Samson’s Washington, D.C. Advocate, Duane Gibson, who has been educating U.S. Congressional leaders about the Switchblade, recently toured our R&D Facility. See the great coverage from MotorTrend. And watch videos from the latest radiator tests with candid discussions between the engineers.
“Doors are opening on our funding, and interestingly enough, our door skins for the first production test vehicle were finished last week.”
CEO & Founder
Latest Parts Made
In August, we had more parts and molds made. These are the door skins (outer part of the door) with the main emphasis on having the part to be as dent-free as possible. Not being made of metal, our door skins have to be strong enough to withstand the impact from other people’s doors and not have the composite material crack. Metal doors dent. Our composite doors are tougher but won’t dent.
What prevents the composite door material from cracking is a layer of Kevlar or other material being placed in the composite skin to allow the tougher but more brittle composite material to withstand such abuse without being damaged. We will be testing ours to ensure we have a good door skin before production begins. You can see the black carbon fiber door skin parts and the machine-carved wooden molds in the image below.
Samson Advocate Tours R&D Facility
Duane Gibson has been educating U.S. Congressional leaders this year regarding Samson and the Switchblade. He recently toured the Oregon R&D Center where we are building the first three production test vehicles. Duane has a history of working in and with Congress regarding a host of topics, including transportation. He also represents another three-wheel vehicle, Aptera, which is for ground-based transportation. The fact that Duane is a pilot brings additional value to his governmental expertise.
After the tour, Duane wrote to Samson to say, “Sam has been making the Switchblade a reality for a long time and has thought through everything – engineering, finance, production, service, maintenance, and even redesign. As Reservation Holder #777, I look forward to helping him with government issues in Washington, D.C.”
MOTORTREND Prominently Features Switchblade
We were excited to be featured prominently in this week’s MotorTrend article “Hollywood Flight Club: 8 Flying Cars From Movies and How Close They Were to Reality.”
In the article, MotorTrend celebrates the fact that flying cars are getting closer and closer to “crowding our skies”. The Switchblade was the most highly featured in our category of “planes that can drive”.
The article highlights 8 flying car designs that we’ve seen in fun classic movies over the years and explores to what degree those features have been used in modern flying car designs.
Click on the link at the bottom of the Newsletter to read the whole piece!
Geek Food: Inside Samson Testing
This is a new section for those who really want to Geek Out. We have shown quite a bit about the radiator testing, but sometimes it is cool to hear the banter between the engineers that affected the decision of how to do testing or what to test next. When we finished with the radiator test schedule that was originally proposed, we had positive results but found a dead zone in the airflow through the radiator (a low-pressure zone) that produced less than ideal airflow for the tests. The tests were valid, as we were able to get a meaningful result by averaging the air pressure across the entire radiator. However, the varied airflow was less than ideal. We searched for and found a way to produce a consistent airflow as you will see below to remedy the effect of the dead zone we encountered.
As you may know, we repurposed the Switchblade flying prototype to provide 100 mph airflow through the radiator for real-world testing. We had gone to a lot of trouble to channel the airflow, accelerate it and limit the propeller swirl.
The dead zone appeared to be generated by the Switchblade propeller hub, and it was unlikely that we would be able to get rid of it. After we found it, shown in the video below, the decision was made to shift the radiator to the side to avoid the dead zone and make our test pressures be more consistent with real-world airflows at take-off. From left to right are Sam Bousfield, Samson Mechanical Engineer Pardhu Vadrevu, and Aero Engineer Bryan Sandoz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-epyvNorrA
Above, Samson Facilities staff Kelly Tomlinson used a forklift to reposition the radiator test bed, and we then re-tested the airflows as shown in the video below with Samson Test Engineer Tony Nissen at the controls in the cockpit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YTe3YW_A7E
When airflow distribution across the radiator was re-evaluated, the results showed nearly uniform airflow over the entire radiator surface, exactly what we were aiming for – achieving a valid representation of takeoff operating conditions. This was an important milestone, as it provided confidence that subsequent radiator testing would yield more accurate and reliable data. In the video below, the team reviews these test results and discusses how they paved the way for the remainder of the radiator test program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8kBGvw4XVE&t=3s
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.
Deposit or Reserve
Yours,
Sam Bousfield
Captain, Switchblade Team
Switchblade news worth celebrating
MotorTrend
8 Famous Movie Flying Cars vs. Real Technology: How Close Were They to Actual Flight?
https://www.motortrend.com/features/movie-flying-cars-vs-real-world-tech-comparison
Manufacturing Today India – Aerospace and Defense
Samson Sky Secures Eighth Patent for Switchblade Flying Car
https://www.manufacturingtodayindia.com/samson-sky-secures-eighth-patent
