[aviation news]
Woojae Sohn, a freshman aviation business major at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is the winner of Flexjet’s Project LXi: Design the Ultimate Private Jet Interior contest. Sohn, who is also a member of the Air Force ROTC, has been awarded the $100,000 grand prize for the design known as “Carolina.”
Sohn and his father, Youngmin Sohn, drew inspiration for the design from their family vacations in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The Sohns will be involved in the process as the interior is installed in a Flexjet Gulfstream G650 and will become part of the company’s LXi Cabin Collection of custom interiors.
According to Flexjet, to date there are nearly 50 different interior designs across its fleet, which in the U.S. consists of the Embraer Phenom 300, Praetor 500 and 600, Bombardier Challenger 350/3500, and Gulfstream G450 and G650. Flexjet’s European fleet includes the Embraer Praetor 600 and the Gulfstream G650.
The interior design contest launched in October 2024. According to Flexjet, there were more than 150 entries.
A committee of Flexjet creatives and executives pored over the designs until they reduced the field to 12 semifinalists. Flexjet’s engineers and designers then took the six designs with the highest vote totals and created more precise visual renderings of them using the company’s software. The next step was sourcing the materials needed to create the designs. The winner was selected by Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci.
The design features earth tones, specifically brown, tan, and cream, including an outline of a grove of trees on the veneer on the bulkhead of the interior reminiscent of one encountered during a Sohn family vacation.
Ricci said he found the tufting proposed for the couch and ottoman as well as the wood grain of the table to be unique and something he had never seen before in an aircraft interior.
“It’s a very elegant design,” Ricci said in an Instagram video describing the design.
The formal award presentation is planned for later this year, and the Sohns will be invited to tour Flexjet’s global headquarters in Cleveland to learn more about the installation process of the newest LXi Cabin Collection Interior design.
This year, Flexjet celebrates its 30th anniversary as a leader in the fractional jet ownership market, providing ownership and leasing. It has won many awards, including 26 FAA Diamond Awards of Excellence.
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