Lessons Learned

Flying under a high overcast has it's benefits.

Engines sound awful when eating melted carburetor ice.

Stopping after a one-sided brake failure is a real challenge.

Aircraft cabins always leak from somewhere in the rain.

Maine can be really cold in May. Don't take your cabin heater out before arrival. 

If you can't consistently make power-off 180 spot landings you aren't ready for an engine failure.

Don't trust linemen to secure fuel caps.

Alternators fail more often than you might like.

When approaching a cloud layer, don't rush your decision to go over or under until you've had a good look at it up close.

When the engine quits, a closer mediocre field is better than a perfect field near the limit of your glide.

Your first instrument approach to real minimums without an instructor can be terrifying. 

Your landings won't be consistently good until you can anticipate every outside factor in the landing environment ahead of time.

A blown tire in a tricycle gear airplane is no big deal.

Even a light rain will eat the paint on props.

Always know how to get the finer digits on the radio. Some of the old ones don't even have them.

iPads overheat at the worst possible times.

Cow pastures are bumpy and usually have high grass. Barbed wire fences can be really hard to see.

It's not a hard landing unless it knocks your headset off in the process.

Always write down on paper what time you take off on long flights.

Engines sound rougher over inhospitable terrain. 

Don't fly low into a sunrise or sunset.

Not every issue has been published in a NOTAM like it should be.

Birds, Luscombes, gliders, balloons, and autogiros rarely have transponders or ADSB.

Inspection covers fly off airplanes more often than you might think.

Round Robin trips are always shortest when the wind is calm.

Always know what the moon will be when flying at night.

Clouds like to march in rows. If you know what to look for you will see them all over the place.

Even a little oil on a brake pad can lead to a bad day.

Carburetor Heat can help keep an accelerating engine from stumbling on a really cold day.

Always have an out.

Look at the sock before every landing, no matter what.

Make sure your alternates have fuel.

It's too cold to fly when your sunglasses are icing up from your breath.

Be careful of runway closures when leaving your plane parked at unfamiliar airports.

Look for the name of the nearest town to your destination airport, you might hear it on the radio instead of what you are expecting.

NOTAMS on the fourth page can really bite.

Many words uttered on CTAF are unnecessary.

When the best wind runway for takeoff is in the direction you are headed, really make sure you have plenty of gas.

Coordination rarely matters, but when it does your life may very well depend on it.

Hear and Be Heard - See and Bee Seen

Sometimes the best enroute winds are at treetop level.

Real proficiency requires daily flying.

Lots of birds like to fly at night.

Temperature differences in performance are usually forgotten between seasons.

Don't trust passengers to not mess up weight and balance while in flight.

Being off a rev on altitude can be really scary.

You probably won't declare an emergency the first time you have one.

Know who will fly in an emergency ahead of time.

A good fuel gauge is a valuable tool.

ATC can clear you to land at a distant airport over the phone before you even climb into the airplane.

Physics proves you are more likely to have a headwind.

Getting down to your legal 30 minutes Day VFR reserve is always scary.

Wind gust tip their hands in cornfields, lakes, and other interesting places. They are fascinating to watch.

Jarring turbulence doesn't require jarring corrections.

No need to rush picking a hole to descend through if things aren't getting worse.

Winds Aloft Forecasts should never be trusted when it comes to fuel planning.

Don't let your first time being upside down be in an emergency.

No matter what, always check the gas and oil of any airplane you ever climb into; even if you offend someone.

If you don't mind losing things their is no need to be thorough in checking for loose items before flying with the doors off.

When scud running fly well below the ceiling so that the clouds don't obscure your visibility.

Find the right balance between stick and rudder doctrine and integration of new technologies. Few people live in this ideal middle ground.

Be ready for the morning when absolutely everything looks and says "clear severe", yet shortly after takeoff you find yourself in haze.

Never rush picking a hole to climb through. Their is usually a better one a mile or two ahead or behind.

Concentrated smoke combined with a building cloud make for a very unique looking cloud.

Don't trust helicopter pilots to not fly under you, even at low altitude.

Noticing the detailed colors of a passing airplane right after pulling out of a spin is very scary.

If you plan on every approach being a go-around you will never be surprised when they do.

Sunglasses are a must when flying over snow.

Never trust a parking brake.

A lot of turbulence is caused by thermals; which glider pilots understand, can sense, and correct for efficiently.

If you didn't find anything wrong on the preflight, you didn't look hard enough.

Large buildings can keep nasty wake turbulence spinning for significantly longer than ATC advises.

The headsets are always where you left them when it's your own airplane.

A let-off can be just as scary as the gust it replaced.

Their is a reason why most pilots lose airspeed on final descent and gain airspeed on climb-out.

Sometimes the impossible turn is the only option.

It's more important to be tracking towards your destination than over some imaginary line in the sky.

Gliders can rarely go-around.

Airplanes are generally nicer in the air than on the ground.

Hanging out under a building cloud is an incredible experience.

Pick landmarks so that you never have to guess whether to turn left or right to get to your destination.

Thinking of ATC instead as "Air Traffic Suggestors" can change your perspective on who is really in-charge.

Sometimes engines go momentarily silent, make funny noises, sputter, and stumble for no reason at all.

How do you declare an emergency when your radio is inoperative?