PARACHUTE SUPPLIER AGREEMENT SIGNED – October 23, 2019
The Switchblade is intended to have a ballistic parachute for the whole vehicle as standard equipment. As we are getting ready for production, one of the things we wanted to do was to find and qualify vendors for our parts and sub-assemblies. Aircraft Safety Resources (ASR) approached us with a great proposal and winning solution for our whole-vehicle parachute system. Under the terms of the long term cooperative agreement, ASR’s engineering and design team will work with Samson to produce and test a recovery system that matches the unique dimensions and requirements of the Switchblade.
ASR was able to meet our price point with a system that would fit the Switchblade requirements, and keep up with the demand for the vehicle. They bring a great deal of expertise to the safety side of the project. Currently we are nearing Reservation Position 1,120. Samson is looking for suppliers who seem capable of ramping up to meet the delivery requirements and not keep our customers waiting. You can see a mock-up image above, which shows how this three-chute system might look. A three-chute system has a highly successful history and has helped guide to safety everything from small aircraft to space re-entry vehicles.