Sam Bousfield, developer of the Switchblade Flying Sports Car and CEO Samson Sky was one of several “flying vehicle” innovators interviewed by futurist and NY Times Business Bestselling author, Chuck Martin for his book, Flying Vehicles – The Emergence of Personal Air Travel, Flying Cars, and Air Taxis. “Martin is considered one of the foremost emerging technology experts in the world and we are honored to be covered in his latest book,” said Bousfield. The original interview is in fact live online and can be enjoyed as a podcast now.
In describing this emerging industry, Martin points out, “This is happening in a very big way. Yes, the business world is experiencing yet another transformation, in this case relating to the movement of people and things. This emerging technology is about transporting people and things totally differently than in the past and creating efficiencies to travel to locations previously out of practical reach.”
In the book, Martin calls the Switchblade, “The Fast-Flying Car,” noting that Bousfield counters the perception of vehicles that both drive and fly require a compromise on one or both aspects. “We never agreed that a flying and driving vehicle has to be mediocre in one or both modes,” stated Bousfield. “We developed the Switchblade to be high-performance both driving and flying.”
Martin lays out the future steps that are being planned to accommodate these new flying vehicles, including some already in the works, and describes how these vehicles will be integrated into our environment, and how people may expect to use them. He covers how Samson initially aimed their marketing towards the pilot population, and recently discovered an increase in non-pilots reserving their vehicle. Says Bousfield, “People are becoming more and more open to this new form of transportation, and the Switchblade saves time and reduces stress for anyone who regularly travels for business or pleasure.”
Samson’s flying sports car, which had its maiden flight in November, 2023, has a unique hybrid electric system, which uses unleaded auto gas rather than leaded aviation fuel. Owners can fuel up at any auto gas station. The Switchblade’s Skybrid™ hybrid electric drive system for flying cars is also cutting edge, and sets the stage for future all-electric versions of this popular flying car. This system has features found in no other vehicle on earth.
From your garage, you drive your street-legal Switchblade to a nearby airport. Once there, you transform the vehicle from driving to flying mode, and fly to the airport closest to your destination, where you land, transform back to driving mode and drive the last few miles to your final destination. The Switchblade seats two, side-by-side, with room to store travel bags, and flies up to 500 miles on a single tank of gas.
For more information about the Switchblade and to follow its progress into production, visit: www.SamsonSky.com
