An airline recruitment simulator assessment is an opportunity to demonstrate flying, procedural knowledge and how you work with another pilot. Prepare from the assessment invitation and supplied briefing, then practise explaining and reviewing your decisions. A generic list of tricks cannot tell you an airline's scoring criteria or replace aircraft-specific preparation.
This guide gives you an original preparation checklist and a fictional debrief example. It distinguishes a recruitment assessment from a recurrent proficiency check and from YPI's recorded interview practice product.
Recruitment assessment, proficiency check and video interview
| Activity | Purpose | Preparation reference |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment simulator assessment | Part of an employer's selection process | Your invitation, supplied briefing and applicable aircraft material |
| Recurrent proficiency check | A licensing or operator checking requirement | The applicable regulatory and operator checking programme |
| Recorded interview practice | Rehearse how you explain motivation, experience and judgement | Interview prompts and a review of your answers |
A selection assessment is not automatically a licence proficiency check. Its format and expectations depend on the entry route and employer. Some candidates are assessed on an unfamiliar type; others are expected to bring current type experience. Read the supplied instructions before deciding what to practise.
YPI's recorded interview simulator is an answer-rehearsal tool. It does not simulate aircraft handling or replace flight simulator training.
What to clarify before spending time on preparation
Read the invitation and briefing for the aircraft or simulator type, your expected role, provided procedures and the skills to prepare. Note any instructions about unfamiliar aircraft, permitted study material and documents to bring. If a material point is unclear, use the recruitment contact or other route stated in your invitation.
Write down what the employer has actually said separately from assumptions or candidate anecdotes. A forum account may suggest a useful question to ask; it does not establish the profile you will receive.
Start with the four-week preparation plan if you also need to balance the simulator session with technical, HR and aptitude preparation.
Flying and crew performance belong together
FAA guidance on crew resource management discusses communication, situation awareness, teamwork, task allocation, decision-making and monitoring within a procedural framework. These are useful areas for rehearsal and reflection. The guidance concerns CRM training; it is not an airline recruitment marking scheme. FAA AC 120-51E, Crew Resource Management Training.
Use those areas to make your preparation observable. Rather than writing “good CRM,” ask what another pilot would see or hear: a clear briefing, an explicit allocation of tasks, a question when instructions are ambiguous, or a concise update when the situation changes. These are editorial practice prompts, not a ranking of what an assessor values most.
Aircraft control and technical performance still matter. Do not assume smooth handling is irrelevant, that an assessor is trying to pass you, or that one behaviour always outweighs another. Work from the supplied standard and accurately describe any limits in your experience.
An original preparation checklist
Open the printable simulator preparation and debrief sheet. Use it to identify gaps before the session and record observations after a training rehearsal.
| Preparation area | Concrete task | Evidence you can check |
|---|---|---|
| Invitation | Read the instructions and separate facts from assumptions | A short list of confirmed requirements and unanswered questions |
| Aircraft knowledge | Revise the relevant material from current approved references | You can explain a concept and identify its source |
| Procedures | Use the procedures supplied for the exercise | You know which reference applies instead of mixing familiar operators' habits |
| Briefing | Rehearse a concise plan with task allocation and room for questions | A practice partner can explain the plan back to you |
| Monitoring | Discuss how you will keep the other pilot informed | Specific observations and communication rather than silent assumptions |
| Decisions | Explain information, options and uncertainty | The listener can follow why you chose an option |
| Debrief | Separate events, your actions and the result | One specific improvement for the next rehearsal |
For type-specific revision, use the A320 question route or B737 question route where relevant to your invitation. Neither route is a substitute for approved manuals or the employer's briefing.
A fictional rehearsal and debrief
The following teaching example concerns communication in a training exercise. It is not an account of an airline assessment and does not prescribe an aircraft procedure.
Observation: During a simulator rehearsal, the instructor changed the departure runway. One trainee updated the departure setup while the other still had the original departure chart open. Neither checked which chart the other was using.
An unhelpful debrief: “The other pilot did not tell me what they were doing. Next time we should communicate better.”
A more useful debrief: “I still had the original departure chart open after the runway changed. I heard my partner talking through the revised route and assumed I had caught up. When the instructor asked which chart I was using, I realised we were looking at different departures. I said, 'I am still on the old chart. Let's stop and check the new departure together.' We compared the chart with the revised setup before resuming. At the next rehearsal, I want to confirm the runway and departure chart aloud when the plan changes.”
The second account names the mismatch, explains the speaker's part in it and gives the words used to stop the exercise. The improvement can be checked at the next rehearsal. The fictional example makes no claim about an airline pass or fail.
Use the same distinction when reflecting on a real session: what happened, what you controlled, what you learned and how you will test the change. Ask an instructor for feedback on any flying or procedural issues rather than relying solely on self-assessment.
Approach criteria and abnormal situations
Prepare the relevant approach criteria and abnormal procedures from the instructions and current approved references applicable to the exercise. Do not replace them with a universal number copied from a blog or a callout remembered from another operation.
For an approach scenario, name the problem you can see. “We are above the approach path and the speed is not reducing” gives your partner something to act on. Explain whether there is still time to recover, what you would request and what would make you discontinue. Rehearse both roles with the PF and PM approach examples, using the criteria and callouts relevant to your assessment.
Make the final session focused
Before your assessment, check the requested documents, location and timings. Keep a short list of specific preparation gaps rather than trying to learn every rumoured scenario. If a training rehearsal exposes a handling or procedural problem, prioritise appropriate instruction for that problem.
Use the worksheet to record one change after each rehearsal. A useful entry is “confirm task allocation after a change of plan”; “be better at CRM” is too broad to test.
Continue with relevant practice
Explore simulator assessment preparation for further revision topics, and STAR interview examples to explain your own experiences clearly in the panel interview. If aptitude preparation is also part of your invitation, use our psychometric practice guide.
These resources support preparation. They do not publish an employer's confidential exercises, establish its pass mark or guarantee a recruitment result.
