LAKE MOSES, Wash., - Somebody page George Jetson—a U.S. company just flew one of the first of the new generation of flying cars. Samson Sky, maker of the two-seat Switchblade, which it bills as a “flying sports car,” on Thursday announced that a prototype of the drive-and-fly vehicle completed its maiden flight, Jack Daleo writes for Flying. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
13 November 2023 -"The Switchblade handled great," stated test pilot, Robert Moehle. "I'm excited to be the first to fly it away from the ground." Moehle, who trained in flight testing with The Boeing Company, served as Test Director for the 787. He has flown 2400 hours in 56 aircraft types, including commercial and experimental aircraft. His input over the last many months helped the Samson R&D team perfect the Switchblade flying prototype.
The Switchblade has a maximum driving speed of 125+ mph (201 km/h), and an estimated maximum flight speed of 190 mph (305 km/h). The vehicle has a unique hybrid electric system, which uses unleaded auto gas rather than leaded aviation fuel. Owners will be able to fuel up at any auto gas station. Over nine patents have been issued or applied for, both in the U.S. and internationally for the Switchblade.
"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. The Samson Team will use flight test data to finalize production engineering and build several production prototypes. "This puts us on the path towards producing thousands of Switchblades to meet the large and enthusiastic demand we're receiving," Bousfield added.
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