1 – Plan next flights
We all have dream destinations, or airports we plan to few to. You can prepare your route, fuel, weight and balance and performance calculations, study the approach and local procedures. When the good day will come, you will be ready !

2 – Review emergency procedures
What are the three first things to do in your prefered airplane in case of engine fire ? What is the procedure for emergency landing gear extension ? Do you know how to bypass the intercom in case of electrical failure ? I’m sure you know, but time spent reviewing emergency procedures and memory items is never lost.

3 – Train in the simulator
Simulators are wonderful tools for practicing radio-navigation, even for VFR pilots. GPS failure can happen, and radio-navigation is not dead. Many PC based simulators exist that you can use on your own, like X-Plane, or Elite which is more IFR oriented.

4 – Avionics study
Modern avionics offer so many features that one hardly master all of them. Speaking of the Garmin familly which I know the best, do you know how to program a descent profile, use the timers, or fly a holding over an intersection using the OBS mode ? You can also review the degraded more of your glass cockpit.

5 – Read incident reports
Many lessons can be learned by reading incident reports that occured with the type of plane you fly, or at airports you know. You can find reports on the web: US NTSB, French BEA, Swiss BFU, English AAIB, and many others.

6 – Flight stuff cleaning
When did you clean your headset, GPS, fuel tester, and flight bag for the last time ? Are the batteries of your handheld radio, portable GPS, ANR headset and flashlight still good or do they have to be replaced ? And by the way, do you need all what is in your bag or did you cumulate some crap over time ?

7 – Share experience
I like to discuss with other pilots because it is a great source of indirect experience. I’m not a newbie anymore, but I still like such discussions, and I sometimes learn from pilots that are still in training. Experience has not always to do with total time flown. And as I have few experiences to share as well, I’m sometimes the one giving tips.

8 – Surf on the net
The net is just full of aviation related resources, and you can find many of them in my favorite links category. Some are instructive, some are fun, some are just impossible to classify.

9 – Have a life !
Aviation is certainly an important part in the life of all pilots – but a part only ! It is sad, but some pilots lost their families because they spent too much time away of them while flying. So don’t forget those who love and support you, and have good time with them !

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