Module overview
What the test trains
This module focuses on spatial judgement, orientation, angular estimation and rapid visual comparison. 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
- Estimate the angle between two lines without using a measuring tool.
- Estimate the clockwise bearing of a labelled point from the centre of a compass display.
- Use visual anchors such as 30°, 45°, 90°, 180° and the eight principal compass directions.
- Choose the closest degree value from the available responses.
Practice screen example
These screenshots show CBAT Academy’s independent practice version of the task.
Learn by doing
Angles and compass bearings: worked examples
Estimate angles using familiar anchors such as 45°, 90° and 180°. Compass bearings are measured clockwise from north. The Academy exercise focuses on visual angle judgement; the bearing examples below also support navigation tasks.
1. Estimate with an anchor
An acute angle looks slightly smaller than a right angle. The choices are 30°, 45°, 80° and 120°. Which is the best estimate?
Show answer and method
- A right angle is 90°.
- 120° is obtuse, so reject it.
- 30° and 45° are much smaller than 90°; 80° is only 10° smaller.
80° is the best match to this description.
Watch out: Compare the opening between the lines, not the length or orientation of either line.
2. Turn through north
You are heading 350°. After a clockwise turn of 30°, what is your heading?
Show answer and method
- Add the turn: 350° + 30° = 380°.
- A full circle is 360°, so subtract 360°.
- 380° − 360° = 020°.
020°.
Watch out: A heading wraps at 360°. A result of 380° is not the final compass bearing.
3. Find the shortest turn
What is the shortest turn from heading 020° to heading 300°?
Show answer and method
- Clockwise: 300° − 020° = 280°.
- The other way is 360° − 280° = 80°.
- The shorter turn is anticlockwise, which is a left turn.
80° left.
Watch out: The numerical difference is not always the shortest turn. Compare both directions.
A short drill before you start
Sketch 30°, 45°, 60°, 90° and 120° angles, rotate the paper and identify them again. Then practise bearings that cross north. Keep angle size, absolute heading and direction of turn as three separate ideas.
Try free Angles, Bearings & Degrees practice →Build the next skill
- Instrument Comprehension: worked examples and practice
- Airborne Numerical: worked examples and practice
- System Logic: worked examples and practice
Original CBAT Academy training examples. These are not official RAF questions.
Interface briefing
Controls and difficulty
Controls
Read the angle or bearing shown and choose the matching answer with the keyboard or a click.
Difficulty and settings
The question count rises from 10 to 20 while the time allowed drops from 3 minutes to 90 seconds, so pace increases sharply at higher difficulty.
Read how practice scores and estimates work →Training plan
Build a method that holds up under pressure
Why this becomes difficult
- The display asks for an estimate rather than a formal geometric measurement.
- Bearings must be read clockwise from north, which conflicts with ordinary left-right intuition.
- Small visual errors become more costly when response options are close together.
- Reflex angles may be larger than 180°, so automatically choosing the smaller rotation can be wrong.
Preparation tips
- Build visual anchors for 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, 120°, 135°, 180° and 270°.
- Think in fractions of a right angle: 45° is half of 90°, 30° is about one third and 60° about two thirds.
- For bearings, begin at north and move clockwise every time.
- Find the nearest cardinal or intercardinal direction first, then estimate the remaining offset.
- Commit once an option is clearly closest instead of refining an already-good estimate.
Common mistakes
- Reading bearings anticlockwise.
- Confusing 090° and 270°.
- Choosing the smaller angle when the displayed rotation is greater than 180°.
- Trying to calculate an exact value from an approximate drawing.
- Comparing every option when several are obviously implausible.
Useful practice drills
- Estimate the angle between random clock-hand positions.
- Sketch a compass and fill in the eight principal bearings from memory.
- Estimate bearings of objects around a room using an imaginary north reference.
- Decide whether angles are closest to 30°, 45°, 60° or 90°.
- Use timed sets only after the anchor values are automatic.
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 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.