New Years Resolution

Editorial Staff

Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Many pilots, including the author, struggle to find "spare time" to fly and maintain proficiency with increasingly complex modern avionics, leading to a decline in skills.
This lack of regular flying and skill refreshers creates a "death spiral" where pilots become reluctant to fly, may not maintain certifications, and could eventually stop flying altogether.
The author, having experienced this challenge with a long-stalled panel renovation, urges pilots to commit to brushing up on their cockpit technology and getting flight refreshers to become safer, more proficient, and enjoy flying.

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Trust me. I’m painfully aware it’s July already. And that’s really part of the point. I’ve got to fly more often, something I vowed to do at the top of the year.

More years ago than I’ll admit in print, I started a project to renovate the instrument panel in my Cessna 340. You see, I already had most of the avionics, and with a background in electronics, well, it just seemed natural to do it myself. You know the kind of project—the kind where it’s done in “spare time.”