PILOT APTITUDE TEST

What is it? How do I prepare?

CCO
O NN TT E N T
TEN

Why do I need one?

What areas will I be tested in and how can I prepare?

•Logical thinking
•Perceptual capacity
•Memory
• Eye-hand coordination
•Multitasking ability
•Stress tolerance
•Resilience
•Mathematics

How ofter are the test conducted?

What does it cost to do a Pilot Aptitude Test?

 PILOT
AIRLINE READY PILOTS

PILOT
APTITUDE
APTITUDE
TEST
TEST Pilot Aptitude Test - Why do I need one?
The Pilot Aptitude Test measures your skills within several areas that cannot
We are often asked what the Pilot Aptitude Test is all about, why it is required be determined by your grades. It is important to assess these skills in order to
to pass one before applying to our programs and how one can prepare for determine if you are fit to work as a Pilot After all, you probably wouldn’t be
these tests. To answer those questions in the best way possible, we decided to reading this guide unless your goal is to become a Professional Pilot and work
put together this guide for you. for an airline. In addition to finding out if you have what it takes to apply and
succeed in one of the training programs at SAA, the Pilot Aptitude Tests are
There are many variations of Pilot Aptitude Tests, but they mainly evaluate also used by airlines during the hiring process.
your skills within the same areas.
The Pilot Aptitude Tests comes in many variations, but they all test you in the
same areas. In other words, it is a good idea to make sure that you can pass
them before putting in all of the time and effort required to become a Pilot.
Regardless of which school you choose for your flight training, our advise is
Your motivation to become a Pilot will also that you should do a Pilot Aptitude Test before starting your training. Even if
be evaluated during the tests and is very the school does not require it!

important if you are to succeed in becoming Passing the tests before starting the training will allow you to:
a Professional Pilot
> Have more confidence in your ability to prevail, even when going through
the more challenging parts of flight training.
> Know that you will be ready to pass an airline interview after you have com-
pleted the training. Since you have already been tested in the same areas and
have proven that you can do it!
Pilot Aptitude Test - What areas will I be tested in and
how can I prepare?
Before you can start thinking about booking the Pilot Aptitude Test you need to:
• Have completed high school / upper secondary school and;
• Be 18 years of age
During the Pilot Aptitude Test your abilities
within the following areas will be tested:
1. Logical thinking
2. Perceptual capacity
3. Spatial orientation
4. Memory
5. Eye-hand coordination
6. Multitasking ability
7. Stress tolerance
8. Resilience
9. Mathematics
If you make it to the second part of the Pilot Aptitude Test there will also be an interview
with an Aviation Psychologist who will want to learn more about you as a person. An im-
portant segment of this interview is to make sure that you are motivated for the training
that lies ahead and that you have a basic understanding of the aviation industry.
To learn more about the aviation industry we recommend visiting us during one of our
cost-free Pilot Open Days that are held in several nordic cities. Our presentation during a
Pilot Open Day covers everything from what a typical day looks like for a pilot student to
what you can expect when entering the job market after graduation. Not only will this give
you insight so that you can determine if becoming a Pilot is right for you, but it will also
educate you about the industry so you can make a better impression when speaking to an
Aviation Psychologist (they will be able to tell if you did your homework).
1. Logical thinking - How to prepare:
Games and Apps that are not intuitive - I.E. You need to read instructions to under-
stand what the game is about. The more complex the better!
During all the different elements of a Pilot Aptitude Test you will be presented with instruc-
tions to do tasks that you might have never encountered before. It is therefore important
that you are able to read instructions and understand the goal of the different tasks/exer-
cises so that you can achieve a good score.
2. Perceptual capacity - How to prepare:
Video games where you have to do many things at once
A Pilot is expected to be able to work with accuracy and speed even during times of high
workload, some- thing that will be tested during several elements of a Pilot Aptitude Test.
If you want to improve this ability there are several ways of achieving that, but one of the
more common ones that you might already be doing is playing video-games.
Want to add another layer of difficulty? Have a friend or family member ask you difficult
questions and ask you for the answer to math problems while you are doing other activities
that take a lot of attention.
3. Spatial Orentation - How to prepare:
Flight Simulator and/or other flying games
Humans are designed to maintain spatial orientation on the ground. In the air however, it
can be more challenging to know exactly where you are at all times. When Pilots are flying
they are presented with several pieces of information, of which some are in a two dimen-
sional format.
For example, a map or GPS-screen will give the Pilot information about what the position of
the aircraft is, but no information about where the airplane is located in the vertical plane (if
it is climbing, descending or maintaining altitude). In order to translate the two-dimensional
information given by the map/GPS and the instruments, to a three-dimensional picture of
where the aircraft is located, the Pilot needs to analyze the information from all sources to
determine his/her location. During the Pilot Aptitude Test you will be given assignments
(with instructions, don’t worry), where you will need to interpret data from several sources
to determine your position.
4. Memory - How to prepare:
App’s and games designed to train your memory
Both on the ground and in the air Pilots are given clearances by Air Traffic Control (ATC).
This enables the flow of traffic to run smoothly and it is vital that Pilots are able to store the
information in their short-term memory so they can take the appropriate action. Such as
descending to a specific altitude or turning to a specified heading.
Your memory can be trained, just like your body. The more you use it to remember num-
bers, information or other details, the stronger your memory will become. Combine your
memory training with other tasks in order to improve your perceptual capacity at the same
time.
5. Eye-Hand Coordination - How to prepare: 9. Mathematics - How to prepare:
Flight simulator and video games where you have to make coordinated inputs based App’s for mental arithmetics and putting away the calculator
on what you see on-screen
We get it, it’s easy to pull out the calculator on your phone when something needs to be
Glider Pilots normally have very good eye-hand coordination, but it is no requirement for divided or multi- plied. But do yourself a favour and practice on doing it mentally instead!
you to have already been flying or have a Pilot license in order to pass the test. Playing When the airplane is moving forward at several hundred knots per second you won’t have
video games and other activities where eye-hand coordination comes into play will help time to pull out the calculator. Doing mental calculations due to last minute changes to
you develop this skill. your flight path is something that a Pilot encounters on a daily basis. Practicing mental
Physical activities such as such as for example basketball, climbing and driving a car with a arithmetics keeps your brain sharp and the better you are at this skill, the more mental
stick-shift can even help in improving your eye-hand coordination abilities. capacity will be left over to focus on other tasks.
It is also a good idea to dust off your math-book from high school if it has been a while
since you graduated. This even applies if you have an engineering degree, as many of the
engineers that have done similar tests have reported that they wish they looked over more
6. Multitasking ability - How to prepare: basic math before doing a Pilot Aptitude Test.
App’s and games designed to train your memory
We know that multitasking is a commonly misunderstood term. The human brain is not
able to do several things at once, however, it is able to jump between tasks quickly. Which
is a skill that is essen- tial to a Pilot. Being able to prioritize several tasks at once and mak-
ing sure that you don’t leave out any important element(s) is important and will be tested
several times. A good tip is to focus on:
You can improve this ability by trying to shift focus between several tasks. There are a lot
of great games for multitasking and you can add to the difficulty yourself by asking some-
one to put an even higher workload on you while you are playing the games. For example • Multiplication
spelling words backwards or doing mental arithmetics. • Division
• Addition
• Subtraction
7. Stress tolerance - How to prepare: • Geometry (Pythagoras’s theorem etc.)
Meditation and other stress reduction techniques • Equations with variables on both sides
Just like with most other things, there are even apps for learning how to meditate. Medita-
tion has been proven to lower stress, amping up your immune system and improving your
ability to concentrate. If you haven’t tried it yet, now might be a good time to start!
Stress reduction exercises doesn’t necessarily mean removing stress from your life, quite
the contrary. It can be beneficial to expose yourself to stressful situations (to a certain
extent) in order to improve your ability to handle stress. Try putting yourself out of your It can be advantageous to combine your mental arithmetics training with other
comfort zone and deal with the situation. You will notice that the more you expose your- elements in order to increase the difficulty when you are preparing for a Pilot Apti-
self to these kinds of situations, the better you will become at handling them! tude Test. As mentioned earlier in this guide you can ask someone to give you math
problems while you are performing another activity at the same time (such as play-
ing a videogame, throwing and catching a ball or performing other tasks).
8. Resilience - How to prepare:
Another great tip is to work on your speed while maintaining accuracy in your cal-
Work on challenging tasks that might overload you - But don’t give up! culations.
Resilience is one of the more difficult things to train. There is no crystal clear way to im-
prove your resilience, but it can help to just be aware of the fact that a Pilot can’t give up!
It is important to keep working, especially when the workload is high. To ensure that you
stay on top of your game and that you keep your crew and passengers safe all the way to
your destination.
Mathematics Example Questions How often are tests conducted?

The mathematical knowledge needed to answer these questions is primarily addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division as well as a grasp of square roots and expo-
nentials.
Since no calculators are allowed a big emphasis is put on achieving the correct an-
swer with mental arithmetics or using pen and paper to solve questions.
OSM Aviation Academy arranges what is known as Pilot Open Days in different
nordic cities.
It is a good idea to attend one of these open days to learn more about the life of a
Pilot and consider if it is a path that is right for you.

The math questions asked on this test are of two types: The multiple choice version Visit https://www.osmaviationacademy.com/events to learn more.
and the open answer version.

Example of multiple choice questions:

A plane descends from 40000 feet to 10000 feet with a descend speed of 3000
feet/minute. How long does the descent take?

a. 5 minutes
b. 6 minutes
c. 10 minutes

What is the square of 320? (Mark the answer that is closest)

a. 102 000
b. 104 000
c. 100 000

Example of a open answer questions:

What is 360 divided by 8?

Answer:

What is the square root of 144?

Answer:
It is not a requirement that you have attended a Pilot Open Day before doing the
Pilot Aptitude Tests. In other words, if you have done a lot of research and you have
already decided that you want to become a Pilot, you can go ahead and book a Pilot
Aptitude Test right away.

If you want to learn more about the industry, the job opportunities and the training
before taking the next step, you can simply register for a Pilot Open Day without
scheduling a Pilot Aptitude Test. You can always come back and do the tests at a
later time if you feel like you need more information before making a decision.
During all of our Pilot Open Days it is possible to schedule the first part of a Pilot
Aptitude Test.
We even schedule extra testing days regularly since there are limited slots and the
schedule often becomes full!

What does it cost to do a Pilot Aptitude Test?

The first part of the Pilot Aptitude Test only costs 100 EUR. If you pass the first part
you need to complete the second part within 6 months. Once both part 1 and part
2 has been completed you will get a diploma that is valid for 3 years.
The price for the second part of the Pilot Aptitude Test is 500 EUR - If you pass the
second part and apply to the First Officer Program (FOP) or the Professional Pilot
Program (PPP) at SAA you will get the cost of the second test refunded through a
reduced application fee. Should you however be unsuccessful on the second part
you will not get a refund for the test.
The Pilot Aptitude Test is done in two parts - If you meet the other pre-entry re-
quirements for our programs you can apply online once you have successfully
passed the tests.

Another option is to schedule a Pilot Aptitude Test directly with an Aviation Psy-
chologist. You can find an overview of approved Aviation Psychologists on our
website:
http://www.bfsaa.se/en/faq/pilot-aptitude-test

Please note that if you book the test directly with an Aviation Psychologist the
entire test will be done in one setting. The cost varies between the different test
centers, but is normally around 600 EUR. SAA does not offer a refund for the Pilot
Aptitude Test if you book it directly with an Aviation Psychologist.
 OUR FLEETS

PILOT APTITUDE TEST

What is it? How do I prepare?