Longworth wrote:
In VMC, I am always
scouting for potential landing sites, checking for wind directions,
pushing the 'nearest airport' button on the GPS, every so often while
estimating my glide distance etc. In IMC, I always cross-check the GPS
with VORs, ADF and have my hand-held radio handy. We also keep a dozen
or so of spare batteries of several kinds (lithium, alkaline,
rechargeable) along with a handful of flashlights, emergency medical
and survival kits. We fly over the lakes only in the summer while
wearing life jackets with our wetsuits nearby.

Adding to that last, switch my tanks when I'm near an airport, give
planes spotted in the air a wide berth ...

I was up this weekend with a non-pilot friend of mine and I was telling
him what I was doing and why I was doing it. It is amazing to me how
many things are now routine. Things I wasn't really taught in flight
training but I've either learned as best practices or invented myself as
a means of increasing the odds.

The strangest part to me in all of flying is how so much of it dwells on
"death avoidance". You don't get a lot of discussion on flying enjoyment
during your training. It is the ironic part of the PPL and IFR ticket.

KC