Spring flying gets started with the first warm days, but there’s a dark side to spring. Many pilots, high-time and low-time alike, believe their piloting skills are the same as they were before the winter kept them earthbound for long stretches at a time.

For some pilots, the spring return to the cockpit may not be difficult at all. But those who didn’t fly much during the cold and snowy season past may be surprised at how much their skills and their airplane may have run down over the winter. …