Don Lindsey –
Private Pilot, Adventurer, Rancher, Aircraft Mechanic
A lifelong dream that’s coming true!
I first envisioned having my own flying car in 1962 when I saw the Jetsons on TV. The idea stayed with me, fueled by working with planes for years as a licensed aircraft mechanic and just recently I became a pilot, fulfilling a 40-year long goal.
My long-term plan to own a flying car included searching for the right one. I watched the field for a long time, and in 2009, saw Samson introduce the Switchblade. I have been following their project and the work being done on their design since that time. Over the years other flying car options have also come onto market, but the Switchblade remained the one with the most appealing possibilities. In January of 2013, I was one of the first people to place an order with Samson and purchase my future Switchblade.
After several decades working as an aircraft mechanic, I retired in 2000 and went into business as a cattle rancher in Northern California. I worked the ranch hard, putting in 14-16 hour days, 7 days a week, building my herd up from 10 to more than 250 head. A few years ago I sold off the cattle, retired for a second time, and moved to a small town in Northern California. That meant spending even more time in my car! I would drive back and forth from home to the ranch, and often spend anywhere from 1.5 to 5 hours driving one way to visit my grandchildren, who then ranged in age from 20 years to just a few months old. My motivation for getting from here to there in a flying car grew exponentially with the arrival of each new family member.
And now, I have a flying companion, my wife Marcia Harper, who is an amazing woman, partner and navigator. She is just as incredibly excited as I am about what we can and will do with our Switchblade Flying Sports Car! We’ll use it for work and play, traveling both locally and cross-country.
With a Switchblade, we can simply back out of our garage and make the short 3 ½ mile trip to our local airport, or if we’re at the ranch we can just head to the private strip. What the Switchblade offers is a sporty, Multi-Mode Vehicle that with just a short hop to a local airport or landing strip, can be used to go anywhere—now. Can’t beat this design for practicality.
Having the option to fly is an incredible time-saver. The drive from our house to our ranch is normally a 265 mile and 6 hour ordeal. In the Switchblade that same trip will only be 132 miles, with the door-to-door trip taking less than an hour.
The Switchblade will make flying and the use of an aircraft safer than ever before. In the event that weather becomes a problem, we will always have the option to drive on the ground until the air becomes safe to fly in again.
In the very near future, with completion of the Samson Flying Sports Car, I’m ready to move forward in my part of an amazing production and adventure. This is a lifelong dream that’s coming true!
Don Lindsey – California, USA