$80M investment pushes Switchblade flying car closer to production

The decades-old dream of a car that can take to the skies is moving another step closer to reality after Samson Sky secured an $80 million investment to help bring its Switchblade flying car into production.

The Oregon-based company said the funding from Dubai-based Matin Group will be used to establish its first 180,000-square-foot production facility in the United States. Samson Sky and Matin Group have also begun forming a joint venture for the project. 

The investment, however, does not fully fund the company's current production plan. Samson Sky still needs to raise another $20 million, while the location of the proposed manufacturing facility has yet to be announced.

Unlike many so-called flying cars built around vertical takeoff and landing, the Switchblade is essentially a roadable aircraft. It can be driven from a garage to an airport, where its wings and tail deploy before it takes off from a conventional runway.

After landing, the aircraft components retract into the vehicle, allowing the driver to continue the journey by road. Samson Sky says the transformation between driving and flying modes takes about three minutes. Pasted text

Prototype already airborne

The concept has already made it off the ground.

An earlier Switchblade prototype completed its first official flight on 5 November 2023 at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington. The aircraft climbed to about 500 feet and remained airborne for nearly six minutes. 

But the vehicle Samson Sky now intends to produce is not identical to the prototype that flew in 2023.

The company has redesigned the body so the wings, tail and propeller are enclosed while the vehicle is on the road. It has also changed its power plant and plans to build three production prototypes for further testing around the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027. Pasted text

Samson Sky says the Switchblade will use a hybrid-electric drivetrain in which a gasoline engine powers a generator that supplies electricity to motors used for both road and flight propulsion.

The company is targeting a maximum airspeed of 190 mph, or about 306 kilometers per hour, and a flying range of up to 450 miles, or about 724 kilometers. Its anticipated cruise speed of 160 mph has yet to be verified through production-prototype flight testing. Pasted text

Not quite a drive-and-fly purchase

Owning one will be considerably more complicated than buying a conventional sports car.

The Switchblade is planned for operation in the United States under the Federal Aviation Administration's Experimental Amateur-Built category. Under FAA rules, more than 50 percent of an eligible aircraft's fabrication and assembly must be completed by amateur builders for education or recreation. The requirement is commonly known as the "51-percent rule."

Samson Sky plans to address that requirement through its Builder Assist program, which the company says could allow customers to complete their required share of the assembly process in about a week.

The FAA, however, makes an important distinction: It evaluates whether aircraft kits allow builders to satisfy the major-portion requirement, but it does not certify or approve the aircraft kit itself or its manufacturer. The completed aircraft must separately go through the airworthiness certification process. 

Owners would also need a private pilot certificate to fly the Switchblade. Licensing requirements for driving it on public roads would depend on the jurisdiction where the vehicle is registered. 

New vehicle, new risks

The unusual combination of aircraft and automobile also presents questions extending beyond engineering.

Insurance specialists Kevin Sullivan and Andrea Klanderman of data analytics company Verisk wrote in January that roadable aircraft could pose challenges for property and casualty insurers because of their high purchase costs and the still-evolving question of liability when a single vehicle operates in two very different environments. 

Samson Sky itself acknowledges that there is currently no dedicated flying-car insurance program. It expects early Switchblade owners to require separate policies covering the vehicle on the ground and in the air. 

That highlights one of the broader obstacles facing roadable aircraft. Building a machine capable of both driving and flying is only part of the equation. Licensing, insurance, aircraft certification, airport access and pilot training all remain part of the ownership experience.

$200,000 starting price

Samson Sky currently estimates that its Switchblade VFR kit will start at $200,000, while an IFR-equipped version is expected to cost about $235,000. Those figures remain estimates and could change before deliveries begin. Pasted text

The company is targeting summer 2027 for its Builder Assist assembly line to become operational. Early production is expected to prioritize customers who previously paid for some of the first delivery positions before moving on to other depositors and reservation holders. 

The $80 million investment gives Samson Sky significantly more financial backing to make that transition, but several milestones remain. The company must complete its fundraising, select its production site and demonstrate that the redesigned production version can deliver the performance achieved by its earlier prototype.