Commercial pilot selection

Commercial Pilot Aptitude Test Prep

Airlines, cadet programmes and flight schools increasingly screen applicants with a computer-based aptitude battery before a simulator check or interview. CBAT Academy trains the ability areas behind the systems most commonly used to do that — ADAPT, COMPASS, Aon's Aviation Suite (cut-e) and PILAPT — in one independent training ground.

One training ground, four major selection systems

Commercial pilot selection does not use one standard test. Different airlines, cadet schemes and flight schools license different computerised aptitude batteries, but the underlying abilities they assess overlap heavily: perceptual speed, spatial awareness, working memory, numerical and abstract reasoning, multitasking under load, and precise psychomotor control.

CBAT Academy's commercial training profile is built around that overlap. Rather than trying to replicate any single provider's proprietary interface, it trains the ability areas that keep showing up across the publicly documented components of every major system — so the same practice time supports your application whichever battery you end up sitting.

ADAPT

ADAPT

A computerised pilot screening system developed by Symbiotics, used in ab-initio cadet and airline selection. Publicly documented components include cognitive reasoning, working memory, perceptual speed and accuracy, spatial reasoning, multitasking and coordination tasks, alongside a personality questionnaire.

COMPASS

COMPASS

A computerised pilot aptitude screening system used by a number of European airlines and flight schools. Publicly documented components include psychomotor tracking, memory and multitasking exercises alongside broader numerical, spatial and reasoning tests.

Aon / cut-e

Aon / cut-e

A widely used aviation psychometric battery, delivered through Aon's Aviation Suite (formerly cut-e), used across many major airlines' cadet and direct-entry pilot selection. Publicly documented components include spatial awareness, short-term memory, multitasking, hand-eye coordination, arithmetic and logical-reasoning exercises.

PILAPT

PILAPT

A British-developed computerised pilot aptitude battery used by flight schools and some airlines, particularly in the UK and Europe. It is best known for a psychomotor tracking exercise, alongside spatial reasoning, numerical ability, pattern recognition and workload-management tasks.

CBAT Academy is an independent training service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or contracted to Symbiotics, COMPASS, Aon plc or PILAPT's developers. Provider names are used only to describe what candidates preparing for those selection processes are commonly trying to train for.

Every ability area, in one practice library

The commercial training profile covers 14 exercises across six ability categories. Each has its own interactive module, a scoring readout, and — once you have an account — its own practice history so you can track a specific weak area over time rather than a single overall percentage.

Reasoning

6 modules

Numerical Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, Aviation Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Physics for Pilot Selection, Mechanical Reasoning

Spatial

2 modules

Spatial Orientation, Mental Rotation

Memory

1 module

Flight Data Memory

Attention

1 module

Perceptual Speed & Accuracy

Psychomotor

2 modules

Control Stabilization, Flight Path Tracking

Multitasking

2 modules

Task Manager, Dynamic Pilot Workload

Start with a baseline, not a guess

Before drilling individual modules, CBAT Academy runs new candidates through the Commercial Pilot Aptitude Diagnostic: a single fixed-sequence battery across 7 ability domains — Numerical, Perceptual Speed, Spatial, Working Memory, Reasoning, Psychomotor, Multitasking — taking around 43 minutes including a short scheduled break.

The result is a per-domain profile, not a single score, so you can see straight away whether your time is best spent on spatial reasoning, working memory, psychomotor control, or somewhere else entirely — instead of practising everything evenly and hoping it helps.

Straightforward, one-time pricing

Access to the full commercial practice library and diagnostic is sold as a one-time purchase, not a recurring subscription — you pick a length of access and it simply ends on the date shown in your account, with nothing to cancel.

1 Month

£9.99

Full access for 30 days

3 Months

£24.99

Around £8.33 a month

1 Year

£79.99

Around £6.67 a month

See the full pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the official ADAPT, COMPASS, Aon/cut-e or PILAPT test?

No. CBAT Academy is an independent training service. Exercises are independently developed to train the same underlying abilities these systems are publicly documented to assess, and do not reproduce any provider's actual screens, items or scoring.

Which system will I actually be tested on?

That depends entirely on the airline, cadet scheme or flight school you are applying to — it is stated in your application or assessment invitation, not something CBAT Academy can predict. Because the ability areas overlap heavily across providers, training on the commercial profile supports preparation for any of them.

Do I need to know which airline I'm applying to before I start?

No. The diagnostic and practice library are organised by ability area, not by employer, so you can start building the underlying skills immediately and read the relevant provider page once you know which selection system you will sit.

Is this suitable for cadet, ab-initio and experienced direct-entry applicants?

Yes. The ability areas assessed by these systems are broadly consistent across candidate stages; what changes is usually the surrounding process (interview, group exercise, technical knowledge test), not the aptitude battery itself.

Ready to see where you stand?

Run the diagnostic and get a per-domain baseline in under an hour

Create a free account, choose the commercial pilot track, and run the diagnostic before deciding what to purchase.

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