1. Do some homework beforehand. A lot of pilots show up for recurrent training without giving much thought to how to make it a useful learning experience. Remember, Flight training is not a passive activity and it's your money. Before heading out to the airport, take some time to read about and review techniques and procedures that you are to work on. Your instructor will be impressed that you're really interested in learning. That will make him or her more enthusiastic to help you learn as much as you can.

2. Turn off the autopilot for a while. Auto pilots are great. They reduce a pilot's workload. They make cross-country travel easier and more enjoyable. But if you depend on your autopilot too much, you begin to lose basic flying skills. Turning off your autopilot once in a while is not only fun but also helps you keep and refresh your coordination and smoothness. Flyme's Note - Also turning off your GPS and flying VFR using only dead reckoning and pilotage will increase your navigation skills and confidence. Doing this a couple of weeks before a flight review or any recurrent training will better prepare you to learn more from your instructor.

3. Work on your scan. You can do it anywhere, anytime. One of the most important skills you can develop is a good scan both inside and outside the cockpit. The human mind is a remarkable instrument . It needs only a small fraction of a second to pick up information. When you're in a car, move your eyes from traffic to roadside signs to speedometer to traffic and back again. In other words, use every occasion to work on your scan by moving your eyes to see everything. You'll be surprised how it improves your piloting and how many other things in the world you start to notice.

4. Visualize. The positive aspects of visualization are well known. Athletes visualize to help their performance, and so should you. Close your eyes and visualize the location of the flight instruments. Move your eyes from one instrument to the next or your hand from one control to another. Practice in mind the start the start sequence, takeoff procedures, checklist items, scan techniques, and all the other skills that make you the pilot in command.

5. Be a mountain climber. As you reach for the top of the training mountain, do it in 100-foot increments, not in one big effort. Learning, like mountain climbing, is based upon smaller, more easily digestible bits of information and activity. In fact, the more you can break your training into manageable parts, The better you'll like it.

6. Train as often as you can. Frequency is the key to many good things in life, including flight training. The more often you train, read about training, or even think about it on your regular flights, the better, safer pilot you'll be. When flying with other pilots, talk about techniques and procedures, about lessons they've learned and tips they might be able to give you.

7. Relax. Good training should always be challenging, but it should be fun. Enjoyment is the reason most of us learn to fly in the first place. Sometimes that is forgotten. Slow down. Relax. Enjoy the training experience the same way you did when you were learning to fly. You'll learn a lot more, and that will help you continue to be a safe, competent pilot.

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