That grain of wisdom....
Okay oldtimers, it's a new year, and as all new years, it should be started out on a good step. Based upon your flying experience, what grain of wisdom would you write [here] to new pilots, that they could take away and forever have that little extra corner in their bag of luck?
Of course, discussion of the topics is welcomed.
I'll start:
Pilots, all airplanes will glide, and you have and/or will be trained to do this properly. During this training, the concept of "best glide speed" will come up. This is an important speed to know and fly for each type, if you are trying to go as far as possible with no engine power. However....
If you are within a few hundred feet of your landing surface, and power off, you might want a few extra knots in your bag of luck, 'cause you're going to need it to flare for a gentle landing.
This concept extends to those silly steep, slow departures which some pilots are seen to do, perhaps to entertain the earthbound masses. From that slow speed, could you nose down, and get the plane sped up to the required glide speed, before you arrive back at the hard surface?
Altitude is your friend, but power off, so is some speed too. Fly normal departures, and allow some acceleration with the climb, it'll save your butt if the engine quits on climb out.