The CBAT: a complete guide to the RAF aircrew aptitude test

The CBAT's speed–distance–time test (also called SDT). Read the leg distances from a checkpoint map and the aircraft's speed from a parcel-weight chart, then work out a time — arrival, latest departure, or which of two aircraft lands first. Answers within 3 minutes count.

• Speed–distance–time calculation under time pressure
• Reading data from a map and a chart
• Working forwards and backwards from a clock time
• Comparing two routes and handling changing conditions

• Distance ÷ speed = minutes. Keep the speed = distance ÷ time triangle automatic.
• Get the speed from the chart by the parcel weight before you touch the distances.
• On the two-aircraft levels, a lighter parcel or shorter route usually lands first — estimate, then confirm.

Format: Speed–distance–time · map + weight chart · 5 levels · ~5 minutes

High-speed mental arithmetic covering addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with strict time limits.

• Raw mental-arithmetic speed
• Accuracy across all four operations
• Composure under a tight clock

• Rehearse times tables to 12 until they're instant.
• Accuracy scores over wild guessing — stay clean.

Format: Mental arithmetic · no calculator · ~3 minutes

The CBAT's written-reasoning test. You're given a set of short written sections about one subject, listed in an Index, and must pull the answers out of the sentences. You read the material, then answer multiple-choice questions (A–E) — many need you to combine facts from more than one section. A different subject is used each attempt so you can't memorise the answers.

• Reading comprehension and verbal reasoning
• Pulling specific facts out of written passages
• Combining information from several sections
• Working under a reading and answering clock

• On your read-through, note roughly where each kind of fact is stated so you can find it fast.
• Read the question carefully — the wrong options are often true statements that don't answer it.
• When a question needs two facts, open both sections top and bottom to compare.

Format: Written sections · read then answer A–E · 20 questions · ~14 minutes

The CBAT's numerical-reasoning test. You're given 16 sections of figures about one system, listed in an Index, and must calculate the answers from the data — often combining figures from more than one section. You read the data, then answer multiple-choice questions (A–E). A different system is used each attempt so you can't memorise the answers.

• Numerical reasoning and multi-step calculation
• Pulling the right figures out of dense data
• Combining figures from several sections
• Working accurately under a clock

• Note where each figure lives on your read-through so you can find it fast.
• Do the arithmetic carefully — the distractors are the answers to common slips.
• When a question needs two figures, open both sections top and bottom.

Format: Data dossier · read then calculate A–E · 20 questions · ~14 minutes

The CBAT's MAT-F table-reading test. You're given values and must cross-reference them on a table to read off the answer, then pick the matching numbered option (1–5). Part 1 uses two values on one table; Part 2 uses three values across four air-speed tables (drift correction or ground speed).

• Visual search and cross-referencing speed
• Accuracy reading row × column on a table
• Sustained attention to detail under a clock

• Work down the First Value's column and across the Second Value's row until they meet.
• Commit and move on — speed across many look-ups is what's scored.
• Steady accuracy beats frantic scanning.

Format: MAT-F table look-ups · multiple choice · ~3 minutes

Assesses your ability to interpret angles, compare headings and understand directional changes.

• Interpreting angles and compass bearings
• Comparing headings quickly
• Understanding directional change

• Memorise the cardinal and ordinal bearings (000/045/090…).
• Sketch a quick clock face if a bearing is hard to picture.

Format: Angle & bearing items · timed · ~2 minutes

Assesses your ability to spatially comprehend directions and distances between various points.

• Spatial comprehension of position
• Judging direction between points
• Estimating relative distance

• Mentally lay a compass over the layout to keep directions fixed.
• For multi-leg routes, track your heading after each turn.

Format: Direction & distance items · timed · ~3 minutes

Evaluates your ability to interpret standard flight instruments — altimeter, attitude indicator, turn/bank indicator and rate of climb.

• Reading flight instruments quickly
• Interpreting aircraft attitude and heading
• Decision-making under time pressure

• Learn each instrument in isolation before combining them.
• Don't rush the altimeter — misreads there are common.

Format: Instrument interpretation · timed · ~2 minutes

A radar-scope spatial test. Direct your aircraft by compass heading (choose which way it turns, then the bearing to fly onto — 000 = north, 090 = east) so they sweep through their gates in order, fly a green interceptor onto the unknown aircraft, and keep clear of the danger areas and each other. Reading the scene and planning turns early is the key to preparing.

• Interpreting and directing movement using bearings
• Spatial projection of moving objects
• Planning ahead while avoiding hazards

• You enter the heading to fly onto (an absolute bearing), not how far to turn — the arrow just picks which way it rotates onto it.
• Give commands early; the aircraft turn in a wide arc (about 7½ seconds for a quarter-turn) and climb gradually.
• Park your aircraft at safe levels at least 1000 ft apart (e.g. 100 and 060) and only change them when you have to.

Format: Radar scope · direct aircraft by bearing · ~3 minutes

Two parts: recreate a briefing map on a gridded field (Part 1), or study it then judge whether a 3D view matches (Part 2). Detail builds over 10 rounds.

• Forming a 3D air/ground picture
• Spatial memory and recall
• Tracking a moving aircraft's route

• Hills are always accurate — use them as anchors for the other objects.
• Use the North beacon to answer direction questions.
• Detail grows each round — build the picture in your head, don't just stare.

Format: Recreate or judge a scene · 2 parts · 10 rounds · ~10 minutes

A short-term memory test over 5 rounds. A string of digits appears for 10 seconds to memorise, then disappears and you answer a multiple-choice question about it — 'how many Ns were there?' — within 10 seconds. It starts at 6 digits and grows each round, and the string is shown again after each answer so you can verify the count.

• Short-term memory for numbers
• Holding a sequence after it disappears
• Concentration as the strings get longer

• Keep a running tally of the digits that repeat rather than memorising the whole string.
• When a string gets long, focus on the digit types most likely to be asked about.
• Chunk the digits into groups of 3–4 as you read them.

Format: Digit strings 6–14 long · multiple choice · 5 rounds · ~2 minutes

A multi-tasking, audio-driven test: fly a ball through hoops while a radio voice gives orders. Act on instructions for your callsign (pull the trigger, change colour), ignore orders for other callsigns and the chatter, and remember a 6-digit number to recall at the end. Playable with a joystick or the keyboard.

• Auditory working memory (holding the callsign and number)
• Doing several tasks at once under time pressure
• Filtering real instructions from decoys and chatter
• Motor control while listening and responding

• Rehearse the 6-digit number silently between orders so it doesn't slip.
• Lock onto your callsign — if an order doesn't start with it, do nothing.
• Keep the ball near the centre so you can reach the next hoop either way.

Format: Fly-through-hoops + spoken orders · joystick or keyboard · ~4 minutes

A high-speed scanning test: a grid of letter-and-number tiles and a target letter. Find the tile whose letter matches, then type its number — as fast and accurately as you can — across two rounds of increasing clutter.

• High-speed visual scanning
• Target identification in clutter
• Speed–accuracy balance under time pressure

• Scan in a steady pattern (left-to-right, row by row) rather than darting around — you'll miss fewer tiles.
• Lock onto the target letter first, then read straight to its number; don't try to track both at once.
• In Round 2 the numbers are scrambled, so read the actual digits — never guess from position.

Format: Letters & numbers · type the matching number · Easy then Hard · 2 + 2 minutes

The CBAT's multi-task visual-search test. Four panels run at the same time — a map to scan, a vehicle image, a pattern of coloured lights and scrolling alphanumeric codes — and you switch between them, matching each panel's current target under time pressure.

• Sustained attention across several tasks at once
• Task-switching and prioritisation under time pressure
• Rapid visual recognition and pattern matching
• Discriminating real targets from look-alike decoys

• Keep every panel moving — task-switching is what's scored, so never park on just one.
• Scan the map methodically (left-to-right, top-to-bottom) rather than darting around.
• Clear the quick single-press wins (Colour and Vehicle) between sweeps of the map and codes.

Format: Multi-task visual search · 4 panels · ~3 min drill (about 23 min in the full CBAT)

The CBAT's sustained-attention test. A 9×9 grid steadily fills with stars, and you clear each one by entering its row then its column — no mouse needed. Yellow priority stars are worth more but expire quickly, so you must keep on top of the board and act on priorities first. Five two-minute rounds, each busier than the last.

• Sustained attention over a long task
• Prioritisation — acting on priority targets first
• Fast, accurate coordinate entry
• Keeping up as the workload builds

• Enter the row and column as a quick two-key rhythm to keep pace.
• Don't let the board fill — falling behind early makes the later rounds unmanageable.
• Yellow first, then mop up the white stars around it.

Format: 9×9 star grid · type row then column · 5 × 2 minutes

The CBAT's memory-and-picture test, over 5 rounds. Like the real SAT, information comes one thing at a time and disappears after a few seconds: military units flash up on a tactical grid (type, quantity, side and heading), call-sign cards show each aircraft's altitude, and radio calls give their comms channels and waypoints. You build the picture in your head, then answer multiple-choice questions from memory.

• Building and holding a mental picture of a complex scene
• Memory across visual, text and spoken information
• Recall of positions, quantities and details under pressure

• Don't mark the screen with your finger — build the picture in your head.
• Group units by side first, then learn positions and details.
• Keep sound on; some facts only come over the radio.

Format: Study a tactical picture, then recall · multiple choice · ~12 minutes

Eye–hand–foot coordination. A red dot drifts around the screen on its own and you keep it as close as possible to the centre of a crosshair. The crosshair relocates every 20 seconds, so you must fight the drift to chase it. Playable with the keyboard, or a joystick (up/down) and pedals (left/right).

• Hand–foot coordination
• Continuous compensatory tracking
• Sustained control under constant drift

• Anticipate the drift and lead your corrections rather than chasing it.
• Make small, smooth inputs — over-correcting sends the dot past the crosshair.
• After the crosshair jumps, get roughly on it fast, then fine-tune.

Format: Compensatory tracking · keyboard or joystick + pedals · ~2 minutes

An eye-hand coordination test: you work the camera from a helicopter that never stops moving, tracking a named vehicle — on the ground or in the air — and photographing it on command.

• Eye-hand coordination under continuous motion
• Tracking moving and stationary objects
• Predicting the path of objects you can't see
• Re-acquiring a new target quickly when you're re-tasked

• Lead the target slightly to counter your own reaction lag.
• Small corrections beat big ones — overshooting costs more time than it saves.
• Air targets are much harder to hold than ground ones; expect to work for them.

Format: Continuous tracking · 9 targets × 3 photos · ~7 minutes

The CBAT's aircraft-tracking test (Part 1). A rear-view aircraft flies inside a 3D box, making one 90° move at a time, and you copy each move with the arrow keys — ↑ Push (nose pitches DOWN, so the aircraft loses altitude), ↓ Pull (nose pitches UP, so it gains altitude), ← Left and → Right. Each round adds another aircraft to make the one you're tracking harder to follow, and after 3 rounds you switch to copying the red aircraft.

• Visual tracking of a moving target
• Spatial comprehension of 3D movement
• Keeping the right aircraft in focus among distractors
• Fast, accurate directional response

• Lock onto the circled aircraft before it moves so you catch the direction.
• Remember the altitude cue: ↑ Push = nose down = the aircraft drops; ↓ Pull = nose up = it climbs. Copy the pitch you see.
• Don't let the distractor aircraft pull your eye away.

Format: Copy a rear-view aircraft's 90° moves · 4 rounds · ~2 minutes

The CBAT's multitasking / systems-management test. You monitor and run six aircraft systems at once on a panel of tabs — hydraulics, air speed, engine fuel, sensors, comms and the parcel-drop objective — keeping each healthy while reading data from the Message panel and entering it for points. A system left in trouble raises a Warning and racks up penalty time.

• Managing and coordinating several tasks at once
• Prioritising which system needs attention now
• Working memory — carrying data between panels
• Staying accurate under sustained pressure

• Give each system a quick scan in rotation rather than fixating on one.
• Penalty time only builds while a warning is showing — clear warnings fast, even if you can't earn points that second.
• Memorise the Message data as soon as it appears; it's what earns your points.

Format: Six-system multitasking panel · tabbed displays · ~4 minutes

The CBAT's divided-attention test. Three tasks run at the same time and every correct action adds to one score: monitor aircraft drifting over a field of shapes, hold their callsigns in memory, and answer quick sums. You choose which task to serve moment to moment.

• Divided attention across three tasks at once
• Monitoring a moving scene and reacting in time
• Short-term memory for callsigns you can no longer see
• Mental arithmetic under load

• Only press a shape when a circled aircraft is actually over it — pressing for an un-circled aircraft costs you a point.
• Rehearse the callsigns as they appear so you can still answer once they vanish.
• Clear the quick keypad sums between glances at the field.

Format: Aircraft monitoring + memory + numeracy · mouse & keypad · ~3 minutes