Samson Switchblade flying car gets new look
Samson Sky, maker of the experimental Switchblade flying sports car, announced design updates that the company says will improve the vehicle’s thrust/drag issues.
The company announced the successful first flight of the Switchblade in November and immediately began refining the design of the original rear, single-ducted fan, and fuselage. These redesigns allowed the company to keep what worked well in the original design but include additional protection for the flight components when in ground mode, and improve performance.
The new design was showcased with a one-fourth-scale model alongside the full-size flying prototype at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin.
“In May of this year, we used a mostly 3D printed model to validate the enhanced configuration in the Kirsten Wind Tunnel at the University of Washington in Seattle. The new, larger wing and tail complemented the thruster efficiency increase, and body drag decrease to tremendously improve upon our initial design,” Bousfield said.
Changes include a new powerplant design with two rear open-air thrusters, a new fully enclosed folding tail, increased maximum gross takeoff weight, decreased landing and takeoff speed, new body shape with reduced drag, increased fuel capacity to 40 gallons, and an increased wing area from 67 to 99 square feet. The swing-wing design and overall layout remain unchanged.
The company said the Switchblade achieved 125 mph during ground testing, and wind tunnel testing confirmed the vehicle's ability to cruise at 160 mph in flight.
Samson Sky plans to offer a builder assist program that allows purchasers to spend a week using the company’s automated building processes to complete their portion of the build while still maintaining the experimental category 51-percent rule. The company also plans to include the development of an artificially intelligent co-pilot and a training program for owners who are not pilots.
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