Step Aboard the First Flying Car Available in the U.S. Market
You’ve seen flying cars in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Jetson’s, and Harry Potter—and soon you may see them coasting over your neighborhood. In late July, Samson Sky, a commercial flying car company, announced that its Switchblade model passed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspection, clearing it for flight tests. After reaching this milestone, the Switchblade is poised to be the first flying car available in the U.S. market.
With a sleek design, the two-seat vehicle changes from car to airplane with the touch of a button. Like the pocket tool it gets its name from, the wings fit into the body of the vehicle when on the road, then pop out for air travel. Don’t worry: There are mechanism involved that ensure the wings always stay open in flight, even if you accidentally hit a button at the wrong time.
The company’s founder and CEO, Sam Bousfield, was an architect before embarking on this latest venture, which is now 14 years in the making. “One thing that has always stuck with me is that an architect is part engineer and part artist,” Bousfield tells AD. “It turns out that is a nice combination with which to approach something as out of the box as a flying car.”
This background in building design encouraged him to believe a flying car could be both structurally sound and beautiful. “Our biggest problem so far has been the common misconception that a flying car has to be a mediocre car or a mediocre plane, or both. Because I was an architect, and not trained to think that this couldn’t be done, I didn’t see it that way.”
The vessel flies at a maximum altitude of 16,000 feet—about 20,000 feet below where most commercial jets coast—and can reach speeds up to 190 miles per hour. While on the ground, estimated speeds are currently expected to be over 125 miles per hour.
