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Multitasking exercise · ~1 min a run · free

Multitasking Battery

Track, monitor and respond, all at once.

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The multitasking battery is the toughest test of cockpit workload: several tasks running at the same time. Keep a marker centred, reset any system that faults, and acknowledge each radio call, all together. The three streams run at once on purpose, so what you train is dividing attention rather than switching between single tasks.

About this test

What this test measures

This measures workload management and task switching: running several tasks at once and deciding what gets your attention now. Airlines watch how you prioritise and shed load, not whether you can do everything perfectly together.

How to improve your score

  • Scan on a deliberate cycle so no task is forgotten while you work another.
  • Protect the highest-priority task and let a low-value one slip on purpose if you must.
  • Keep a calm, steady scan, panic collapses your attention onto a single task.

Good to know

  • Anchor on tracking, scan for the rest

    Treat the tracking task as your primary reference and keep it running with small steady corrections, which frees attention for systems and calls. Let fault indicators and radio calls catch your peripheral attention rather than actively hunting for them. Letting the marker drift while you handle a fault costs more than catching the fault a beat late.
  • What a strong score requires

    The score is a weighted blend of all three sub-tasks, so neglecting any one limits the total even when the other two are strong. Strong candidates hold the marker roughly centred, catch most system faults before they time out, and acknowledge calls without a long delay. If one sub-task drops sharply, start by smoothing the tracking, because steady tracking is what gives you the spare capacity to manage the rest.
  • Real tests use dedicated hardware

    On-site selection systems run tasks like this on calibrated joysticks, rudder pedals and custom response panels that no browser exercise can replicate, so treat this as training for the underlying control skill rather than a replica of any machine. One practical tip from candidates who have sat the real assessments: practise with a mouse or a gamepad, not a laptop trackpad. A trackpad makes smooth, continuous two-axis control far harder than the real test ever would.

Frequently asked questions

What does the battery measure?

How well you share attention across continuous tracking, system monitoring and communications at once, the core of flight-deck workload management.

How is it scored?

A weighted blend of time on target, faults caught in time, and calls acknowledged, so neglecting any one task lowers the overall score.

Is this the real MATB software?

No. It is an original exercise built from the public description of the multi-attribute task battery, capturing the same idea of managing several tasks together.

Training for an airline assessment?

The SkyStudy ATPL question bank is built for EASA ATPL exam preparation, with timed mock exams, spaced repetition and analytics across every subject. Free to start, no card needed.

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