The elevator trim mainly acts like a cruise control. Once the aircraft is trimmed for a certain airspeed, it will tend to maintain that airspeed regardless of the power setting. One common misconception among pilots is that the trim keeps the current altitude or flight path. In reality, it is the trimmed airspeed the aircraft tends to maintain. When you change power without changing the elevator trim, the aircraft will adjust its vertical speed in order to stay at approximately the same airspeed. Increase power → the aircraft tends to climb. Reduce power → the aircraft tends to descend. When you want to change the airspeed, you need to change the trim as well. Remember: trim for airspeed!

Remember the basics: • Pitch down → airspeed increases • Pitch up → airspeed decreases Vertical speed will normally change as well, but only as a result of changing energy demands.

To manage your workload while flying, you need to prioritize your tasks when things get busy. AVIATE – NAVIGATE – COMMUNICATE is one of the most fundamental principles in aviation: AVIATE: Always keep flying the aircraft. If you have no mental capacity left for anything else, this is what you do. Nothing is more important. NAVIGATE: Once you have some capacity to spare, figure out where you are, where you're going, and where you need to go next. COMMUNICATE: If you still have capacity available, communicate with ATC, passengers, or anyone else who needs your attention. When the workload becomes too high, start cutting away the least important tasks. First, reduce unnecessary communication. If that's not enough, simplify the navigation. But never stop flying the aircraft. One common mistake I've observed many times is pilots continuing to talk to ATC while their basic aircraft control starts to suffer. Sometimes they're simply afraid of not responding immediately or of upsetting ATC. But look at it this way: Would you rather upset ATC for a moment and stay alive, or keep ATC happy while losing control of the aircraft? ATC can wait. The aircraft can't. Make Aviate – Navigate – Communicate part of your everyday flying. Practice the priority when things are easy, so it becomes automatic when things aren't. Applied correctly, this simple principle could save your life one day.

In my experience, one of the main reasons student pilots make unnecessary mistakes is that they are "behind the aircraft." They may know exactly what to do in theory, but things start happening faster than they can process them. Suddenly, the aircraft is already at a point where the pilot mentally hasn't arrived yet. That's why one of my main focuses as an instructor has always been identifying why pilots get behind the aircraft, and how to prevent it. Here's one simple technique: Every time you go flying, make sure you don't start the engine before you've really arrived in the present moment. Prepare the aircraft. Do your checks. Get everything ready. THEN, BEFORE STARTING THE ENGINE, SIMPLY CLOSE YOUR EYES AND DO NOTHING FOR 30-60 SECONDS. No checklist. No planning. No phone. Just sit there. Give yourself a moment to mentally arrive before the flight begins. It's a simple habit, but it can prevent you from starting the flight already rushed, stressed, and one step behind the aircraft. Stay ahead of the aircraft, before it even starts moving.

When flying VFR, you use the natural horizon as the primary reference for the aircraft's attitude. Let's look at a level turn. First, note the position of the horizon relative to a reference point on the aircraft, such as the glareshield or the top of the instrument panel. As you roll into the turn, keep the horizon at the same relative position. The aircraft will usually tend to pitch down as the bank angle increases, so you may need to apply a slight amount of back pressure to maintain the correct attitude. By using this technique, you can establish a smooth, coordinated turn while maintaining a constant altitude. Common mistake: Many pilots become distracted by other tasks or focus too much on the instruments while entering the turn. As a result, they unintentionally gain or lose altitude and then have to correct it afterward. That correction takes time and attention that could instead be used to stay ahead of the aircraft.