Module overview
What the test trains
This module focuses on Short Term Memory / Capacity — encoding a change, not a picture. It is designed to make the underlying process easier to recognise, repeat and review before you add more speed or workload.
How this trainer relates to CFAST
In this trainer's Pilot (PLT) domain breakdown, Trace Test 2 is grouped under Short Term Memory / Capacity (STM/C). The Academy tracks this domain separately rather than combining it with an overall weighted index. This is the Academy’s training model, not an official CAF scoring calculation.
Task profile
What the task looks like
What it involves
- Watch several coloured objects move across the display at once.
- Note whether each one went straight, left or right — not where it ended up.
- Wait through the full observation phase before any question appears.
- Answer for the specific colour the question asks about, from memory.
Practice screen example
These screenshots show CBAT Academy’s independent practice version of the task.
Interface briefing
Controls and difficulty
Controls
Watch a short aircraft animation, then answer questions about the flight path using the keyboard or a click.
Difficulty and settings
Every difficulty level runs for the same fixed 4-minute session; difficulty instead adds more aircraft to track at once, from 2 up to 5.
Read how practice scores and estimates work →Training plan
Build a method that holds up under pressure
Why this becomes difficult
- Several things move at once, and all of them need to be encoded — you don't know which one will be asked about.
- The useful fact is the change in direction, not the final position, which is easy to fixate on instead.
- Different speeds and starting angles make the same manoeuvre look inconsistent from one object to the next.
- Following one object closely tends to overwrite the labels you'd already set for the others.
Preparation tips
- Catch the moment paths diverge — that's the actual event to encode.
- Rotate attention across every object rather than locking onto one.
- Store colour plus manoeuvre as a short tag, not a mental replay.
- Retrieve the tag before you look at the answer choices, not after.
Common mistakes
- Remembering where something ended up instead of how it moved.
- Fixating on the most visually obvious object and losing the rest.
- Mixing up left and right because objects start on different headings.
- Trying to mentally replay the whole clip instead of recalling stored labels.
Useful practice drills
- Track three moving points and tag each as left, right or straight.
- Report a manoeuvre after a short delay rather than immediately.
- Vary speeds deliberately so the most eye-catching object isn't always the important one.
Transparency
Sources and information status
Task guidance on this page describes CBAT Academy’s own software. Broad aptitude context is checked against the public references in the source register.
The official CFASC candidate-guide PDF (22 January 2015) describes named test examples. Use it for historical familiarisation and follow your current joining instructions. The exercise mechanics and practice advice here describe the Academy version; domain mappings and scores are independent.
This guide describes CBAT Academy’s independently developed practice modules. It is not an exact specification of any current RAF, Canadian Forces or Ministry of Defence assessment. Official content, timings, scoring and administration may differ.
Continue the briefing
Turn the method into repeatable performance.
Launch the interactive trainer, begin with accuracy and review the pattern behind each mistake before increasing pace.