Those really depend on your playstyle. My engineers -hate- me, as I'm almost always using a helm skill (Does range finder count I wonder? You can use it on the helm... ). Although that comes out to about 15 minutes total of helm skills. Lots and lots of kerosene and phoenix claw. Maybe a little helium and shoot vent just to round it out. If you're more the slow and steady type, just use something like bumpers or drogue chute until it's time to engage. It lowers performance, but doesn't damage the ship like a lot of other skills.
For spotting ships, 1000 meters is pretty standard on some maps for initial spots. You just have to rely on your crew to spot them before they spot you. Although I can see it taking a long time, as you're not likely to get more than a couple of those per map.