£160,000 flying car you have to build yourself sails through first flight
A £160,000 flying car that you park in your home garage has achieved its first flight.
The Samson Sky Switchblade soared to an altitude of 500 feet during its maiden flight in Washington State recently.
Oregon-based Samson announced on Thursday that veteran test pilot Robert Moehle flew above the airport and surrounding foothills, remaining airborne for nearly six minutes before lightly touching down to Earth.
The highly-anticipated two-seater has already received 2,300 reservations from 57 countries and all 50 states in the US.
The Switchblade is a three wheel, street-legal vehicle able to be parked in your garage.
Owners drive to a nearby airport, where the wings swing out and the tail extends in under three minutes.
The aircraft can then be flown to the airport nearest your destination – at up to 200mph and within a range of 450 miles. It can reach altitudes of 13,000 feet.
Upon landing, users transform the flying sports car back to driving mode – the wings and tail safely stowed and protected – and drive to their final destination.
Each Switchblade comes in a DIY kit form, which includes engine, transmission, avionics, interiors and Samson Builder Assist Program.
‘Today is the culmination of many years of hard work and persistence to make the vision of a flying sports car a reality,’ Sam Bousfield, Samson Sky CEO and designer of the Switchblade.
‘Someone asked me how it felt to see the Switchblade fly. I thought about it, and realised this is what it feels like when your dreams come true.
‘After 14 years of design and rigorous testing, our first flight is a huge milestone.
‘This puts us on the path towards producing thousands of Switchblades to meet the large and enthusiastic demand we’re receiving.’
The Samson Team will use flight test data to finalise production engineering and build several production prototypes.
The Switchblade comes in two kit types, a £139,000 version that permits a pilot to operate in clear weather conditions, and a £160,000 model that can fly under different weather conditions, including into clouds and with zero visibility.
The vehicle has a unique hybrid electric system, which uses regular unleaded auto gas rather than leaded aviation fuel.
While a private pilot’s licence is required to fly the Switchblade, Samson Sky say they are seeing reservations coming in from non-pilots who plan to learn to fly.
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