General Manager

Our General Manager and Chairman of the Board, Ulukan ABACI, was born in 1993 in Samsun to a family of Thessaloniki migrants. At a young age he joined the Turkish Aeronautical Association freefall parachute course in 2009. He then successfully completed glider training in 2011 and paragliding in 2012. As one of the first students of Ondokuz Mayıs University’s Faculty of Civil Aviation, Department of Civil Air Transport Management, Abacı was among the founders of the university’s UZAYTEM Flight Academy in 2013 and completed his PPL flight training as the academy’s first student. After graduating in 2015 he immediately began his professional career at UZAYTEM Flight Academy. During this period he continued flying Cessna-type aircraft and pursuing sport aviation through paragliding, and also served as chairman of the Ondokuz Mayıs University Aviation Club. Through the club he introduced hundreds of people to paragliding and thousands to unmanned aviation.

While continuing volunteer work in many roles at UZAYTEM, he suffered a paragliding accident on 17 August 2016 and had to end his work at the academy. After recovering through a two-month treatment period, Abacı founded PIC Cenneti in 2016 — Turkey’s first PIC (Pilot in Command) focused company, enabling young commercial pilot candidates to train in Turkey at more accessible costs instead of Europe. He then launched NorthFLY Flight Academy to serve Turkish aviation more professionally. Abacı named the hangar he built in Samsun after his father, Erdoğan ABACI. On the day of the hangar opening, Erdoğan Bey suffered a heart attack and passed away. Within about a year he opened NorthFLY Flight Academy branches in Istanbul and Tekirdag. In 2021 NorthFLY took part in air force student selection flights for several countries. As of 2022, a partnership with global aviation training leader Airways Aviation enabled international pilot candidates to train in Turkey. NorthFLY Flight Academy continues to operate as the only flight school in Turkey able to deliver EASA and CASA ATPL training pathways.

Also a scout, Abacı holds airplane, UAV, glider, ultralight and paragliding pilot licences. Outside work he loves travel. Alongside NorthFLY Flight Academy he serves as chairman and board member at companies including Airways Aviation Turkey, Pilot and DroneTURK.