It is recommended that a pilot job candidate practice for tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension, math, deductive reasoning, number/color stress tests, hand/eye coordination, mechanical aptitude, etc. FAPA's Airline Testing Study Kit can be used for practice before the tests. Arco's Preparation for the SAT offers good practice for basic vocabulary skills, reading and math. Another very helpful study guide is Arco's Officer Candidate Tests. You may be tested also on federal aviation regulations (FAR), basic aerodynamics and instrument flying. The Federal Aviation Regulations and Airman's Information Manual (AIM) are both excellent sources for help in reviewing these subjects, as is Arco's Military Flight Aptitude Tests. At a local library, you can check out books on physics, algebra, meteorology or electronics. You might also review any college books on these subjects that you have not thrown away.
Needless to say, you could spend an extraordinary amount of time attempting to become proficient in all these areas; you cannot be so comprehensive in your preparations if you have only a short time span between being notified and reporting for an interview. But all is not lost because of a short-notice interview. You are not expected to come up with a perfect score, only a reasonable score on any given measure. You are not taking a competitive Civil Service test. Your score will not determine your position on a list.
One of the most sensible things you can do, if you are a full-service FAPA member, is to call the FAPA counseling center as soon as you receive word that you have an interview. Usually, center personnel will have information on what kind of testing, if any, is done by a particular company. Then you can limit to specific areas the amount of studying you must do. (Note: The FAPA counselor will tell you only which areas you can expect to be tested on, not the answers to specific questions.)
In any case, you will need to prepare yourself in aviation fundamentals, meaning that you should study:
- Basic Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), Airman's Information Manual (AIM), weather, aerodynamics, instrument flying.
- Private or commercial pilot certification tests and general aeronautical knowledge texts for good practice on FARs, AIM, weather, etc.
- Arco's Officer Candidate Tests.
- The Vinson's Test. The Vinson's test is a verbal and mathematical aptitude test. The verbal section has multiple-choice selections of vocabulary, synonyms and word analogies. The math section consists of fractions, decimals, percentages and elementary algebra.
- Math Tests. You can prepare and practice using Arco's Preparation for the SAT, Arco's ASVAB, Practice for the Armed Forces Test, or FAPA's Airline Testing Study Kit (revised regularly; update available for those with first edition).
- Company-Derived Tests. Study FARs (61, 91, 121, 135), AIM, high school physics, turbine engine operations and aerodynamics, and ARCO's Military Flight Aptitude Tests.
Most of the tests still in use were written in the late 1930s or early 1940s and originally were designed to identify personality traits of antisocial elements of society (criminals, sociopaths, etc.).
There have been some recent modifications (less than 20 years old) in the types of test that are given. Many companies try to give tests more in tune with the times, covering fairly current subjects. In many cases, the content has been altered to jibe with changes in traditional masculine and feminine roles, and the tests tend to reflect attitudes on equality, sex, racism, and other contemporary social issues.
Today, psychologists have adopted a scoring system for members of society in general, and specifically for airline pilots.
Types of psychological test include:
1. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The Minnesota Mul-tiphasic Personality Inventory seems to be the most common and widely known of all the personality tests. The usual format has several hundred (560) statements to which the pilot must answer "true" or "false." The statements cover every conceivable emotion or aspect of one's life. Several examples are as follows:
I like school.
I like to cook.
Someone is trying to poison me.
I like to tease animals.
I would rather win than lose in a game.
I do not like everyone I know.
I am not afraid of mice.
I like repairing a door latch.
I dread the thought of an earthquake.
My parents have often objected to the kind of people I went around with.
The pilot must be honest throughout this type of test. A number of questions are asked in different ways, and if answers are inconsistent, this indicates that the tested individual is lying, and the test results are considered invalid.
2. The Cleaver Exam. The Cleaver exam is another of the multitude of personality tests with which airline applicants can be confronted. This particular test is in a self-judgment format. For example, the applicant is given a series of categories; each category has several descriptive words in it, and the applicant must mark or designate the word that is most like him or her.
3. A variation on this format has a list of traits in the left-hand margin; various categories across the top must be indicated in the selection process.
