Catalyst Project

My Catalyst Project Journey - Singapore American School

Turning a Training Scare Into a Learning Opportunity: This is the journey behind how I unpacked my idea of "Clear Skies and Clear Communication" and turned a single incident into the foundation of SafelyFlights.com.

The mission behind this project is to improve pilot safety and communication awareness for student pilots.

I was 14 years old when I started studying and training for my Recreational Pilot Certificate. I knew this would be challenging while balancing school and attending flight school at night (40 hours of Ground Theory Lessons) in addition to having to complete 20 hours of Flight Simulator Training. I

felt stretched but perservered becuase I needed to pass all my exams for this dream to come true. The training materials we received were quite dense and intimidating as though I was learning a new language. After experiencing this, creating a platform using visual aids, diagrams, and concise explanations to make aviation concepts easy to understand for young pilots was another goal I had in mind with animated presentations on proper radio communications.

My Learning Journal

My Learning Journal

This is where I documented my thought process, research, challenges, and breakthroughs as this project evolved.

Acknowledgements

A heartfelt thank you to my wonderful teacher Mr. Martin Williams and to my mentors Captain James, Mr. Faris Iskander and Sunny Adhikari for their guidance and invaluable feedback. This is a space I will continue to expand as I learn and grow.

Inside My Mission for Safer Skies

1. Why Is This Topic So Important?

2. What are the Nuts and Bolts of safelyflights.com?

3. My Reflection, Growth and Facing the Future

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1. Why Is This Topic So Important?

I chose this topic for my Catalyst project because it matters to me deeply. I actually experienced a real near miss caused by unclear radio calls from another student pilot during a touch-and go which forced me to cut off a larger aircraft in the circuit. At the same, another student pilot was inbound and becuase his radio calls came too early, I felt this aircraft was right on my tail. For a few seconds, panic set in where I felt sandwiched between two aircrafts and we were all beginner pilots.

That moment showed me how quickly confusion can build in the air and how common miscommunication is in general aviation and can cause genuinely dangerous situations. This stuck with me and made me realize that student pilots often lack confidence with radio procedures and traffic pattern awareness.

Because of this, my goal was to develop a practical, scenario-based training tool that highlights real incidents, emphasizes proper phraseology, and helps student pilots practice clear and effective radio communication in circuits.

2. What are the Nuts and Bolts of safelyflights.com?

The nuts and bolts of my website was created to empower young avitors with clear, visual training materials to advocate for better commincation practices among pilots and air traffic controllers. There are core skills student pilots actually need in the circuit: clear radio phraseology, understanding traffic patterns, knowing runway markings, learning from real case studies, and building ICAO English clarity. The training modules are broken down into short explanations, visuals, and real examples so beginners can learn fast and actually use it in the cockpit to reduce the risk of mid-air confusion and improve safety by addressing pilot-ATC communication breakdowns

3. My Reflection, Growth and facing the future

Throughout this project, I learned far more than just radio phraseology. I had to break down complex aviation ideas from the articles I read and interviews I conducted into simple explanations. I spent time reflecting on my struggles as a student pilot and that guided me to design a training tool that emphasizes on proper phraseology and help pilots practice clear and effective radio communication in the circuit.

The idea behind a website came to me very quickly in presenting my campagin but I found the process quite daunting as I have never created one before. The hours spent now feels so rewarding as it clear and organized where student pilots can find everything in one place. I am eager to get back behind the yolk and into the skies to experience more, push myself further, and face challenges, flying solo and with an instructor because that is the best way to learn which I can then share with you!