Pilot Aptitude Test- An Experience of Candidate

candidates with the following real attributes to become future airline captains:

o Motivation and aspiration in the field 
o Assertiveness 
o Judgment and problem-solving skills 
o Leadership and team work skill 
o Communication (written and oral) skills 
o Technical aptitude 
o Readiness for challenge 
o Compassion for flying 
o An open-mind 
o Genuine interest to pursue a career in this field as a life long career.


Stage I of the Interview
1. English Listening Test 

This is a 100 questions test with everyone in the same room. You listen to a tape and try to pick out the key words said and then underline the correct answer. Watch out though, as the speaker on the tape has a very strong English accent. You might want to brush that up if you are from North America or elsewhere.

2. English Grammar Test.

This is another 100 questions test with everyone in the same room again. You have 40 minutes to complete this test. Again, you are supposed to underline one of the three correct answers.

3. Aptitude Test 

There are a few parts in the Aptitude Test.

a. First part of the test - there are two short parallel lines with a dot in between. The two parallel lines will move left and right at varying speed and distance and you are suppose to use the joy-stick to move to dot and keep the dot as close to the lines as possible. This test will gets more difficult when your scores get higher and if you are not keeping up, your score will drop. You get 3 tries to get an average score.

b. In the second test - it is pretty much the same thing but with a twist. Instead of having the computer increasing you score and difficulty, you are supposed to press the green button to increase your score and thus increase your difficulty. And if things get too hard and it is out of control, you are supposed to press the red button to reduce your score and difficulty. If you did not press the red button, you will automatically lose score once things get out of control. So it is quite hard as you try to get maximum points while keeping things under control. Again, you get 3 tries to get an average score.

c. In the third test, you are supposed to bring the aircraft to a point in the glide path. You are suppose to align the plane with the runway and bring it down to 50 feet from touch down and at the same time, reduce the speed to 100 km/h. In this test, you use your joy-stick and the red and green button for throttle control. You will get points according to the speed of your approach (you are suppose to keep your speed as fast as possible before you reach 50 feet as you get higher points for a faster average approach speed) and your angle of alignment. You will get 1 test try and 5 real tries.

d. Quick Subtraction - you will need to do 50 quick subtraction questions. All you need to do is to confirm the answer is right or wrong. You will get points for your speed and accuracy.

e. In this coordination test, you are going to use the rudder pedal and your joy-stick to try to keep this cross within this box. The computer will try to move the cross away from the box to simulate wind. It is an interesting test. You will get points for the horizontal and vertical errors. You get 3 tries.

f. Shoot the bandit - This test uses the red and green button. You will be shown two aircraft with two different wing spans, the one with the longer wing span is the bad guy, and the one with the shorter span is the good guy. Then the computer will randomly pop up planes with different wing span on the screen and you get 1.5 seconds to decide to press the green to shoot or red to stop. If you did not decide within 1.5 seconds, the computer will automatically shoot it down. You will do this for a total of 3 times and each time there will be 50 planes to decide which to shoot or not, the difference in the wing span size get smaller each time. In the last try, you can barely tell the difference. You will be graded for your reaction time and accuracy.

4. Reasoning Test: 

There are two sections to this test but basically you are being test on the same type of questions. You are supposed to decide which one of the 8 symbols belongs to the missing one. You have 5 minutes for the first test; you should have enough time to do it as it only has 10 questions. Then you have 40 minutes for 36 questions. These questions are more difficult but you should have more than enough time to do this.

5. Presentation: 

Finally, you are supposed to do your presentation in front of one of the recruitment lady. She is very nice and I think the actual substance of the presentation does not really matter that much but it is more of an oral test. They want to know that you can actually speak proper English. The lady really only paid attention to me for the first 30 seconds and then she begin to do her own thing and write something down on your application. But you need to do at least some research on your assigned topics before you go into your presentation. 


Stage II of the Interview 

I finally did my stage 2 exam today at the Cathay city. got up at 6.20am in the morning; out the door at 6.45am just to realized it's drizzling outside and had to take a minibus to subway station; reached the TST subway at 7.20am and arrived at Tung Chung station at 8.05am; had an espresso shot at Delifrance before catching a cab to get to Cathay city at 8.23am. Oops that was a bit close...

There were 4 candidates - Me, Derek from England, Justin from Australia and Martin from Sweden. I’m the only one living in HK (though technically speaking I’m more an American) whereas the other guys are all flying in for the interview from their home base. Anyway, here goes today's rundown:

Morning session:

Math test (30min) 

A total of 33 questions on math and reasoning. None of us finished it!! I got 4 unanswered and someone got only half way through. Basically you can't prepare for this test and you just have to work as fast as possible, quickly skipping the ones which you don't know. Think I did alright on this.

Personality test (45min) 

187 questions on personality, although there're about 5 or 6 reasoning questions in between. Again you can’t prepare for this and just try to be honest and answer on your first instinct.

Job knowledge test (45min): Roughly 60 questions on this test. About 80% is on the aviation booklet that Peggy sent me 2 wks ago, 15% on some other technical questions which may require further research, and 5% on Cathay pacific. Luckily I did read my "flying the big jets" book!

Group exercise (45min): 

The four of us worked together on this exercise. It is actually quite fun! No sweat, just enjoy and try not to be a control freak even if you're one. An air force pilot told me this is the hardest exercise for himself and other direct-entries from air force.


Panel interview (60min) 

I was interviewed by Belinda and a pilot named Theo. Belinda spent the first 15min asking me hr-related questions such as why I want to become a pilot, what are the alternatives to the CPP many of which were what Peggy asked last time. Theo then took over and asked me how I found the aviation handbook. So I told him I found the handbook very interesting and helped me tremendously in understanding the "big jets" book. He looked quite happy to hear that I have read it and started asking me technical questions. We kicked off with some simple ones such as what is North Pole, what are the moving parts of a jet, and Theo would elaborate further until I couldn't answer, which he didn't seem to mind. He also asked if a propeller can be used in a jet engine, so I said yes as in some modern jet engines, where 85 to 90% of the air would pass through air shaft to produce propulsive force... but then I forgot the name of that type of engine. what equipment to use when you pass through a CB cloud... Theo is an extremely nice HK guy and would guide you through to arrive at the answers. So, the interview was very fun in itself and I would highly recommend doing your own research!

Flight planning (90min) 

Derek and I worked together for this exercise and it was moderated by an F/O named Jacky while two other people, Sean and Terrence, sat by to observe. Derek and I played the role of glider pilot trainee mgrs, and we needed to decide on a flight path for our trainee that could cover as much distance as possible and reach the destination by sunset. We were given about 15min to read over some materials, and then we started crossing out airfields (checkpoints) which were unsuitable for our purposes, for reasons such as weather condition, low visibility, and insufficient runway. After eliminating certain routes, Jacky started adding more details which further narrowed down our choices. Sometimes Derek and I worked together and other times independently on calculations. Again, don't play the role of a control freak or shout for attention! Listen, and respond to your partner. I don't think I did v well in this exercise b/c I had no clue on what's a tow aircraft or glider or cloud base restriction. But Derek and I worked well together, which is good. 


Thats All My Experience Now It's Your Turn

Fly Our Planes If You Have a License- Jet Airways

Facing an acute shortage of pilots, Jet Airways is forced to hire foreigners, even as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set a new deadline of July 2011 for all airlines to phase out foreign pilots. Airline sources say pilot shortage in Jet Airways has become serious to such an extent that flights are being delayed because of that, a claim vehemently denied by the Jet Airways management.
wo years ago, when the aviation sector was reeling under a downturn, Jet Airways put all its expansion on hold. Nearly 20 per cent of flights were cut. Command training of first officers too was stopped. But once the worst of recession got over, the airline began adding new routes and acquiring new planes. It has recently acquired a Boeing 737 and the process is on to induct more aircraft. And hence, the shortage of trained pilots.
A Jet Airways commander said, “Pilots are being pulled out from ground training or simulator courses. Leaves are being curtailed and pilots are being asked to operate flights at a short notice. Flights are being delayed.”
The shortage of commanders is on Boeing 737s which flies on domestic routes and Gulf and Airbus 330 which flies international sectors.
An airline source said, “On certain occasions, pilots have been asked to operate an additional flight after landing at the destination. At times, pilots have a rest period of just two or three hours between two assigned flights but because of shortage, they have flown on an another sector in that period.”
Typically, a command training of first officer, which includes training on simulators and route checks (proficiency check), takes six months. It is learnt that Jet Airways has shortlisted around ten first officers for command training and they will be shortly sent for simulator training to Dubai and Bangalore.

A380 Ready to Land at India Airports

Indian airports may be getting ready for the biggest commercial aircraft, the Airbus A-380, but it will be a while before foreign airlines are allowed to operate the superjumbos in India on regular flights. A team of senior officials of German carrier Lufthansa last month went to the aviation ministry to get clearance for flying A-380 to Delhi. But Indian authorities are learnt to have told them that giving clearance for this plane would not be easy.
The reason: If Lufthansa launches the A-380 on the highly lucrative Delhi-Frankfurt route, it will wean away substantial traffic from Indian carriers' flights to Europe. "The A-380 has a huge appeal for travellers. If they have an option of flying to a major base like Frankfurt in that aircraft and from there get connected to rest of the world on the German airline and Star Alliance that it leads, Indian carriers will suffer in terms of losing travellers," said sources.
Sources said the airline wants to bring the A-380 to India at the earliest. European carriers are now desperate to do something spectacular like getting the A-380 as Gulf carriers are posing a huge challenge to their once unchallenged market leadership here.

2% Pilots Can Pass Navigation Exam in India

Airline operators are making a beeline for Indian aviation academies. This follows the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA’s) programme to phase out expatriate pilots working with Indian airline operators, giving rise to the demand for domestic pilots. Most airline operators have till July 31 to phase out expats from the cockpits.
The stagnation of the Indian airline industry in 2004-05 had prompted the need for foreign pilots. Expat pilots, estimated to comprise around 10 per cent of the estimated total 4,800 pilots in the country, are currently employed by major Indian scheduled operators such as Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet.
The starting salary of students placed with this domestic carrier averaged Rs 1.25 lakh per month, according to Raminder Mamick Ghosh, Head -Business Planning & Control, Chimes Group, which runs the Chimes Aviation Academy. The fees involved for training as a commercial pilot are also high. “The average fees for an 18 month course is Rs 20-25 lakhs, so its pretty steep,” says a former aviation student who did not wish to be named. A number of good academies have opened up since. “The number of academies who have received their license to operate are currently around 35 in number, of which not more than 11-12 with good infrastructural facilities must be operational,” says Ghosh.
“.. I had gone to California for my training three years ago, because the training period was lesser and the infrastructure was better. But, I was unable to find a job when I came back. Now, prospects are opening up again,” said a former student, who has been unable to find employment in India and is currently working in the hospitality industry.
Keeping in line with the new norms, Jet Airways is planning to hire more Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) holders having rating on the type of aircraft operated by them. However, Kingfisher Airlines has no plans to increase hiring for this year.