Flying cars look like becoming the next fashion. It seems to be heading down that path, what with more joining the bandwagon. Airbus and Uber have signalled their intent to explore the route, and carmakers have also begun looking at this new form of hybridisation – earlier in the year, Toyota placed an investment in Cartivator and Geely acquired start-up company Terrafugia.
There are also individual manufacturers, notably Slovakian company AeroMobil – its flying car design shown earlier this year will do 160 km/h with a range of around 700 km on the ground, or 750 km in the air with a maximum speed of 360 km/h. Now, here’s another, from an American concern called Samson Motors.
Its offering is called the Switchblade, and it’s a two-seater, three-wheeled machine powered by a 190 hp 1.6 litre V4 engine. In flight mode, this drives a propeller at the rear, with extendable wings and tail performance specs deployed and stored in pocketknife fashion (hence the name).
In a flight configuration, the Switchblade measures in at 6.3 metres long and 8.2 metres wide, while retracting the tail and folding in the wings for on-ground operation brings the vehicle’s footprint down to 5.1 metres long and 1.8 metres wide. On the road, a five-speed transmission is utilised to drive the wheels.
Performance figures include a maximum airspeed of 305 km/h and a 724 km operating range, with a maximum ground speed of more than 200 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of around 6.5 seconds. Mod cons include air-conditioning, adjustable leather seats and even a premium sound system, while safety kit includes road-going roll-over protection and a vehicle parachute, in case something unthinkable happens in the air.
According to Robb Report, the Samson Switchblade is set to make its first public flight next year, and Samson Motors says it plans to begin first deliveries to customers by end-2018. The Switchblade is expected to retail for US$120,000 (RM490,000), but there’s a caveat (aside from having to have a private pilot’s licence, that is) – buyers will have to assemble it themselves. For an extra US$20,000 (RM81,700), Samson’s building assist programme eases that effort.
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120k, might as well use that to hire helicopter!
lol ikea style ah? assemble ownself?
No way flying car gonna make it. If they did, how to control the air traffic? Imagine rempit drive it.. its gonna be disaster.
As a result, more deads in the sky.
Potential human guided missiles.
A helicopter will always be more practical due to ease of landing especially if the Boss need to go for board meeting to escape traffic while the flying car need to “land” & that is THE problem.
There is nothing about a definitive and proved design, even after this simulation it is no real to fly, first they have to evaluate it in a real flying model,Second the engine it is no ready yet, never has been used on any plane before, third the cockpit was running with a different engine and without the real body, that means nobody knows what happens with the belly so low between front and rear wheels separation when this will be operate as a car.
As a airplane need to be tested, is over 20 knots faster that stable and controlled airplanes, that means critical stalls and faster for landings, require pilots with more experience, specially with cross winds because the wings are so close with the ground.
They did a scale model, but after each fight all landings were crashed just good take off. If somebody have the videos there is possible to see each repair before the next flight.
After over 12 years working in that project is hard to believe that will be ready without an acceptable flying prototype before to start the production.