Module overview
What the test trains
This module focuses on task management, prospective memory, information updating, prioritisation and central information processing. 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
- Keep hydraulic pressure in range and balance the three fuel tanks.
- Read the required airspeed in Navigation, then adjust current speed above the tanks in Engine.
- Return to Navigation and check the waypoint after its segmented bar fills; it flashes for a 30-second response window and does not appear in Warning.
- Use Message details to prepare load and video tasks, including the scheduled time, coordinates and required dispenser or Alpha/Bravo camera.
- Activate Air and Ground sensors on their recurring two- and four-minute schedules.
Practice screen example
These screenshots show CBAT Academy’s independent practice version of the task.
Interface briefing
Controls and test flow
Controls
Monitor several concurrent subsystem panels and respond to each with its own keyboard shortcut or on-screen control as prompts appear, rather than answering one question at a time.
How the Academy version works
CBAT Academy presents an independently developed browser exercise with its own questions, graphics, timing and scoring. The instruction screen explains the current workload before launch; it does not claim to reproduce an official assessment screen or confidential question set.
Performance briefing
Difficulty and scoring
Difficulty and settings
Higher difficulty shortens the session to as little as 3 minutes at Medium while speeding up every subsystem — pressure drift, fuel drain, sensor and camera events, and mission timing windows all tighten together.
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
- Task states change while attention is focused elsewhere.
- The waypoint must be checked by revisiting Navigation rather than waiting for a warning.
- Load and video tasks require both accurate data entry and a separate correctly timed action.
- Several clocks can overlap, making prioritisation more important than simple speed.
- Menu navigation hides systems that continue changing in the background.
Preparation tips
- Maintain a mental queue: what is urgent now, what is due next and what can wait.
- Use the main clock and panel countdowns to rehearse upcoming times.
- Pair each prepared task with its final action: dispenser and release for a load, camera choice and activation for video.
- Visit Navigation on a steady rhythm so the waypoint bar is not forgotten.
- After an interruption ask: what was I doing, what changed and what is next?
Common mistakes
- Waiting for a waypoint warning that never appears.
- Adjusting speed in Navigation instead of reading the target there and changing it in Engine.
- Entering load or video details correctly but forgetting the scheduled release or activation.
- Missing when the dispenser cues reach the instructed number or selecting the wrong camera.
- Tunnel vision on one system while other deadlines pass.
Useful practice drills
- Run several timers with different actions while performing a primary task.
- Practise six-digit time and coordinate entry without transposition.
- Rehearse a fixed panel scan that includes Navigation even when Warning is quiet.
- Practise returning to an interrupted task without losing your place.
- Classify errors as forgetting, poor prioritisation, wrong data or mistimed execution.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as an official Cognitive Updating 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?
Waiting for a waypoint warning that never appears.
What actually helps here?
Maintain a mental queue: what is urgent now, what is due next and what can wait.
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. Details not established by an official source are treated as independent training methodology.
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.