The project, which has been in development more or less since the first iPhone, has finally received all the relevant permits, so it can not only take to the road, but also take to the skies. Is this the future of our communications?
After 14 years of work, Samson Sky can finally trumpet success, or at least “official” success, because commercial success will be decided by customers – the company has finally received a set of permits from regulatory authorities, so its Switchblade model can not only legally drive on the road, but also fly. Because, as its name, referring to a spring-loaded knife that unfolds at the push of a button, suggests, it can turn from a car into an airplane in a few moments, unfolding its wings and tail.
Flying car. The future of communications?
And although the “transformation” process, however, takes longer than the 45 seconds originally announced, as it takes about 3 minutes, it promises to be spectacular – the company promises that we will soon see it on a physical prototype. And in terms of dimensions, with the wings folded, the Switchblade will fit into a garage without much trouble, as it is only 1.5 meters high and occupies an area of 5.1 x 1.8 meters, something like a family sedan.
The Samson Switchblade runs on a three-cylinder 1.6-liter liquid-cooled engine, powered by 91-octane gasoline, with 190 horsepower. On the road, the car (or, to be more precise, the three-wheeled vehicle, which in some areas will be able to be registered as a motorcycle!) develops a top speed of 201 km/h.
Its standard cruising speed, meanwhile, is 257 km/h, at which it is capable of covering 724 km on a single 125-liter fuel tank. It will need a runway of about 335 meters for takeoff, and a shorter 213-meter runway for landing.
The question is whether this will be enough to find a place for itself in the world of contemporarily developed electric cabs like eVTOL, which do not require a runway at home…. 14 years ago, the project was certainly impressive and spread an amazing vision of transportation of the future, but today its chances of commercial success are rather slim. Especially with a price tag of $150,000 per unit, although Samson Sky argues that customers have already reserved 1,670 units and interest continues to grow.
Nevertheless, the company makes no secret of its excitement about the FAA’s permission to register it as an experimental aircraft, allowing it to go full steam ahead with flight tests – flying Switchblades (the same name US combat drones bear, which can be confusing) we may see overhead in the coming weeks.
