RAF Pilot CBAT Preparation

What RAF Pilot candidates are assessed on

Pilot is one of several RAF aircrew roles assessed through the CBAT battery at RAF College Cranwell — Weapon Systems Officer, air traffic control and Remotely Piloted Air System roles sit alongside it, each scored against the same set of tests but weighted differently. There is no separate "Pilot-only" test battery; every Pilot candidate sits the same CBAT modules as everyone else, and the role-specific part is how those results get combined.

Read the full CBAT guide for how the battery itself works, test-day structure and general preparation advice. This page narrows that down to what actually matters for the Pilot role specifically.

CBAT tests relevant to Pilot preparation

Historical candidate-reported data groups the CBAT battery into seven ability domains, each contributing a different weight to a Pilot candidate's overall result. Spatial Reasoning and Psychomotor Ability carry the most weight for Pilot specifically — worth knowing before you decide where to spend limited practice time.

• Spatial Reasoning (16% weight): Instrument Comprehension, Trace Test 1
• Psychomotor Ability (16% weight): Sensory Motor Apparatus, Rapid Tracking
• Strategic Task Management (15% weight): Cognitive Updating, Situational Awareness
• Visual & Auditory Perception (15% weight): Target Recognition, Table Reading
• Central Information Processing (15% weight): Figures, Logistics and Groups
• Short Term Memory / Capacity (12% weight): Auditory Capacity, Trace Test 2
• Symbolic Reasoning (11% weight): System Logic, Airborne Numerical

Score and stanine requirements

These figures come from a historical, independent candidate resource, not an official RAF publication — the RAF does not publish a complete current table of subtest weightings and thresholds for every role. Treat them as informed estimates from past candidates rather than a guaranteed current specification, and see the source register for exactly what's established versus inferred.

• Spatial Reasoning: requires stanine 5 of 9, officially tested by INSC, TRAC 1
• Psychomotor Ability: requires stanine 4 of 9, officially tested by SMA, RTT
• Strategic Task Management: requires stanine 4 of 9, officially tested by 3(CUT), SAT
• Visual & Auditory Perception: requires stanine 4 of 9, officially tested by TRT, MATF
• Central Information Processing: requires stanine 5 of 9, officially tested by FLAG
• Short Term Memory / Capacity: requires stanine 2 of 9, officially tested by 2(ACT), TRAC 2
• Symbolic Reasoning: requires stanine 4 of 9, officially tested by SLT, 3(ANT)

These same historical figures put the overall composite cutoff for Pilot at 128. CBAT Academy's own stanine estimates on the Scores page are independently calculated training feedback, not a reproduction of this or any official scoring algorithm — read the methodology page for exactly how those estimates are built and what they can't tell you.

Recommended practice modules

Ordered by domain weight for the Pilot role, heaviest first. Every module below is free to practise.

Suggested preparation plan

The two-week preparation schedule covers every CBAT domain in the first week, then returns to weak spots in the second. For Pilot specifically, weight that second week toward Spatial Reasoning and Psychomotor Ability — the two heaviest-weighted domains above — rather than splitting practice time evenly across all seven.

Instrument Comprehension and Trace Test 1 (Spatial Reasoning) reward a consistent scan method more than raw speed; Sensory Motor and Rapid Tracking (Psychomotor Ability) reward smooth, small corrections over aggressive ones. Both are covered in their own module guides linked above.

Role-specific assessment features

Pilot candidates sit the same one-day CBAT battery at OASC, Cranwell, as every other aircrew role — there's no separate Pilot-only test day or setting. The role-specific part is entirely in how the seven domain scores above get weighted and combined into the overall result, not in what you're asked to do on the day itself.

Selection for Pilot also involves interviews, medical standards, fitness testing and other stages beyond CBAT — this page covers aptitude preparation only. Your own joining instructions always take priority over anything on this page.