Shape of things to comeFlying motorcycle likely to take off next year

We have written several stories about flying cars (see, most recently, “Flying Car’s Proof-of-Concept Testing Now Complete,” 6 June 2009 HSNW; “the First T Flying Car: DARPA’s Transformer TX,” 27 May 2009 HSNW; and “Dutch Flying Car Company, Well, Takes Off, 29 April 2009 HSNW). This is a story about a flying motorcycle.
Reports say that a radical motorcycle, able to pop out a pair of wings and take to the skies, will make its first flight next year. The Switchblade sky bike from California-based Samson Motorworks was on show in mockup form at the Oshkosh AirVenture show last week. The bike will not be cheap: Flight International quotes Samson founder Sam Bousfield as saying that he expects Switchblades — which will be sold in kit form — to cost owners approximately $80,000 in total. Some $60,000 of that would be for the kit, and the remainder for an engine and avionics of the purchaser’s choice.

Buyers will not be getting  Harley Davidson for that price. Lewis Page writes that the Switchblade is essentially a streamlined three-wheeler with two side-by-side seats, perhaps more reminiscent of a flying Reliant Robin than an aerial motorbike (although it is classified as a cycle for road-safety purposes). It will be able to run on the ground at “90+” mph according to Samson, and there is “room for golf clubs” in the cabin.

In order to get airborne, the Switchblade pops out two “scissors” wings from a clamshell belly case which keeps them “protected from road grunge and rock dings.” The rear-mounted ducted fan can then propel the machine into the air to cruise at an estimated 134 mph, though this is expected to worsen the fuel economy from 60 mpg on the road to 22 mpg airborne. Samson recommend a 120 horsepower Freedom Motor low-emissions powerplant capable of burning a wide variety of fuels, but offer customers the option to fit any suitable engine of their choice.

Standard features are expected to include air conditioning, a digital “glass cockpit” able to switch easily between road and flight mode, a stereo system, and “automatic vehicle leaning in turns” — but also a leather interior and parachute emergency-landing system. The Switchblade is also expected to qualify for a Californian Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle rating.

Page notes that the expected specs seem impressive, particularly when compared to the Terrafugia Transition, a not dissimilar “roadable aircraft” which has already flown (see 6 June 2009 HSNW). Samson’s Switchblade is expected to offer the same payload as a Transition and similar airborne range. It will apparently offer much better air and ground speed than the Terrafugia design, lower emissions, and better protection for stowed wings. The ducted fan suggests that it would be significantly quieter, too. In addition, Samson believe they will be able to fit such luxuries as air conditioning — a feature Terrafugia had to sacrifice in order to save weight.

The secret of Switchblade’s superior performance superior, that is, relative to the Terrafugia) lies in the fact that despite being described as a “motorcycle” rather than a “car,” it will weigh 1,400 lb all up. The four-wheeler Terrafugia Transition, by contrast, is intended to fit within the FAA 1 320 lb weight limit for light sport aircraft, and it uses a less powerful engine too. Page notes that a light-sport pilot’s license is easier to achieve and keep up than a normal private-pilot ticket, which will presumably be required for Switchblade users. Experienced pilots would notice another probable downside for the Switchblade: its 70 knot stalling speed, which is a lot higher than the Transition’s 45 kt. Samson does not specify the sky bike’s takeoff run, but it will probably need significantly more than the Transition’s 1,700 feet to get over a 50 foot obstacle.

It is not clear when the design will be certified and the first machine produced. Samson is taking reservation deposits and the firm does not yet have an estimated delivery date.