What is COMPASS?
COMPASS is a computerised pilot aptitude screening system used by a number of European airlines and flight schools during cadet and direct-entry selection. Compared with some other systems, its publicly documented components span a particularly wide range of ability areas in one battery.
Documented components include psychomotor tracking and memory exercises, multitasking tasks, and broader numerical, spatial and reasoning tests — making it one of the more evenly spread batteries among the major commercial pilot selection systems.
CBAT Academy is independent and does not reproduce proprietary COMPASS assessments.
What COMPASS is known for
- Covering a broad range of ability areas in a single battery, rather than concentrating on one or two
- Psychomotor tracking exercises assessed alongside cognitive tasks in the same session
- Multitasking exercises that combine monitoring with time-pressured decisions
- Numerical and spatial reasoning tasks alongside the psychomotor and memory components
Skill areas relevant to COMPASS preparation
Based on COMPASS's publicly documented components, these CBAT Academy modules are the closest training match. This reflects training relevance only — not a claim that any exercise appears in COMPASS's actual proprietary assessment.
How to prepare for COMPASS
Because COMPASS-style batteries spread demand across so many ability areas rather than concentrating on one, a broad practice plan tends to pay off more than narrow specialisation. Working through most of the commercial practice categories — not just one — is the more representative approach here.
Psychomotor tracking is still worth deliberate practice on its own, since continuous manual control is a distinct skill from the reasoning and memory tasks that make up the rest of the battery.
Frequently asked questions
Which airlines use COMPASS?
This varies and changes over time — it is stated in your own application or assessment invitation, not something a preparation resource can predict reliably.
Is COMPASS harder than other systems?
Difficulty is largely a matter of how broad the battery is rather than any single task being unusually hard. Because COMPASS covers more ability areas in one sitting, broad preparation matters more than it might for a narrower battery.
Is this the official COMPASS test?
No. CBAT Academy is an independent training service, not affiliated with or endorsed by COMPASS's developers. Exercises are independently developed and do not reproduce its proprietary screens or items.
Preparing for a different system?
Each provider is developed and owned separately, so read the page for the specific system named in your application if it differs from COMPASS.
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