Yahoo! Finance

August 30, 2019

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Samson Sky Reservation Position Hits 1000!

OSHKOSH, Wis., Aug. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Samson Sky, creators of the Switchblade flying sports car, signed their 1,000th Reservation Position during AirVenture 2019. AirVenture is a week-long aviation celebration – this year being their 50th anniversary in Oshkosh, WI – with over 645,000 attendees from around the world. “We now have Reservations from 32 countries, and 48 US States”, said Samson Sky Reservations Manager, Martha Hall Bousfield. Further, to accommodate international demands, Bousfield stated, “The Switchblade will be available in either right or left-hand drive, to satisfy customers virtually anywhere in the world.”

In another first for small aircraft, Samson Sky revealed their Dynamic Dash™ at their AirVenture press conference on Tuesday, July 23rd. “This patent pending digital dashboard allows user customization of the Eyes Forward Display™ portion of the dash, which changes from flight gauges to driving gauges depending on the mode of the vehicle,” stated Switchblade designer, Sam Bousfield.

Thousands of enthusiastic people tried out the custom leather seats in a simulator-like module Samson Sky created so visitors could experience the feel of the Switchblade’s interior compartment and new dashboard. Drone video footage of the Switchblade transforming from driving to flying mode, taken just before the start of AirVenture, was played directly in front of the module on a large screen TV monitor.

Samson announced that a U.S. patent was recently received for the Folding Wing Beams. The folding beams allow the Switchblade wing to fold inside the vehicle where it is safely stored during flight mode. “The Switchblade is the only flying car in history to fully protect and enclose the wings while driving,” stated Sam Bousfield. Other patents are pending in several foreign countries.

The Switchblade is classified as a motorcycle by the U.S. Department of Transportation, but the Samson Sky team likes to call it a flying sports car because of its high performance. The engine is a turbo-charged, lightweight 190 hp liquid-cooled V4 that is capable of 0-60 in 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 125+ mph/201+ kph. In the air it will cruise at 160 mph/257 kph, with a top speed of up to 190 mph/305 kph and a range of 450 miles/724 km. Using Road & Track’s slalom testing parameters, the ground test vehicle out-performed everything in its wheelbase per Road & Track’s historical data base.

Now that I am retired from NASA,” said Switchblade owner Larry Neu, “I look forward to the day in the very near future when I can jump in my Switchblade, fly where I choose, fold the wings and drive to the nearest location I want to visit. It is the ultimate freedom machine. You can’t make this stuff up. Sam is putting the ‘buck’ back in Buck Rogers.”

For more information about the Switchblade and to follow its progress to launch, visit: www.SamsonSky.com

Article published on Yahoo Finance August 1, 2019
Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/worlds-most-popular-flying-sports-123900821.html

Switchblade, Samson Sky, Skybrid, and Skybrid Technology are trademarks or registered marks, and are used with permission on these pages.

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