included. The body is more streamlined than before, even more than the model that went into the wind tunnel. We ran cfd (computational fluid dynamics or wind tunnel in a pc) on the new shape and it showed more than a 2% reduction in drag over the wind tunnel model cfd results. That means we have less drag than the wind tunnel showed and as a result have some built-in margin for construction of the final vehicle in order to meet our speed target for cruise. And remember, we got a whopping 20% increase in performance from the Switchblade that flew, to the new model we’re going into production with.
Often when you build a design, there are components on the ‘real’ vehicle that don’t show up on a CFD run. Things like panel gaps, door handles, etc. Small things but they can add up. We now have a 2% margin to cover those potential drag additions going into production.
More teammates to speed things along
Samson has added four new teammates members to help build the first production vehicle. Michael Maxwell has joined us as Chief of R&D to manage building the first three production vehicles at the R&D center in Prineville, Oregon. Michael Maxwell’s wealth of knowledge and experience in advanced composites makes him an invaluable member of Samson, and we’re excited to have him leading our R&D and production efforts.
Maxwell is a top performing Program Manager, leveraging 20+ years of experience working with Boeing, Toyota, NASA, DOD and other groups.
He played a key role as Composite Manufacturing Manager from 2020-2023 for SpinLaunch, named on the Time100 Influential Companies of 2022 for creating a new, cleaner method of launching satellites into space. There he ran operations to create the world’s largest carbon fiber part ever produced – a 1.5 ton, 100-foot-long satellite launch mechanism.
Michael Maxwell, R&D Chief
We have also added Matthew Bixby to our Mechanical Engineering Team. Matthew has significant experience in the automotive and manufacturing industries and is currently helping create the design of the headlights for manufacturing. This is no small feat, but he has done this previously so can build upon that experience to get a good headlight crafted for the Switchblade. The headlights are almost ready for production drawings now.
Kelly Tomlinson has been added to the support staff and has been making herself invaluable in the organizing and establishment of our R&D facilities prior to the assembly process beginning for the first production Switchblades. We are still making molds and parts but will begin assembly soon and the work Kelly is doing will make that a faster and more orderly process.
Hybrid System Motor Supplier Chosen
Samson has chosen Beyond Motors as the primary electric motor supplier for the Switchblade. Beyond is a Slovenian company and their axial flux motors are a good fit for the Switchblade generators and propeller motors. A special design will be done for the ground motors, as their current offerings do not meet all our parameters, but the company is ready to develop a motor specifically for the Switchblade for that purpose.
Beyond makes some of the most compact and lightweight motors we have found, and Samson is proud to partner with them to power the Switchblade. The version we are using is the AMX2 seen in the image below. Beyond has been providing motors for automobiles and aviation companies throughout Europe for many years.
Composite Manufacturing Improved Upon
As many of you know, we have worked for more than five years to be able to produce carbon fiber parts at half the cost and 8 times faster than current technology in our industry. There were three main reasons why we made this effort. The first is that we value our employees as well as our future neighbors at the assembly facility and wanted to ensure a toxin-free workplace.
This works for us internally, as with this new carbon part production material and process we are able to be environmentally friendly in a huge way. Our staff do not need to wear respirators or protective suits when handling the parts or making the parts. Neither do our clients who will come to the Builder Assist Center to make their parts and complete the Experimental Category Aircraft 51% rule (making more than half of the vehicle) by learning to operate five different machines and mostly push buttons on the automated processes to accomplish their portion in one week.
Another reason is to reduce the price of the costliest part of the vehicle – carbon fiber parts! By reducing the price, we are set up to be as close to our cost projections as possible given the current economic scene. Our goal is to keep the price within reach of as many people possible!
The third reason is that this type of carbon fiber material has some unique properties. It is fully recyclable at end of life, and all trimmings or unused raw material can be made into non-structural parts like dashboard or center console. This means an almost zero-waste manufacturing process! Another way Samson is using the best of what is available to build a manufacturing capability like no other place on earth.
The implementation of this material and process has been headed by Steve McGinnis, a Samson Sky composites consultant. McGinnis has over 35 years in composite aircraft manufacturing, having worked in leadership roles at Virgin Galactic, Mooney Aircraft, ICON Aircraft, the Amazon Drone Project, among others. He was granted, or has pending, eight patents related to composite airframe manufacturing and specializes in bringing new aircraft to market, utilizing cutting-edge composite manufacturing processes to simplify assembly and drive down costs.
Recent improvements in the materials available for our new process have shown the potential to decrease the cost of parts by another 15% or more, so we are improving on an already good thing!
Steve McGinnis, Composites Consultant
The new tail, for those who haven’t seen it
The new body design necessitated a new tail design as well. We are completely protecting the tail and wings with the production version, improving on what we were able to do with the initial prototype. As you can see in the video below, the tail folds up entirely within the rear, and the wings fold up and swing into the belly of the vehicle. This is important for peace of mind when using the Switchblade, as you have certainty that no matter where you leave it, no one can get at your flight surfaces or propellers when in Ground Mode.
It is also important for insurance, as we have been told by multiple insurers that they will not insure a flying car that does not protect the flying surfaces when on the ground. You can probably imagine why, as if someone were to damage your wing or tail when you are parked somewhere and you didn’t know it, you could take off and have an accident in the air that was caused by the ground incident.
What Do You Get When You Deposit?
Anyone can Reserve with no money down, but when you become a Depositor, you are moved to an early fixed Delivery Position. This is ahead of the Reservation Holders who haven’t put a Deposit down yet. Reservation Holders who want a firm early position can place their $500 non-refundable deposit using their existing Reservation Number, and they will be assigned the next available Delivery Position. You can read the Terms and Deposit or Reserve HERE
Investment Opportunity Section Closing Soon
Several months ago, Samson began a large funding effort to get the Switchblade into production. This is called a Reg D Series A (first major fundraise), and we have been receiving significant investor attention. So much so that we may be able to close the ‘early’ portion of this funding round in the very near future. This is the $2MM portion with a discount off the Reg D that provides early access to funds by the Company.
The current investment is reserved for Accredited Investors only due to the type of this raise. If you ever wondered whether you qualified as an Accredited Investor, you can check out the requirements here:
Forbes Accredited Investor Definition
To learn more about this opportunity, please use the Investor Inquiry form on the website:
Latest Hot Press Coverage
Sam Bousfield
Captain, Switchblade Team