Independent SkyStudy practice

cut-e (Aon) pilot assessment: what it tests and how to practise

The cut-e suite, now owned by Aon, is the online-first assessment that most current cadet pipelines use for their first screening stage. Candidates sit it remotely in a browser, often inside a short window, before any on-site testing. Here is what its tests measure, how the remote stage works, which airlines are reported to use it, and how to practise the same skills for free.

Start free practice Follow the Online Reasoning & Monitoring Path

Skill areas sampled: 7
Free drills here: 3
Cited sources: 3

What the cut-e / Aon assessment measures

cut-e began as a Hamburg assessment company in 2002 and was acquired by Aon in 2017, so its pilot tests are now branded under Aon. The pilot-relevant tests belong to Aon's short, targeted online series called scales.

Two scales tests that Aon documents directly are especially aviation-specific: scales cmo, a monitoring test where you watch fast-moving dots and judge how many are shown, built for roles that need high monitoring and perceiving speed such as pilots and controllers; and scales ndb, a spatial-orientation test where you fix an aircraft's position relative to a beacon using a gyro compass and radio-compass display. Around these sit the wider Aon suite: numerical, verbal, logical and inductive reasoning, working memory, reaction speed and multitasking, plus a personality questionnaire (Aon's ADEPT-15 model) and integrity screening that many airlines include to meet EASA requirements.

How the cut-e assessment is structured

The defining feature of cut-e is that it is online first. Candidates usually sit it remotely in a browser through Aon's assessment portal, often inside a short booking window, before they are invited anywhere in person. Individual scales tests are deliberately brief, some only a few minutes, and several use an adaptive algorithm that adjusts item difficulty to your answers.

Because it is a browser-based screen, a browser practice tool matches its modality closely. Aon can also present the same skills as game-style challenges. Which tests you sit depends on the airline: a pilot battery is assembled from the suite rather than being one fixed exam.

Practise the same skills, free on SkyStudy

Each exercise below is an original SkyStudy drill that trains a skill cut-e (Aon) is documented to sample. No account needed, and your best scores are saved privately in your browser.

Attention

Moving Object Monitoring

Sustained multi-object tracking and monitoring under distraction.

~1 min a run

Practise

Spatial

Radio Bearing Orientation

Instrument interpretation and spatial orientation to a fixed point.

~2 min a run

Practise

Numerical

Data Interpretation

Reading and reasoning with tabular data.

~1 min a run

Practise

Follow the full Online Reasoning & Monitoring Path

Compare practice durations

One run of each drill, estimated. The timed ones use their own clock; the rest depend on how fast you work.

Which airlines use cut-e / Aon

Aon has described itself as a leading online assessment supplier to aviation, and the cut-e suite is widely reported as the stage-one online screen for a number of European cadet and direct-entry pilot pipelines.

Preparation guides and applicant accounts commonly name carriers such as easyJet and Wizz Air, and American Airlines' pilot screening, as using Aon or cut-e tests, though airlines rarely name the branded system on their own careers pages. As always, if your invitation does not say, ask the recruiter which system you will sit.

How to prepare for cut-e, honestly

Aon publishes its own candidate-preparation materials, including practice tasks and short videos that show how each test type looks and works, and this format familiarisation is the honest core of preparing. Aon's own advice is to take the test on a laptop or PC rather than a phone, on a stable connection, when you feel well and alert, with interruptions removed, and it frames a little pre-test nervousness as helpful.

Practising numerical, verbal, logical, monitoring and reaction tasks so the formats feel routine means you spend the timed window answering rather than orienting. No practice changes the underlying aptitude the tests measure, so avoid any product that promises a score. The free SkyStudy exercises below train the monitoring, spatial and reasoning side.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the real cut-e or Aon test?

No. These are independent SkyStudy exercises. They are not affiliated with cut-e or Aon, do not reproduce their questions or scoring, and practising here does not predict any selection outcome.

What does the cut-e / Aon assessment involve?

A remote, browser-based set of short scales tests covering numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, working memory, monitoring, spatial orientation, reaction speed and multitasking, plus a personality and integrity questionnaire, sometimes shown as game-style challenges.

Can you practise for cut-e?

Yes, for familiarity. Aon publishes practice tasks and videos of each test type, and practising the reasoning, monitoring and reaction formats removes surprise, though it does not change the aptitude being measured or predict a result.

Sources

3 cited

Facts on this page are drawn from the following, checked July 2026. Details change, so confirm current specifics with the publisher or your assessment provider.

Other selection systems

5 guides

COMPASS

A plain-English guide to the COMPASS screening battery from EPST, and the free SkyStudy exercises that train the same skills.

Read the guide

DLR test

A plain-English guide to the DLR pilot selection run by the German Aerospace Center, and free SkyStudy exercises for the skills it covers.

Read the guide

Vienna Test System

A plain-English guide to the Vienna Test System from Schuhfried, used in aeromedical and ab-initio pilot selection, and free SkyStudy practice.

Read the guide

PILAPT

A plain-English guide to the PILAPT aptitude battery, once widely used and now largely replaced by online screening, and free SkyStudy practice.

Read the guide

Arctic Shores

A plain-English guide to the Arctic Shores task-based assessment used in some pilot cadet schemes, and honest advice on how to approach it.

Read the guide

Which tests do airlines use?

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.

Start free Try the live demo

Important information

This is an independent SkyStudy study aid. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or connected to any of the assessment providers named on this page, or any airline. cut-e / Aon, COMPASS, DLR test, Vienna Test System, PILAPT and Arctic Shores are trademarks of their respective owners, named here only to describe factually which assessment this practice is intended to prepare you for. These are original SkyStudy exercises: they do not reproduce, imitate or replicate any publisher's questions, images, timing or scoring, and practising here does not predict or guarantee the outcome of any selection.

SkyStudy is independent and not affiliated with any airline, school or test publisher named in this section. Operator usage changes between intakes and is rarely confirmed publicly, so always verify the current selection process in the operator's own published materials.

Official sources · Terms.

Trademarks and independence

SkyStudy is an independent preparation tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, licensed by, or connected to Aon, European Pilot Selection and Training (EPST), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Schuhfried, People Technologies Ltd, now owned by Multi-Health Systems (MHS) and Arctic Shores, or to any airline, flight school or assessment provider.

cut-e / Aon, COMPASS, DLR test, Vienna Test System, PILAPT and Arctic Shores are trademarks of their respective owners. They are named on this page only to describe factually which assessment this practice is intended to prepare you for. SkyStudy uses no owner's logo, wordmark or visual styling, and nothing on this page is an endorsement, a partnership or a licence.

Every exercise on SkyStudy is original SkyStudy work. SkyStudy does not reproduce, copy, imitate or replicate any publisher's questions, images, item content, timing or scoring, and it does not supply, administer or give access to any real assessment.

Practising here does not predict, measure or guarantee your ability or the outcome of any selection process, and no figure shown on SkyStudy is a score in any real assessment.

If you own one of the trademarks named on this page and want to raise anything about it, write to to2000bv@gmail.com and we will answer.

Last reviewed July 2026