• The new OneSky Innovation Center’s technological advancements will benefit the flying companies of Directional Aviation
  • Center will recruit Embry-Riddle students for full and part-time paid internships
  • Coding competitions will push innovation, creativity

CLEVELAND, August 18, 2017 – OneSky, which is a portfolio of flying companies under Directional Aviation, today announced the opening of the OneSky Innovation Center located on the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach campus. The center will recruit the brightest aviation technology students and invite them to assist in developing technology for the advancement of private aviation.

“We will be adapting the latest existing technologies from other industries into our business,” said OneSky Chief Technology Officer Greg Johnson. “And we will be developing new technologies unique to private aviation built on the foundation of our decades of experience and history of innovation.”

The new OneSky center at the John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex will offer full and part-time paid internships to a select few of the best Embry-Riddle students studying aviation information technology. The work at the center will reduce OneSky’s time to market in core initiatives by assisting with coding, testing and documentation.

“As the OneSky family of brands leads the industry in developing cutting edge technology to support its many customers, we are proud they selected Embry-Riddle as their University partner” said Embry-Riddle President Dr. P. Barry Butler “This is the first step in developing a comprehensive enterprise to industry partnership with OneSky.”

Under Johnson’s leadership, OneSky’s IT team is investing in the development of industry specific artificial intelligence tools and is exploring consumer voice services such as Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple’s Siri to offer clients additional ways to access information about their flights for the future. Projects planned for the Innovation Center will encompass a broad range of emerging technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), aviation cloud computing, and applying the latest concepts in Big Data to OneSky’s nearly 500 terabytes worth of stored information. These initiatives will complement the companies’ existing innovation, which includes feature-rich new Apple iOS mobile apps developed for Flexjet, Sentient Jet and Skyjet – three of the flying companies OneSky IT supports.

To spark interest, the Innovation Center will host coding competitions on campus to identify fresh talent, encourage out-of-the-box ideas and to create excitement about the center on campus.

“Our interns – four to five this fall – will work closely with our IT team on real-world problems gaining practical experience that will serve them well in the aviation industry,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s OneSky IT team already operates across multiple campuses in Cleveland, Boston and Dallas. The center at Embry-Riddle will be integrated with the greater OneSky IT team through video conferencing, collaboration tools such as Slack, and leading technology workflow software.

For more details, see the center’s website: Innovation.Onesky.Com.

 

About The John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex (MicaPlex)

Known as the MicaPlex, this cornerstone building of the Research Park at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will house collaborative workspaces, a wide range of laboratories and business support services collocated to ensure that technology-focused startups will have every advantage for success. The first building phase also includes a large wind tunnel and test facility with cutting-edge instrumentation. Named for former U.S. Representative John Mica (R-Florida) in honor of his key role in supporting the university’s educational and research endeavors, it is strategically located in Central Florida’s “Convergence Zone” of innovation and discovery. This collaborative atmosphere is designed for incubating new technologies across 10,000 square feet of flex lease space to meet tenants’ needs. For more information, go to erau.edu/micaplex. For information about partnership opportunities, call (386) 226-4928 or email [email protected].

About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 80 baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts & Sciences, Aviation, Business, Engineering and Security & Intelligence. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., through the Worldwide Campus with more than 125 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and through online programs. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.

About OneSky

OneSky encompasses the flying companies of the Directional Aviation: Flexjet, Flexjet Ltd, Sentient Jet and Skyjet.

  • Flexjet has offered fractional jet ownership and leasing since 1995, its program fields an exclusive array of business aircraft—some of the youngest in the fractional jet industry. Launched in 2015, Red Label by Flexjet features flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft, access to the world’s newest shared jet fleet and exclusive, artisan cabin interiors that are the most distinctive ever offered to fractional travelers.
  • UK-based Flexjet Ltd acquired FlairJet from Marshall Aerospace in August 2016. FlairJet Ltd, now a subsidiary company of Flexjet Ltd, was founded in 2009 and is a bespoke aircraft management company offering business aircraft solutions through their AOC (No. GB2639). Flexjet Ltd aircraft are operated by FlairJet Ltd. Flexjet Ltd will offer private jet memberships to clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as charter services within the EMEA to Flexjet’s US-based Owners.
  • Sentient Jet offers 25-hour jet cards, which allow clients to purchase flight time on four jet-size options. Founded in 1999, Sentient created the industry’s first and only independent Safety Advisory Board.
  • Skyjet offers private jet charter after pioneering the first on-demand online booking for private jets. Today, Skyjet offers booking online, through its award-winning mobile app and on the telephone.

Contact:
Nicholas Parmelee
The Hubbell Group, Inc.
216-406-5602 (cell)
781-878-8882 (office)
[email protected]