Wow, 4 days?! hehe Ok, a few of the basics...
AF mode either in auto mode or continuous. This allows the servo to track the moving object as it moves toward or away from you. If in AF-S, you will have crap images of moving objects.
My first time out, I shot almost entirely in full auto (left dial on green auto). You can do this and get decent images, but you have no control over what you are going to get and your results can be inconsistent. Plus, with no control over what your camera is doing will mean that you will have no idea what to set to reproduce the image or effect.
You can shoot in either aperture or shutter priority mode, and that is a matter of personal preference. I prefer shutter priority as I can control what speed I am shooting at to maximize the prop blur effect. It's a fine balance as too slow a shutter speed can lead to "whole aircraft blur"! It's something you will have to play with to develop the feel for.
Since you have a few days, play around with the camera in the ayrd, around town, etc. Try different settings, multiple shots of the same subject with different settings, etc. The beauty of digital is if the shot is bollocks, just delete it!
Also make sure you check it on your screen on the computer. Sometimes it looks great on the LCD on the camera and looks so-so or not good at all when on the big screen.
One BIG thing you want to do is to turn off the Image Review function. For one, it will save your battery a bit, and it only stays on for a short while anyway. It's useless as far as I am concerned. You can review the images by pressing the top left button next to the screen and using the thumbwheel on the right to step through them (chimping).
Questions???