Story ID: 
Embry-Riddle Freshman Wins Flexjet Cabin Design Contest
By: Amy Wilder
Caption: Design to be installed in Gulfstream G650
Word Count: 240
Flexjet has selected “Carolina,” an aircraft interior design created by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University freshman Woojae Sohn and his father, Youngmin Sohn, as the winner of its Project LXi—Design the Ultimate Private Jet Interior contest. The Sohns won a $100,000 prize for their design, which will be installed in one of Flexjet’s Gulfstream G650s and added to the company's LXi Cabin Collection.
More than 150 entries were submitted following the contest’s launch in October. A Flexjet panel narrowed down the entries to 12, after which the public voted to select six semi-finalists. Flexjet designers then created detailed renderings of those finalists before sourcing materials to help guide the final decision by Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci.
Sohn, an aviation business major and member of the Air Force ROTC, collaborated with his father, a design director. The pair spent weekends shaping the design, drawing inspiration from family vacations in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
The Carolina interior features brown, tan, and cream tones, with a grove of trees etched into the bulkhead veneer. Ricci noted the originality of the tufting proposed for the couch and ottoman and the table’s wood grain.
Flexjet will involve the Sohns in the completion process. A formal award ceremony is planned, and the pair will be invited to tour Flexjet’s global headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. The Carolina interior is expected to join the Flexjet fleet in 2026.