May 24, 2010. Copyright 2010, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Sky’s the limit for flying trike

LONDON, May 24, Graphic News: A flying motorcycle sounds improbable, but it could soon be zooming over your head. California-based Samson Motorworks is building a prototype called the Switchblade Multi Mode Vehicle which it hopes to sell as a do-it-yourself kit as early as next year.

The three-wheel hybrid motorcycle/aeroplane promises a flying vehicle in every garage, says Samson’s president Sam Bousfield. Former architect Bousfield, 53, who has also worked with Boeing engineers on aircraft propeller technology, believes the Switchblade will get more people into aviation. “A lot of people say ‘I’ve been thinking about being a pilot but, by golly, if I could get one of these, for sure, I’d do it’,” says Bousfield.

The three-wheel design was chosen because it meets the official definition of a motorcycle, which is not as highly regulated as car technology. For example, motorcycles do not need to have bumpers, which would add weight and expense to a flying vehicle.

Inside the cockpit, pilot and passenger sit side by side in leather seats and in climate-controlled luxury behind the aggressively angled nose and canard wing. The Switchblade’s stubby wings open on pivots behind the cockpit while a stabilizer extends from the rear. On solid ground, the wings fold into clamshell compartments, while two large rearview mirrors swing out and the instrument display switches from air to ground readings.

The Switchblade is supplied as a kit aircraft, partly pre-assembled by Samson. The kit will cost about $60,000, with an additional $20-25,000 for engine and avionics. This compares with $250,000 for a conventional light aircraft.

In the air, the Switchblade aims to achieve 22mpg at 130mph (10.7 litres per 100km at 210km/h) and around 60mpg (4 litres per 100km) on the road in motorcycle mode.

Potential engines include Lycoming’s O-320 aircraft engine, Suzuki’s Hayabusa motorcycle engine and Kawasaki’s Jet Ski personal watercraft engine.

The Switchblade will succeed, says Bousfield, because it will morph easily between transportation mediums. If pilots encounter bad weather, they can put down on a strip of level ground (at least 610 metres long) and finish the trip by road.

The flying motorcycle’s body is also designed to be more environmentally friendly than a car’s: the Switchblade exterior will be made of self-reinforced, recyclable polypropylene -- the plastic used for food containers -- around a tubular steel frame.

Bousfield’s next step is wind-tunnel testing with an FAA-approved prototype expected by the end of the year. Flying has just become more affordable.
/Ends