How to know when to flip the pancakes — After the bubbles appear, look for the edges to have a matte appearance. You'll also want ⅔ of the cooking to be done before flipping. (I actually like to use a flashlight when looking for the matte edge)
Let the batter rest for ~5 minutes after mixing it. If you don't do this, the leavening won't happen as much, and the first pancakes will be very dense.
Getting the ratio of water + flour/etc right:
This is fairly important to get right, because you shouldn't stir the mixture after you let it rest for 5 minutes. So in the worst case, it will be way too thick or way too thin, and you will have to throw it out and start over.
Approach #1 — Don't worry about being too precise on the measurements of water and powder mixture. Instead, go by intuition/feel after mixing everything thoroughly, and add more water or powder as needed. (lift up the spoon/whisk, and watch how quickly the batter moves as it falls off)
Approach #2 — (I prefer this one) Get maximum control by weighing the ingredients before mixing. This is essentially baking, after all.
Let the pancakes cool on a cooling rack, not in a stack.
Like putting cold water on noodles, this limits carryover cooking.
If you want to finish cooking before people start eating — keep them warm in an oven at its lowest setting, covered with a clean towel.
Use a light coating of vegetable oil. (often I use cooking spray lightly)
Have your toppings (eg. butter, fruit, syrup) ready before you start cooking — you want the pancakes to be as fresh as possible when you eat them.
Correcting for batter that's too thick or too thin
It's very difficult to get the batter exactly right, so you often need to know how to correct for batter that's either too thick or too thin.
When it's too thick:
The focus is on shaking the pan left/right and forward/back hard, with the goal of thinning out the batter as much as possible. You only have a small window of time to do this in — immediately after pouring the batter on the pan, and before the bottom cooks enough that it begins to slide across the non-stick coating.
When it's too thin:
The focus is on getting rid of as much moisture as possible. There's no way to do this quickly, you have to cook it low and slow.
You might even want to aim for a doneness level (in terms of how brown/black the outsides are) that's more done than normal.
Wait an extra long time when before flipping. Whereas normally you'd wait to see a tiny bit of the edge to look matte and a little dry, now you want to wait until > ½ cm of the edge looks drier.
Multiplying specific recipes
Kodiak — Power Cakes / Flakpack & Waffle Mix
Cinnamon Oat flavor — this works perfectly: 215 g powder mix + 260 g water
Buttermilk flavor — next time try 180 g powder mix + 270 g water (was 240 g powder mix + 330 g water)