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Switchblade to be Built with Recyclable and Non-Toxic Thermoplastic Carbon Composite Materials
PRINEVILLE, Ore., Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Samson Sky, producers of the Switchblade Flying Car, just completed five years of research and rigorous testing, which has validated the environmentally friendly thermoplastic carbon composite materials and manufacturing techniques they will be using in production of the Switchblade Flying Car.
According to company officials, thermoplastic carbon composites are recyclable and non-toxic, and have a low impact on the environment overall, as opposed to epoxy carbon fiber, which creates waste in the manufacturing process and is difficult to recycle. With thermoplastic carbon fiber, any trimming or waste is recycled immediately into non-structural parts to effectively eliminate waste in the manufacturing process.
"Composites, which are light weight and extremely strong, have been widely used for decades in high-performance vehicles, such as racecars," said Sam Bousfield, Samson Sky CEO and designer of the Switchblade.
"Large manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus have been using thermoplastic composites in their aircraft for over eight years," said Bousfield. "Over the past five years of our research and testing, we found an advanced carbon composites material that could be used for the primary structures of the Switchblade." Bousfield added that the composites team thoroughly tested the materials numerous ways, and at different temperatures, and is confident in using the material for the all-composite Switchblade vehicle.
"This will allow Samson to make the parts eight times faster and at half the cost of anyone else," said Steve McGinnis, Samson Sky composites consultant. Per the Samson Sky website, McGinnis has more than 35 years in composite aircraft manufacturing, having worked in leadership roles at Virgin Galactic, Mooney Aircraft, ICON Aircraft, the Amazon Drone Project, among others. He has been instrumental in over 20 aircraft designs, in addition to several more defense-related projects. He has received or has pending eight patents related to composite airframe manufacturing and specializes in bringing new aircraft to market, utilizing cutting-edge composite manufacturing processes to simplify assembly and drive down costs.
Company officials stated that due to these advances in automated parts manufacturing of thermoplastic carbon fiber, the production of Switchblades will be greatly streamlined, reducing both production costs and time considerably. "Using this automated manufacturing system gives us a large advantage in scaling our production. The volume of orders we already have easily justifies the expense of the more costly machines and molds for the system," said Bousfield. "With more than 2,700 Reservations and growing daily, Samson is raising the bar for production of carbon fiber vehicles and doing our part to take care of the planet that we all live on."
The Switchblade Flying Sports Car is a street-legal, hybrid electric vehicle that is high-performance both on the road and in the air. You park the Switchblade in your garage, and drive it from there to a nearby airport. Once there, the wings swing out and the tail extends in under three minutes. You fly your registered aircraft to the airport nearest your destination, then simply land, transform back to driving mode – the wings and tail safely stowed and protected – and drive the last few miles to your destination. The Switchblade seats two, side-by-side, with room for travel bags, and flies up to 500 miles on a single tank of premium auto gas.
For more information about the Switchblade and to follow its progress into production, visit: www.SamsonSky.com
PLEASE NOTE:
The Switchblade is an Experimental category aircraft. The FAA does not provide Certification for this category of aircraft - they certify aircraft that are fully produced in a factory by the manufacturer. With all Experimental aircraft, the FAA designates that the owner must build 51% of the vehicle. All Switchblade owners will spend one week at the Samson Builder Assist Center, building 51% of their Switchblade. Following this, Samson will complete their vehicle.
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SOURCE Samson Sky