US-based aircraft manufacturer Samson Sky has revealed the new body design for its Switchblade Flying Car.
Following the vehicle’s first flight in November 2023, Samson Sky moved into the production engineering phase. According to the company, its efforts have yielded excellent results, leading to the creation of its enhanced body design, which will now be used for its production vehicles.
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‘The new design improves performance and shortens the pathway to production by transferring much of what worked well in the test vehicle that flew into the new streamlined design,’ said Sam Bousfield, Samson Sky CEO and designer of the Switchblade. According to Bousfield, the new design is simpler and much easier to build. ‘Everything we do is with the mindset of how we are going to produce thousands of Switchblades to meet the incredible demand we have.’
Samson said that its existing reservations – from 57 countries and all 50 US states – represent a potential sales value of more than US$450million.
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The company reported that it had validated many key parameters during flight testing and that the new design elevates the Switchblade to the next level. ‘Many people don’t know that a company developing a brand-new aircraft never goes into production with their initial design,’ said Bousfield. ‘There are always changes and modifications based on things learned from flight testing, and we’ve used these to improve even more on our original design, while keeping our signature swinging wings, which tuck away completely inside the vehicle when driving.’
Samson describes the Switchblade as a high-performance vehicle, both on the road and in the air. The test vehicle that flew in 2023 achieved the company’ target of 200km/h in ground testing, and company officials stated that they made these design changes to achieve their flying cruise speed target.
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According to Bousfield, wind tunnel testing in May validated that the new design, with its sleeker body and thruster propellers, will allow Samson to meet its target of 257km/h flying cruise speed. He explained that this gives Samson the green light on moving ahead with the enhanced body design. Wind tunnel testing is standard practice in the aviation industry, and is widely used by Boeing, Airbus, Cessna and many others. The wind tunnel provides real-world data and can get within three per cent of ‘actual’ performance.
Over the next 18 months, Samson will build three test vehicles to be used for intensive testing on every aspect of the vehicle, both flying and driving.
The Switchblade Flying Sports Car is a street-legal, hybrid electric vehicle designed to be parked at home and then driven to a nearby airport. Once there, the wings swing out and the tail extends in under three minutes. After being flown to the airport nearest the ultimate destination, it transforms back to driving mode – the wings and tail safely stowed and protected – to cover the last few miles to the destination. The Switchblade seats two, side-by-side, with room for travel bags.