Aircraft

Samson Switchblade: First flight for fold-out flying car

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The Switchblade folds out into a two-seat aeroplane capable of 200 mph in the air
Samson Sky
The Switchblade folds out into a two-seat aeroplane capable of 200 mph in the air
Samson Sky
The Switchblade in its compact, quick street mode
Samson Sky
Transitioning between street and flight modes will take around three minutes
Samson Sky
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A year after it was pronounced airworthy by the FAA, and 14 years after it was first announced, the Samson Sky Switchblade is officially off the ground. This street-legal three-wheeler converts to a 200-mph (320-km/h) airplane at the touch of a button.

At the Grant Country International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, the Switchblade lifted off for an exhilarating first flight, reaching an altitude of 500 ft (150 m) and circling around to touch down some six minutes later.

"After 14 years of design and rigorous testing, our first flight is a huge milestone,” stated Sam Bousfield, Samson Sky CEO and designer of the Switchblade. “This puts us on the path towards producing thousands of Switchblades to meet the large and enthusiastic demand we’re receiving."

Samson says it's taken some 2,300 reservations for the Switchblade, from 57 different countries, at an estimated starting price of US$170,000, highlighting the fact that there's definitely a market for a truly roadable aircraft. This three-wheel design qualifies as a motorcycle in many jurisdictions, vastly simplifying the street accreditation process.

It'll sell as an experimental/homebuilt aircraft, so you'll need to build more than half of it yourself – but Samson says it'll have a Builder Assist Center where you can do that in a week, with all the right tools and supervision on site.

The two-seat vehicle can manage speeds over 125 mph (200 km/h) in street mode, with its wings and tail folded out of the way. In flight mode, it'll get up to 200 mph (322 km/h) and 13,000 ft (400 m) of altitude, with a hybrid power system running on regular 91-octane pump gas delivering up to 500 miles (805 km) of range from a full 36-gallon (125 L) fuel tank.

The transition from car to plane won't be particularly quick; it'll take around three minutes for the tail to extend and unfurl, and for the wings to swing out from under the chassis and lock into place. But the process will be automatic – we put this in the future tense because Samson is yet to show a video of a prototype actually doing it. Here's the underlying mechanism, though, and a render of how it'll look.

This ain't your Jetsons-style VTOL flying car; you'll need 1,100 ft (335 m) of clear tarmac at the very least to take off. And you won't be allowed to do that on the street, so you'll need to plan your multi-mode trips around airports, or else be real sneaky about it. But still, it's an airplane you can park in a regular garage rather than paying for hangar space, and it'll be a pretty remarkable way to get around as and when it reaches production.

There's no word yet on when exactly that might be; Samson simply says this flight test data will be used to finalize production engineering and build several production prototypes. Production, as we know, is hard, so Samson still has a mountain to climb, but like the remarkable Klein Vision flying car, the Switchblade is now airborne and proving its capabilities in both modes. We wish the team all the best as it pushes forward.

Source: Samson Sky

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14 comments
riczero-b
It's beautiful, by far the most likely looking of its class. As it is I think those thin wings would mean a long take-off and a high landing speed - space and skill needed.
1ofthelokis
Love....but.........Front wheel? one pothole outside of airport and done. Maybe a Dirt bike front wheel and suspension?
Koziol
Looks like a Ford Pinto from the side.
minivini
Crazy! Those numbers for an aircraft under $200k are more than impressive!! Add the whole car component, and woohoo!!
Primecordial
Where do you stow stuff like your suitcase/duffel?
Rusty
I just don't see this thing taking off (sorry about the pun).
You'll need a pilots license obviously, but, with those wings a high takeoff speed/landing will be required.
Towerman
Ground clearance looks low, youd probably have to really butter those landings, how well does it glide in ground effect and how stable is it ...then 500 meter max altitude ? Other than that i love T tails body looks a bit wide but i guess thats as good as it will get as it consists of the wings folded into it...other flying vehicles are more wide

Well done
Nelson
Why can't the flying car stupidity ever die?
Aermaco
@Nelson,, The "flying car" can't die because it is a concept from the past that is simply evolving into our future. Specific efforts to create the dream will naturally suffer from being incomplete by having disadvantages that future versions will solve design problems.

One must be open-minded to grasp the certain future for human transport will be door-to-door in the 3D space of the sky. It will likely be based on the eVTOL capabilities but not all will use rolling "car" travel beyond hanger storage. Green hydrogen power will obviously carry civilization's travel in the sky far into the future while its power sources, propulsion, and lift systems in near-endless uses will not stop evolving and the term "flying car" may stick...
Nelson
When will the flying family car die?