For nearly six minutes, a car flew through the air.

The Switchblade, which was built, designed and tested in Redmond and Prineville, made its maiden flight Nov. 4 at the airport in Moses Lake, Wash. The airport is commonly used by major aircraft makers for flight testing.

“Today is the culmination of many years of hard work and persistence to make the vision of a flying sports car a reality,” said Sam Bousfield, Samson Sky CEO. “Someone asked me how it felt to see the Switchblade fly. I thought about it, and realized this is what it feels like when your dreams come true.”

For two days, it felt more like a bad dream. Crews arrived Nov. 2 with the goal of going up that first day, but were hampered by rain, wind and poor visibility. Two days later, Bousfield said crews had only conducted a taxi-test and had yet to leave the tarmac. But on Sunday, the skies opened and test crews had an opening to take flight.

They first conducted a “short hop” test of 20-40 yards, then told test pilot Robert Moehle to take it airborne when Moehle was ready.

Bousfeld said he almost missed the moment of takeoff, as the plane lifted off the ground almost imperceptibly from his vantage point. He said the smoothness of liftoff was what he most concerned about, so once he saw that was done easily, he was confident they would ace the rest of the test.

“I knew right then we had it in the bag,” said Bousfield. “After that, all we had to do was fly the thing.”

Moehle reached 500 feet of altitude after a smooth liftoff. The plane remained airborne for nearly six minutes before landing without incident.

“The Switchblade handled great,” he said. “I’m excited to be the first to fly it.”

Bousfeld said that after 14 years of design and testing, the first flight was “a huge milestone” for the company. He said the success “puts us on the path towards producing thousands of Switchblades to meet the large and enthusiastic demand we’re receiving.”

According to Samson Sky more than 2,300 customer from 57 countries have made reservations for the vehicle once it is complete and tested. The car/plane could drive at speeds up to 125 mph and fly at an estimated maximum speed of 190 mph. It uses unleaded auto gas rather than leaded aviation fuel, which allows owners to fuel up at any highway gas station. More than nine patents have been issued or applied for, both in the U.S. and internationally, for the Switchblade.

Samson Sky anticipates that customers will be able to drive their street-legal Switchblade from their garage directly to an airport. Once there, they can transform the vehicle to flying mode in less than three minutes and fly their registered aircraft up to 500 miles without needing to refuel. A private pilot’s license will be required to fly the Switchblade.

The vehicle has two side-by-side seats with room to store smaller travel bags. Its wings and tail fold in to protect them while in driving mode. The engine powers the wheels on the ground and the propeller does the job in the air.

The vehicle is expected to cost roughly $170,000. Included in the price is the program where owners will assemble their portion of the vehicle. The company plans to oversee that process and no special skills are needed.