You’ve finally entered a pilot training school, now what? Now that you’re about to go into pilot training, you should use this chance to train and hone certain skills you will need to become a good pilot. These skills are necessary to help you get the job done and keep not only you and your crew safe, but your passengers as well.

And luckily for you, these skills can be easily picked up and refined while still in school. You also won’t need to develop such skills on your own since a pilot school has mentors to teach you the life skills and the necessary fight training to succeed in this career. Read on to learn more about these important life skills that can have a major impact in your career as a pilot.

Communication and Collaboration Skills

While you’re in pilot school, learn how to speak in public settings and converse with instructors and other people in positions of authority. Doing so will help you communicate with passengers on the plane, address their concerns, and help you become more approachable. Communication skills will also help you navigate the hierarchy between you and senior pilots.

Strive to learn how to speak and work with your classmates, especially when working on group projects. Learning to collaborate with others is an important skill as you will not be working alone as a pilot. You’re expected to work closely with your co-pilot as well as crew members, flight attendants, and air traffic control officers for the duration of the flight.

You should also think of your fellow flight students as future colleagues, and interacting with them will help you collaborate with all kinds of people. Take note of how you handle working with people, as the techniques you develop to deal in these situations will work in your favor in the future.

Foresight and Situational Awareness Skills

Pilots should always think ahead and be aware of the weather and their surroundings whenever they fly. So while you’re in pilot training, practice flying as much as you can to develop foresight and situational awareness skills. These skills will help you predict flight outcomes and deal with emergencies like unexpected weather changes.

To learn and hone these skills, you should strive to fly as much as you can in different environments and weather patterns. If you are able to, fly in different airports with different planes to get an idea of how these varying factors can affect the way you fly in the future. Doing so will not only familiarize you with flying, but you will also be able to develop techniques that you can use to ensure a smooth and safe flight.

Concentration and Organizational Skills

While pilots should be masters in multitasking, they should also be adept at concentrating on any given task at hand. One way to help them focus while multitasking by developing good organizational skills. Organizational skills can help them manage their time, the steps and checklists they need to go through before, during, and after flying a plane, and more.

By being well-organized, pilots are able to concentrate on flying the plane while also maintaining awareness of the flight systems. Remember, remaining focused and organized at all times frees the pilot from distractions that might compromise their ability to fly the plane and allow them to handle emergencies without panicking.

Avionics, Aerodynamics, and Aircraft Technical Skills

Don’t just stop at knowing how to fly planes and understanding how they work. Aim to deepen your knowledge by looking up the technical aspects of avionics, aerodynamics, and aerospace engineering. You don’t necessarily need to get an aerospace engineering degree, but understanding the basics of these three fields of study can help you check on the plane’s gears and technical performance.

You will also learn how to fly better as avionics and aerodynamics can tell you what kind of system settings are preferable for certain situations, as well as help you understand how angling your wings or tails can affect how smooth your flight is.

While you’re still training, take this opportunity to ask other pilots and engineers to teach you some of the finer details of avionics or aerodynamics principles. You can also try reading books about these subjects to broaden your knowledge.

Analytical Skills and Knowledge in Mathematics and Physics

Much like aircraft and other technical skills, you’ll also need to sharpen your knowledge in math and physics. As a pilot, you will do calculations and formulas, possibly mid-flight. So practicing mathematical skills and solving math problems in your head will be beneficial for you. In the process of flying an aircraft, you will also be honing your analytical skills, which can help you plan and expect what can happen during a flight.

Practice and solve mathematical and physics problems on your own if your flight school doesn’t offer these classes. If they do offer math and physics classes, solve the problems in your workbook during your free time and try doing them mentally as well.

Sharpening these skills while you’re still in pilot school will surely make you a cut above the rest of your peers. You can also keep improving these skills as you start working and find creative ways to apply them throughout your career.