Flying circles over your house gets old, and it doesn't help you improve your skills. Here are some ways you can amp up your flying skills for your next flight.

1) Instead of flying into pilot-controlled airports all the time, stay up to date on your radio and procedure work by planning flights into tower-controlled airports.

2) Don't be afraid to ask for progressive taxi instructions at an unfamiliar airport.

3) Learn the safest way to fly the traffic pattern at an uncontrolled field by reading this article.

4) Practice your pattern work on a windy day by doing rectangular ground reference maneuvers over a field. Doing rectangular courses will give you a great feel for wind correction angles and turns during traffic pattern flying.

5) Watch videos of pilots flying into and out of busy airports. And make sure to pay attention to the radio communications too.

6) Fly into a Class D, C, or B airport with an instructor to get a better grasp on larger airports.

7) Take some of our airport operations quizzes.

8) Before your next flight, review runway markings, signage, and lighting. And always remember to familiarize yourself with runway, taxi, frequency, and performance data information before you strap in for takeoff.

And most importantly, have fun! What do you do to keep your pilot skills sharp? Tell us in the comments below.