Browse
Log in / Register
Share
Samson Sky has secured an $80 million investment from Dubai-based Matin Group to push its Switchblade flying car toward US production, the company confirmed as of May 7, 2026. The hybrid-electric roadable aircraft, designed to drive on highways and fly from regional airports, will be built in a planned 180,000-square-foot factory once a final site is selected. Another $20 million is still needed to fully fund the production plan.
The Switchblade is a three-wheeled vehicle that behaves like a sports car on the road. When the driver reaches an airport, the wings extend outward, the rear tail section slides into place, and the vehicle becomes an airplane. Samson says the full transformation takes about three minutes. After landing, the process reverses — the flight surfaces fold back into the fuselage so the vehicle can continue its journey by highway.
The latest design conceals the wings, tail and propeller entirely within the body during driving mode. Earlier versions did not offer that level of integration. Samson says the arrangement protects the aircraft components from road damage and lets owners park the Switchblade in a standard home garage.
Like other airplanes, the Switchblade needs a runway. It will not lift off from a driveway. Buyers will need access to an airport, a practical constraint that separates this approach from the vertical-takeoff air taxis being developed by Joby Aviation and others.
Samson flew its first Switchblade prototype on Nov. 5, 2023, from Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington. That flight validated the fundamental concept but did not represent the final product. Since then, the company has enlarged the engine and refined the bodywork. The production version will be tested through three new prototypes scheduled for late 2026 or early 2027.
That testing matters because the performance numbers Samson has published have not all been verified. The company claims a maximum airspeed of 190 mph, a maximum flight range of 450 miles, a cruising speed of 160 mph and a road speed of up to 100 mph. Samson's own FAQ cautions that the cruise-speed estimate still needs to be confirmed during production-prototype flight tests.
The Switchblade uses a hybrid-electric drivetrain. A gasoline engine turns a generator, which feeds electric motors that drive either the wheels or the propeller depending on the mode. Fuel capacity is listed at 44 gallons, and the vehicle runs on ordinary 91-octane automotive gasoline. That eliminates the need to track down aviation fuel, a detail that could make the Switchblade genuinely practical for touring pilots.
The tradeoff is performance. The projected numbers place the Switchblade in the recreational cross-country category rather than the high-performance experimental class. Samson is not claiming the aircraft will out-fly a Cirrus SR22. The pitch is about door-to-door convenience: a vehicle that takes its owner from home to an airport, across several states, and then onward to the final destination without a rental car.
The $80 million from Matin Group arrives under a Joint Investment Agreement that also establishes a joint venture between the two companies. Samson says the funds will go toward establishing its first production facility in the United States. CEO Sam Bousfield has said the company will keep its R&D hub in Prineville, Oregon, while the factory search has narrowed to three unnamed locations across the country.
The Dubai connection is not incidental. Matin Group's participation signals growing interest from Gulf investors in roadable aircraft and the wider advanced air mobility sector. Dubai has been especially active in courting flying-taxi services and drone logistics, and a stake in a flying-car manufacturer offers a foothold across several emerging aviation categories.
Still, the funding picture is incomplete. Samson needs another $20 million to fully fund its current production plan. That gap is not unusual for aviation startups, where capital often arrives in tranches tied to engineering milestones. But it means the project is not fully banked yet.
Samson expects its Builder Assist assembly line to be ready by summer 2027, with the first production units going to customers who have already paid for early delivery positions. Current estimates put the VFR kit at $200,000 and the IFR version at $235,000, though prices could shift before production begins.
The unusual part comes after the purchase. The Switchblade will be sold as an aircraft kit under the FAA's Experimental Amateur-Built category. Under the so-called 51% rule, the owner must personally complete more than half of the fabrication and assembly work for education or recreation. Samson's Builder Assist program guides owners through the required tasks, and the company believes most people can finish in about one week using automated, computer-driven manufacturing processes.
The FAA does not formally certify kits. It evaluates whether a design can reasonably support the major-portion requirement before builders are allowed to participate. Once assembled, the finished aircraft must pass the FAA airworthiness process. Buyers should understand that purchasing a Switchblade is closer to joining a construction project than to owning a turnkey vehicle.
A private pilot certificate is mandatory to fly the Switchblade. On the ground, licensing depends on where the vehicle is registered; Samson says either an automobile or motorcycle license may apply depending on state rules. Three-wheeled vehicles occupy an unusual spot in many state vehicle codes, and owners should expect some added paperwork when registering a machine that is both a street vehicle and an aircraft.
The sky is crowded with abandoned flying car projects. Terrafugia's Transition spent years in development before effectively disappearing. PAL-V's gyroplane-style Liberty has repeatedly slipped its delivery dates. Alef Aeronautics has generated dramatic videos but remains far from certification. Samson's $80 million investment does not erase that history, but it puts the company in a position few roadable-aircraft startups have occupied: funded, with a proven concept and a concrete production timeline.
What remains to be seen is whether the redesigned Switchblade performs as advertised. The 2023 prototype flew. The version that would actually reach customers has not yet flown, and the production prototypes scheduled for late 2026 and early 2027 will be the first true test of its capabilities.
For now, the Switchblade is closer to production than at any point in its long development. The money is in place for the next phase, the factory search is underway, and the testing schedule is concrete. Whether it reaches the market in summer 2027 depends on the oldest forces in aviation: engineering, capital and time. Every milestone that follows will be a small step toward answering that question.
