Airlines and flight schools screen pilot candidates with computer-based aptitude tests. Here is a plain-English guide to the best-known systems, what each one assesses, and how to practise those skills for free.
European Pilot Selection and Training (EPST)
A computer-based screening battery used by a number of airlines and flight schools. It typically covers psychomotor coordination, multitasking, short-term memory, instrument orientation, mental arithmetic and technical questions, with optional English and verbal reasoning.
People Technologies Ltd, now owned by Multi-Health Systems (MHS)
A pilot aptitude battery used widely for many years, now owned by Multi-Health Systems (MHS). Tasks commonly include compensatory tracking, multitasking, spatial transformation, pattern recognition and mental arithmetic under time pressure. It is now a legacy system: most schools and airlines that once used it have moved to online cut-e screening.
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
A multi-stage selection used by several European airlines. The computer battery spans English, technical understanding, mental arithmetic, memory span, perception, spatial orientation, concentration and a monitoring and instrument coordination task.
Aon
An online and on-site assessment suite chosen by many airlines. Modules can include numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, working memory, monitoring, spatial orientation, reaction time and aviation multitasking games.
Schuhfried
A hardware and software test system with an aviation battery. It includes vigilance, the Stroop task, sensorimotor coordination, memory span, a determination test of reaction under load, mechanical understanding and spatial ability.
Aero Innovation
A situational-awareness and multitasking battery. It combines continuous tracking with monitoring and selectable secondary tasks to measure how candidates prioritise under sustained workload.
SkyTest (preparation software)
Commercial preparation software that simulates the kinds of exercises in several airline batteries. Airlines do not administer SkyTest; it is a study tool, much like SkyStudy's free exercises.
Most current cadet pipelines now screen the first stage remotely. Candidates usually sit an online, browser-based assessment from Aon (the cut-e suite) before they are invited anywhere in person, often inside a short booking window. Only after that remote screen do survivors travel to a test centre for the hardware-based batteries, simulator checks, group exercises and interviews. Systems like the DLR test, COMPASS, the Vienna Test System and similar in-person batteries generally sit at that later on-site stage, or are used by particular flag carriers and academies. A browser practice tool like SkyStudy matches the modality of the modern remote stage-1 screen quite closely, while the psychomotor and instrument exercises can only stand in for the dedicated hardware used on site.
PILAPT, from People Technologies (now owned by Multi-Health Systems, MHS), is a good example of this shift. It was used widely for years, but most of the schools and airlines that once ran it have since moved to online cut-e screening, so it is best treated as a legacy system today. The skills it measured, tracking, spatial pattern work and multitasking under time pressure, are still central to selection, which is why practising them remains worthwhile even though you may never meet PILAPT itself.
A newer format worth knowing about is the task-based behavioural assessment, such as the one from Arctic Shores used by some cadet schemes. Instead of right-or-wrong questions, these capture behavioural data from short interactive tasks. They measure work style and decision patterns rather than a single correct answer, so there is nothing to revise in the usual sense; the best preparation is simply to be rested, honest and consistent.
You may also come across older or historical names. Micropat and CASS were early computerised pilot aptitude batteries used in the UK, and the Honourable Company of Air Pilots (historically the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators) has long been associated with pilot aptitude and scholarship assessment. These appear mostly for background and completeness; the systems in active civilian use today are the ones described above. Named systems here are trademarks of their respective owners, mentioned only to describe the kinds of skills they assess; SkyStudy is not affiliated with any of them.
Whichever system you face, the skills overlap. Each exercise below is an original SkyStudy drill you can use right now, no account needed.
Aptitude tests are the first filter, but a full selection day also includes a group exercise, a simulator or flight-device assessment, and a competency-based interview. Our free guides cover each stage.
Beyond aptitude practice, SkyStudy is a full EASA ATPL prep platform: question bank, timed mock exams, spaced repetition and analytics across every subject. Free to start, no card needed.
Once you clear selection, our free pilot CV maker helps you put together an ATS-safe application with no sign-up needed.