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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Dean Murray & Milo Boyd

Flying car costing £145k that can be stored in your garage gets approved for take-off

A £145,000 flying car that can be stored in your garage has been approved for take-off.

The Samson Switchblade has received the rubber stamp from the FAA, the U.S. government aviation authority, to start flight testing.

After 14 years of development, the Switchblade is now conducting final high-speed taxi testing prior to flight testing.

Redmond, Oregon-based Samson Sky say 2,100 people have made reservations for the vehicle, which comes in a DIY kit form.

Each Switchblade Kit includes engine, transmission, avionics, interiors and Samson Builder Assist Program.

The flying car parked outside a home (Samson Sky / SWNS)

The Switchblade is a three wheel, street-legal vehicle that you keep parked in your garage.

Drivers of the aerial motor can drive it out of their garage to a nearby airport, where the wings can be swung out and the tail extended in under three minutes.

They can then fly their registered aircraft at at up to 306 km/h.

Once safely landed on an airstrip, the vehicle can be transformed back to driving mode, the wings and tail safely stowed and protected.

It is not yet clear whether the UK government will license the vehicle for flights in the country.

For the high-speed taxi tests, the wings were removed from the vehicle, so there would be no chance that the flying car would start to go airborne.

The Switchblade has been in development for 14 years (Samson Sky / SWNS)

Sam Bousfield, CEO Samson Sky and designer of the Switchblade, explains: "Our take-off speed is predicted to be 88 mph, meaning that's the speed we need to hit, at which point the Switchblade would begin to lift off the ground.

"Out of the fastest of 10 speed runs, our test driver took the Switchblade to 98 mph, which confirmed what the team saw on the instruments, videos and engine computer data - the Switchblade handled and performed very well."

Samson Sky say the reservation list for the Switchblade has reached 2,100, with reservation holders in 52 countries, and in all 50 states in the US.

Sam Bousfield, CEO Samson Sky and designer of the Switchblade (Samson Sky / SWNS)

The company say: "Early adopters include NASA engineers, airline pilots, entrepreneurs, etc.

"The recent FAA approval has attracted 360 new Reservations in just the past few weeks - and it's notable that 58% of them are not yet pilots.

"Artists dream the future, and that future is filled with flying cars.

"If you share that dream, the Switchblade was designed for you."

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