In one of the Wannabes forums bloke is asking for CPL NUGGETS to help in his training . My advice to him ran so -
Your own pre-take off brief (whenever single pilot ops) is crucial. The day you go into the take-off, fat, dumb and happy, is the day the fickle finger of fate is waiting to ensnare you. Many are the pilots who did not take the time to consider their actions in the event of engine failure, before having plenty of height in hand. (And a good many of those paid the ultimate price. And not infrequently, included have been those innocents who happened to be along for the ride. A King Air departing Melbourne for King Island last year, is a case in point . ) So tell yourself exactly what you will do if left with no power or in the case of a twin, down to one. The more you have rehearsed your actions beforehand, the better will be the outcome. Sounds obvious, but sometimes, for some pilots, the lesson is hard learned.
The time will come when you can be attentively relaxed and enjoy the benefits that ensure from becoming an increasingly experienced pilot. Two of the best books ever written on the subject of what wings can enable, in terms of an enlightenment, are by the late Harald Penrose, who, following his retirement after years as a test-pilot with the Westland Company at Yeovil, took to flying round southern England in his diminutive single-seat biplane (A Currie Wot). His refections on what this experience brought for him in later life are, in part, an airman's glorious denouement . The books are 'Airymouse' and 'Cloud Cuckooland'. All this is tangential to the thread starter's purpose, but nonetheless, the question remains, why fly? For the view, a lot of the time.