Module overview
What the test trains
This module focuses on perceptual speed, visual comparison accuracy and sustained consistency under time pressure. It is designed to make the underlying process easier to recognise, repeat and review before you add more speed or workload.
Task profile
What the task looks like
What it involves
- Compare a reference flight record against a second record and decide SAME or DIFFERENT.
- On the changed-field task, compare a reference and an updated record and identify exactly which field changed.
- Work through records with more fields and less obvious differences as difficulty increases.
- Keep accuracy stable across the full session rather than fading toward the end.
Interface briefing
Controls and test flow
Controls
Compare each pair of records and respond using the keyboard or a click on the on-screen SAME/DIFFERENT or field buttons.
How the Academy version works
Each exercise has its own questions, graphics, timing and scoring, generated fresh for every attempt. The instruction screen explains the current workload before you launch, so nothing about the task or its rules is a surprise once the timer starts.
Performance briefing
Difficulty and scoring
Difficulty and settings
Records grow from 4 to 6 fields as difficulty increases, and a larger share of differences become single-digit transpositions rather than obvious changes.
How scoring works
The result reflects performance in this Academy module. Accuracy is the main signal for decision tasks, while timing, missed targets, false responses or control error can also contribute where the task requires them. Assessment mode is more suitable for trend comparisons than adjustable practice runs.
Read how practice scores and estimates work →Training plan
Build a method that holds up under pressure
Why this becomes difficult
- Differences are often a single digit, not an obviously wrong value.
- More fields per record means more places a change could be hiding.
- Sustaining accuracy over a long run is harder than getting the first few records right.
- A rushed scan can miss a genuine difference or invent one that isn’t there.
Preparation tips
- Scan fields in the same fixed order every time instead of reading the record as a whole.
- Treat every field as guilty until checked — do not stop scanning once one field looks the same.
- Read digits individually rather than as a whole number to catch transpositions.
- If accuracy is dropping late in a session, slow down slightly rather than push through at the same pace.
Common mistakes
- Reading a record holistically and missing a one-digit change.
- Stopping the scan as soon as one field looks the same, instead of checking every field.
- Answering DIFFERENT based on a memory slip rather than an actual change.
- Letting pace creep up faster than accuracy can support.
Useful practice drills
- Compare pairs of 4–6 digit numbers and spot the single-digit difference.
- Practise scanning a fixed field order (identifier, heading, speed, frequency) without skipping.
- Run short sets first, then build up to the full session length.
- Review missed items afterwards to see whether errors cluster early or late in the session.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as an official Perceptual Speed & Accuracy test?
No. It trains related skills with an independently developed task. Rules, controls, timing, visuals and scoring can differ from an official assessment.
What's the most common mistake on this task?
Reading a record holistically and missing a one-digit change.
What actually helps here?
Scan fields in the same fixed order every time instead of reading the record as a whole.
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.
This guide describes CBAT Academy’s independently developed practice modules. It is not an exact specification of ADAPT, COMPASS, Aon’s Aviation Suite (cut-e), PILAPT or any other provider’s proprietary 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.