ATC Aptitude Trainer

What the online stage tests

• Spatial orientation. An aircraft drawn pointing in any direction, and you decide whether a red dot is on its left or right. Several in a row, a few seconds each.
• Logic and reasoning. Worded relations such as "A is less than B, C is double B", then which is highest. Timed, often with irrelevant information mixed in.
• Basic maths. Simple arithmetic where the score is accuracy inside very short time frames.

From controllers' first-hand accounts. Airservices' current battery is supplied by Airways' SureSelect, which also lists spatial and coded-reasoning tasks, so expect the format to differ in detail.

How the process runs

1. Apply online
2. Online ability testing, weighted more heavily than your CV
3. Phone interview with HR
4. Assessment centre: the same style of tests in person, plus an interview

You can only apply twice, so the tests are worth over-preparing for. One controller took about 11 months from applying to starting training.

How to train with this

• Start at level 1 until you are above 90%, then move up. Speed counts, but wrong answers cost more than slow ones.
• Use the keyboard. Arrow keys for spatial, number or letter keys for options, Enter for maths.
• Turn on exam mode once a drill feels easy, so you stop relying on instant feedback.
• Short daily sessions beat one long one. Logic puzzles like sudoku and kakuro build the same muscles.
• For later: the Manual of Air Traffic Services (MATS) is the rulebook you would study in training.