Advice re Canon 30D & 100-400 IS lens

I recently hit a ”special” birthday; and have been blessed by the arrival of a Canon 30D and 100-400 IS zoom. I guess that this largely a consequence of my repeated encouragement to wife and family to view the fantastic shots on the site; so thanks chaps!!

Anyway, while I am a long time user of the magnificent, but now outmoded Canon A1 SLR and various zooms, my experience on the digital Canon is nil. I wondered therefore of any kind souls could give me some pointers on their preferred set up using this beast for “ground to air” shots.

I should stress that I absolutely support the maxim that the best way to learn is by one’s own mistakes; but living “up north” my trips to Duxford, Shuttleworth, Biggin etc are virtually pilgrimages and as I have no time to play/practice before the Biggin Hill w/e , I’d prefer to arrive loaded up with good advice rather than blind ambition.

Thank for the generosity of all who post their splendid shots on this site and for any help you can offer.