This semester didn’t finish soon enough. Now that finals are done, though, I can turn my attention to other things!

I’ve picked up a couple of interesting books in the past month, both on flying and how to be the safest pilot possible. The first, The Killing Zone – How & Why Pilots Die, by Paul Craig, is a revealing look at the increased accident risk beginning pilots find themselves taking and how to minimize it. Newly-certified private pilots lack the experience and judgment of an airline captain – this much should be obvious – but they also are less aware of their own abilities. There are around a dozen distinct types of accidents which new pilots are involved in far more often than high-time pilots, and he discusses the situations leading to and prevention of each accident category. It was an interesting read, as I fall into Craig’s 50-350 hour “Killing Zone” by about 30 hours. As he points out, however, instrument and commercial pilots are trained to higher standards and for a much longer period of time, making them (and, presumably, me) significantly safer.

The second book is John Stewart’s Avoiding Common Pilot Errors, an Air Traffic Controller’s view (no, not Jon Stewart, although he occasionally cracks jokes that he could have skipped), a discussion on how pilots can intentionally or inadvertently screw up the ATC system. I’m about halfway through it so far, and it’s a great resource. Pilots (especially those living in that Killing Zone!) are often uncomfortable with the radios – I was myself, when I started my training. I’ve picked up both books in the hopes that they’ll help me improve as a pilot and, once I’m instructing, help me pass on knowledge that will keep future generations of pilots much safer.

On the topic of safety, I did a research paper for my instructor ground school course on the topic of what the FAA is calling “Voluntary Disclosure Programs” – essentially, if an airline or organization violates a regulation and realizes it, they can tell the FAA and implement a program to prevent future missteps. This follows on the heels of the FAA offering recurrent training for individual pilots who screw up and break regulations rather than taking administrative action against them. Improving safety means finding problems and solving them, not suspending certificates, and I’m happy to see that the FAA is taking steps in this very positive direction.

Also, if you’ve been following Child’s Play, the total raised is close to $800,000 for the year now that it’s over. It’s great to see a charity do so much to help kids stuck in hospitals for the holidays.