We mentioned last newsletter that the Switchblade body had an even more streamlined and sleek shape. But what does the improved Switchblade look like? How were we able to reduce drag such a huge amount from the original design? What size is the cabin now? Wider, but how wide? Why do we say it looks like a jet aircraft in flight mode, but completely stealth in ground mode? If we are going completely stealth, then perhaps it is a good idea that we went to thermoplastic carbon parts, as you can paint your Switchblade any color, even Stealth Black.

Additional drag improvement

During Production Engineering we have reduced the drag an incredible amount from the original design. Just when we thought we could not wring an ounce more off the drag of the Switchblade, we came up with a simple change that dropped another 8% of the vehicle drag! We had been trying for a month but had gotten down to changes of half a percent or so. Then, bam! We hit the jackpot. That is just icing on the cake of our improvements being made during Production Engineering.

How Much More Room Will There Be in the Cockpit?

A normal small aircraft is close to four feet wide. That is like being in a commercial airline seat next to someone else in regular seating (not business class). Not as comfortable as one would like, but reasonable. The Switchblade original design narrowed at the back to allow air to flow through to that big central ducted fan.

Now that we don’t have that single fan anymore, we were able to widen the cockpit without adding any drag. Typical cars average 6′ wide. The original Switchblade design was 6′ wide. Trucks average 6′-7″ wide, so are quite a bit wider. The Switchblade was enlarged to be 6′-2″ at the rear to help facilitate the larger wing. So now we have the outside dimensions. How does that translate into cockpit interiors?

While the vehicle width at the cockpit area is not the widest part of the vehicle, we were still able to increase the width of the cabin by over 5″. The consensus from everyone who has ever sat in the Switchblade was that it has plenty of elbow room and felt very comfortable, not cramped like the cockpits of most small aircraft. Now imagine what it would feel like being in something bigger than a Honda Fit but less than a Honda Civic? For pilots, that is spacious! This is your first clue as to what the revised Switchblade will give you. 

Quieter Operation

Another advantage that is obvious but not yet measurable is the sound. With the twin electric jets outside the main body, we expect the Switchblade to be much quieter in the cabin. Carbon acts like a drum, which can create noise issues when you have the vibration and noise of a propeller in a duct. Now the propellers are in mini ducts outside and away from the cabin, so there should be much less sound in the cabin with this revised thrust configuration. We will still use sound absorption material in the ducts to quiet them further, but we will be starting out from a much lower level to begin with. We should save considerable time that would ordinarily be spent on acoustics, and that will be a good thing!

Making 3D Printed Parts for 1/4 Scale Wind Tunnel Model

The Samson Team has been working intensely to get a new wind tunnel model made to validate the bigger wing and make sure that the improved body and larger wing would still retain the nice flying qualities of the prototype we flew last fall. To pull this off we researched the latest in wind tunnel modeling and found that many have been using some 3D printed parts, especially for the flight control surfaces that are often changed for each wind tunnel test made during the day.

If you think about it, your base wing and body don’t really need to change during a wind tunnel test, but you do often change the angles of the rudder or the ailerons that bank the aircraft left or right. There are four flight control surfaces in a Switchblade (we have two rudders), so we 3D printed just those, and will be bolting them on to a machined aluminum main wing and tail structure. Each flight control surface will need to be tested at different angles to get the full range of information on how the vehicle responds during flight. So we will need to print ailerons at 5 degrees up or down, then 10 degrees, 15 degrees – you get the idea. Lots of different 3D prints involved!

This actually means we have to make 60 different 3D parts, so we invested in two new Bambu X1 Carbon printers to double our printing speed and increase the quality of the surfaces made. This helps reduce the time needed to sand down the exterior to the quality needed for a wind tunnel test. As of last night, we are about one fourth of the way through the printing process.

The body is being 3D printed as well, but in sections as it is over four feet long at 1/4 scale. Using the high-quality printers allows us to combine separate sections of the body together to form the whole. The sections include pin holes for alignment of the sections – one to the next. There are also bolt holes for bolting the body to the steel subframe. You can see some of the tail parts just after printing in the image below. They will be lightly sanded, then painted which gives a very smooth surface similar to what you would find on a production Switchblade.

Samson Leads Legislative Action for Flying Car Market

Samson has been working behind the scenes, as was mentioned in the last newsletter, to promote and help craft legislation in many US states regarding an easy path for Flying Car/Roadable Aircraft registration. New Hampshire was the first to enact such legislation, and the work done by PAL-V, Terrafugia, and Samson Sky in that state has been used to spearhead further legislation work of even greater significance in Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota, and several other states.

Just lately, the Arizona Senate has passed a bill and is coordinating with the House on wording to ensure the best bill possible. Senator Farnsworth there has been instrumental in bringing wide support for this much needed improvement in flying car registration. The Minnesota Senate and House have also individually passed bills and are in joint conference to iron out the differences for their new legislation. To be clear, the Switchblade as an Experimental aircraft/vehicle does not need legislative changes to be registered in any US state, but we may want to provide a vehicle in the future that would need new regulations in place. As it takes years to pass such legislation, we are being proactive in our approach while assisting the other flying car makers who do need this legislation now.

Reservation Options

In case you haven’t heard, there are two ways to Reserve now.
Option A): Reserve with no money down to get your place in line.
Option B): Reserve with a $500 non-refundable deposit to be given a move-up delivery position. All funds are credited towards the future purchase of a Switchblade kit that includes the Builder Assist program.

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 large dollars being sought. If you ever wondered whether you qualified as an Accredited Investor, you can check out the requirements here:
What Is An Accredited Investor? – Forbes Advisor

To learn more about this opportunity, please use the Investor Inquiry form on the website:
https://www.samsonsky.com/investors/