In any profession or business, there’s always steps you can take to boost your performance or improve your company, and being a pilot is no exception. No matter whether you work for a small airline or fly for pleasure, there’s constantly something new you can learn or a way you can improve.

If you pilot a small aircraft and are looking to improve your knowledge and ability, then consider these tips.

Get in the Zone

You may be an incredibly skilled pilot, but your head needs to be in the game, too. Make sure to get enough rest and then prep and get into flight mode several hours before flying. Don’t let yourself be distracted and focus only on the flight ahead.

Improve Your Communication Skills

When you’re a pilot, being able to communicate in a clear and concise manner is important. This includes talking to passengers, crew and radio. To communicate better by frequency, keep up-to-date with industry phrases and terminology, and keep messages simple and to the point.

Practice Your Landings

Whether you’ve landed an aircraft ten times or ten-thousand times, there’s always room for improvement. This is particularly true for smaller aircrafts, as not all runways are created equal. As such, aim to touch down within eight-hundred feet, to improve your confidence on smaller runways.

Keep Training

If you’ve been flying for a long time, you may think you’re up to speed with everything you need to know. While you’re out there flying regularly, continual education with the likes of Flightstore‘s pilot training will only help to improve your performance.

Look Things Up

In addition to training, you may find yourself in a new situation where you’re knowledge has gaps. This could include new technology or even weather patterns. Take the time to find out what you need to know, to improve your performance.

Understand Aerodynamics

You’re not an engineer, so no one will expect you to have a huge technical knowledge. However, understanding the basics of the aerodynamics of your plane could improve your technique as a pilot.

Consider Aerobatics

While this definitely isn’t a skill set required to fly a commercial jet, but in addition to being a lot of fun, an aerobatic training session is sure to increase your skill set as a pilot, while also making you feel more confident in your abilities.

There are endless ways you can improve your confidence and better your skills as a small aircraft pilot. Try these out and build your own list and you’ll see a difference in no time.