Enhanced body refinements being incorporated

While the upgraded body design went through the wind tunnel, which validated the aerodynamics of this new shape and propulsion system, there was always going to be room for styling the exterior to reflect the amazing performance of the vehicle. Imagine a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds, and a flying cruise speed of 160 mph!! Who else but Samson has been able to accomplish these lofty goals? We are truly in a class by ourselves. And we are discovering ways to further improve the looks of the vehicle while we begin to make the molds for the wings of the first production prototype. Be sure to see next month’s newsletter for the release of the final body images, and a deep dive on our Builder Assist Program to show how easy it will be!

The Switchblade Enhanced Body Transformation Video

Wings Ahead!

The Switchblade signature wing swing and layout has never changed, and the new wing shape is based on the successful wing design that flew last fall. We have enlarged the wing from 67 sf to 99 sf – an increase of 147%!

The folding portion of the main wing has to be held in place when the wing is extended, and this cannot jiggle or wiggle or move at all. It has to remain rock steady. So we figured out how to make that happen with a simple shape that rotates down when the wing is extended and keeps the folding portion of the wing wedged in position. Very creative actually. It doesn’t require a large electric actuator and operates very simply.

Shopping List For Equipment

CAMX is an international composites tech show that is held each year in the US. Our new Chief of R&D, Michael Maxwell, is slated to attend this show next week to find the equipment we will be buying to outfit our automated parts facility. This facility complements the assembly lines and operates as our client-facing experience with the Switchblade Builder Assist Program.

In previous newsletters, we have talked about the many years the Samson Team has spent researching, observing, testing, and validating the new thermoplastic carbon fiber materials and manufacturing techniques we will be using in production. The reason we can offer a one-week Builder Assist Experience is due to the advances in automated carbon parts manufacturing based on thermoplastic materials.

Both Maxwell and our future President of Composites, Steve McGinnis, have helped flesh out the Samson composite parts manufacturing component to this business. While it is still over a year before we will be establishing the first parts production operation, we need to establish the latest advances and get the order in for this equipment, as the wait times can be lengthy. We also need to know the cost for the equipment we will be using and the speeds they operate at, so we can predict the overall cost to implement this, and to make sure our plans will work out with the anticipated flow of the assembly line.

Consultants assist our staff for production

We are smart enough to know that we don’t know everything! Amazing! We are pretty smart, though. For those things not in our wheelhouse, we are counting on a series of consultants who are specialists in their fields like Patrick Johnson for the hybrid electric drive system. Patrick has many years’ experience electrifying aircraft and working out unique hybrid electric systems. He has been tasked with the development of our system and will be designing custom controllers for the electric motors with software specially crafted to give our vehicle an edge on operation as both a car and a plane. The estimates for this work fall within our requirements for both pricing and for timeline. Our goal at this point is to have a flying vehicle ready and in testing by next Spring.

One of the techniques we are using to make that happen is to break down the many steps required to obtain that goal, defining how long each step should take and the personnel required, and then putting that into a critical path arranged so that all sub-goals can be met to attain the overall goal in the time we have. Microsoft Project is being used to keep track of this and is the same tool that many large manufacturers use for this purpose.

Other consultants are helping us draft the Standard Operating Procedures that will be used to keep the administrative aspect of such a large and fast development program in one piece, as fast action and tight deadlines can be challenging when not handled correctly. SOP’s hold the line to make sure no steps are missed, and our activities get recorded.

More staff being hired

There is so much work to be done to get into production that Samson has begun hiring for specific needs such as additional Mechanical Engineers with experience in production engineering. While most of our work in the R&D Center will be one-off prototypes and parts, there is a need at some point to work out how to build thousands of vehicles and also how they can be maintained.

We find that providing maintenance access is often overlooked in vehicles. Since this vehicle will need to be examined closely each year during an annual inspection to qualify it to continue to be airworthy per FAA guidelines, maintenance access is very important! Additional staff will help ensure we have the bandwidth to pay attention to all aspects of this groundbreaking project.

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 deposit using their existing Reservation Number, and they will be assigned the next available Delivery Position. You can Deposit or Reserve HERE

Investment Opportunity Opened for Accredited Investors Only

Samson has opened our first major fundraising for large investment to get the Switchblade into production. This is called a Reg D Series A (first major fundraise), and we are VERY pleased with the response and interest. This particular 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:

Investor Inquiry

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Sam Bousfield
Captain, Switchblade Team