Psychometric tests for pilots: the DLR series

Choose a test: DLR series

• Figure series

  Six images in a row: one or more tokens each turn around the four corners and switch between filled and hollow, at their own pace. Work out the rule, pick the next image among four.

  20 series in 20 minutes, from the easiest to the hardest, with optional corrections. Mouse or keyboard.

  Take the figure series test

• Cube folding

  A die unfolded into six squares numbered 1 to 6: which of the dice shown do you get by folding it up? Spatial awareness.

  20 questions in 15 minutes, from the easiest to the hardest, with optional corrections that explain the opposite faces. Mouse, finger or keyboard.

  Take the cube folding test

• The triangles

  A triangle (colour, direction, black dots) compared with the previous one under two rules drawn at random: press the right button. A fast comparison under a rule.

  3 rounds of 20 triangles in 6 minutes, new rules each round, with optional corrections. Mouse, finger, arrow keys or keyboard.

  Take the triangles test

• Data processing

  A coloured square on one of the four corners of a grid: its colour says which transformation finds the right numeric-keypad key. A fast, rule-based lookup.

  3 rounds of 20 trials in 6 minutes, new rules each round, with optional corrections. Mouse, finger or numeric keypad.

  Take the data processing test

• Trajectory prediction

  Two balls disappear into a hidden zone of a corridor: predict the right moment to press, without seeing them. Anticipating a hidden movement.

  20 timed trials, only one press counts per trial. Mouse, finger or keyboard.

  Take the trajectory prediction test

• The rotating maze

  Reach a maze's exit: the buttons always keep the same direction, but the grid's angle changes. Staying oriented despite a rotated picture.

  10 grids, one after another. Mouse, finger or the keyboard arrow keys.

  Take the rotating maze test

• The corridors

  Two blocked corridors to memorise, then announcements to listen to: keep only the cities on a corridor that stayed open. Visual and auditory memory.

  20 rounds, one after another, announcements read aloud. Mouse or finger, sound recommended.

  Take the corridors test

• Timed calculation

  The same word problems as the BQ series, but a limited time for each: the answer you pick counts straight away.

  20 problems, from the easiest to the hardest, with a growing time per problem. Mouse, finger or keyboard.

  Take the timed calculation test

• 2D spatial orientation

  Start from the red dot, facing up, and follow in your head the instructions announced one after another (go ahead, turn, turn back): find the grid showing the right arrival cell and the right direction. Spatial awareness on a plane.

  10 tasks of 4 or 5 instructions, with a correction after each task. Mouse, finger or keys 1 to 4.

  Take the 2D spatial orientation test

• 3D spatial orientation

  A starting face, then five face names announced one after another: in order, pick among six cubes marked with a cross the one that matches each word. Memory and spatial awareness.

  10 tasks of 6 steps; a mistake ends the task and shows the correction. Mouse, finger or keys 1 to 6.

  Take the 3D spatial orientation test

• Vigilance 1

  A heading dial and its value in figures, changing every two seconds, and tones to listen to at the same time: flag every mismatch and every tone heard three times in a row. Visual and auditory vigilance.

  A short practice, then 2 or 8 minutes. Mouse, finger or the F and J keys, sound needed.

  Take the vigilance 1 test

• Vigilance 2

  A dot moves step by step around a dial: as soon as it changes colour, shape or direction, or skips a position, press the right button. Vigilance and reaction speed.

  A short practice, then 3 or 12 minutes. Mouse, finger or keyboard.

  Take the vigilance 2 test

• Information perception and processing

  Three gauges to watch and numbers to add up in your head at the same time: flag every needle in the red, then give the total when asked. Divided attention.

  A short practice, then 2 or 10 minutes. Mouse, finger or keyboard (letters, digits, Enter).

  Take the information perception and processing test

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What is in the DLR series?

The DLR series brings together twelve exercises: cube folding (a die unfolded into six numbered squares, to find among five dice shown), the triangles (comparing a triangle with the previous one under two rules drawn at random), data processing (finding, from the colour of a square, the right key on a four-corner grid), trajectory prediction (two balls that disappear into a hidden zone of a corridor: you have to predict, without seeing them, the right moment to press), the rotating maze (reaching a grid's exit by its one and only path, drawn at an angle that changes with every grid), the corridors (memorising two blocked corridors, then keeping, among announcements read aloud, only the ones on a corridor that stayed open) timed calculation (the same word problems as the BQ series, but a limited time for each), 2D spatial orientation (following instructions on a grid in your head, from a red dot facing up, and finding the arrival cell and the final direction), 3D spatial orientation (remembering a starting face and five face names, then picking in order the matching marked cubes), vigilance 1 (a heading dial and its value in figures to compare, and tones to listen to at the same time), vigilance 2 (a dot moving around a dial that suddenly changes colour, shape, direction or step size) and information perception and processing (three gauges to watch and numbers to add up in your head). VLR - Spatial Orientation, from the Air France - ENAC series, is also offered here, at the same address; so is the figure series, from the BQ series.

Each exercise has 20 to 60 questions or trials, in three rounds for the triangles and data processing, in a single set for the others, to be done in a few minutes to a quarter of an hour depending on the exercise. The timer is optional where there is one, and the corrections are up to you, with an explanation specific to each exercise. The two vigilance tests and information perception and processing run continuously, for a length you choose (short or full), after a short practice.

How to approach each exercise

• Cube folding: fold one face at a time, then look for the opposites

  Fold the net in your head, one face at a time, starting from a square taken as the floor and with the digits on the outside: each fold tips a neighbouring square up on its edge. Once two or three faces are placed this way, you know which ones are opposite (never seen together on the die): rule out at once any die shown with two of those digits side by side.

• Triangles: memorise the two rules, not the triangles

  The round's two rules (top, bottom) each cover a single feature (colour, direction or number of dots): repeat them in your head rather than comparing the two triangles feature by feature on every trial. The right-hand button (neither rule met) stays the most frequent answer: do not under-use it out of habit.

• Data processing: fix one colour at a time

  The round's four rules each pair a colour with a transformation (the same cell, the one facing it on the row, the one facing it on the column, or the one all the way opposite): practise with a single colour first until you answer without thinking, then add the others one by one rather than learning them all at once.

• Trajectory prediction: remember the speed just before the ball disappears

  Just before a ball enters the hidden zone, note its speed mentally: that, and only that, is what lets you keep following it once it is invisible. A press that comes too early costs nothing, unlike one that comes too late: when in doubt, better to wait until you are sure.

• Rotating maze: the buttons do not move, the picture does

  Before pressing, work out where each button really points on the rotated picture: it always sends the same direction inside the maze, only the picture's angle changes. A press into a wall costs nothing serious, just one extra step: better to try small steps than to freeze and overthink it.

• Corridors: memorise the two blocked ones before you listen

  Fix the two blocked corridors one last time right before they disappear, then think of nothing else while the announcements play: as soon as an announced corridor is one of the two, let the city that goes with it slide, it is not one to remember.

• Timed calculation: read fast, calculate faster

  The time given counts the statement as much as the calculation: work out what is being asked and in which unit first, before diving into the numbers. A wrong answer costs less than a time that ran out with no answer at all: pick one, even in doubt, rather than let the clock run down.

• 2D spatial orientation: keep two things up to date, the cell and the direction

  For each instruction, change the direction first (right, left or turn back, always relative to where you are facing), then move one cell. Keep a simple tally in mind, such as “two right, one up, facing left”, rather than replaying the whole path from the start.

• 3D spatial orientation: rehearse the words, not the cubes

  During the announcements, repeat the whole sequence to yourself from the start at each new word (“back, right, left...”): that is the only thing to remember. The cubes only appear afterwards, and their places change with every task: first see where the cross sits (a faint cross is on a hidden face, seen through the cube), then look for the cube of the next word.

• Vigilance 1: compare the tens, listen for the next tone

  For the dial, there is no need to read the exact value: the mismatches are clear-cut, just check whether the needle points at the right number on the dial (the value divided by ten). For the tones, keep only the last one heard and how many times in a row it came back: on the third identical one, press.

• Vigilance 2: watch the dot, not the buttons

  Keep your eyes on the dot and learn where the four buttons are before you start: a change shows at the very moment of the step, and your answer has to go before the next step. A press at random counts as a mistake: only press for what you saw.

• Information perception and processing: the total first, the gauges in a sweep

  Update the total as soon as a number shows, then forget the numbers themselves; between two numbers, sweep the three gauges from left to right. Each letter sits under its gauge and has nothing to do with its position: look at the letter, not at the side's name.

• VLR - Spatial Orientation: count, do not picture the whole line

  The broken line is never shown in full: count the left and right turns as they appear, rather than trying to picture the complete figure from memory.

• Figure series: start with the token that moves the least

  Its rule reads faster, and it gives you a base to work out the others. Then check every rule against all the images shown before you pick: an option that only fits the fifth or sixth image is not the right one.

A practice plan per exercise

1. Cube folding and data processing: start with the corrections on and no timer, to understand each rule before timing yourself.
2. Triangles: repeat the round's two rules to yourself first, then go through the trials without looking at the corrections until the end.
3. Trajectory prediction: run it several times in a row to get used to how long the hidden zone lasts, rather than rushing through it once.
4. Rotating maze: on each new grid, test one wall first before rushing in, just long enough to work out the right direction.
5. Corridors: play it somewhere quiet, with the sound on; repeat the two blocked corridors to yourself during the announcements rather than only having seen them once.
6. Timed calculation: do the word problems without a timer first to learn the methods, before trying them under the time limit.
7. Vigilance and perception: do the short set first, practice included, then the full set once the rules are second nature; what counts is keeping it up over time.
8. Alternate exercises from one session to the next rather than repeating the same one: they are different mechanisms (folding, rule-based comparison, rule-based lookup, anticipating a hidden movement, staying oriented despite a rotated picture, visual and auditory memory, calculation under a time limit, vigilance, divided attention).

A few well-understood sets are worth more than one long session done at random.

The guide: Psychometric tests for pilots: where do you start?

Our guides to help you succeed

• Psychometric tests for pilots: where do you start?
• DLR Pilot Test: The Exercises and How to Train
• 2D and 3D Spatial Orientation: The Method
• Pilot Vigilance Tests: Staying Sharp Over Time
• Gauges and Mental Arithmetic: Divided Attention
• Triangles, Data Processing, Prediction: The Method
• Rotating Maze: Cracking the DLR Test Method

What the DLR series is not

The exercises of the DLR series are practice exercises, not official tests: they do not reproduce the test of any school or airline, and they measure neither your medical fitness nor your level as a pilot. A good score in practice does not predict the outcome of a selection.

ForAllPilots is not affiliated with any test publisher or any organisation. The exact rules and scoring of a selection test may differ from those of these exercises.

Frequently asked questions

The other sets of exercises

Each series has its own page, with its exercises, its practice tips and its guides.

• Air France - ENAC (FR)

  13 exercises, in French only.

• BQ

  Another set of exercises: cube comparison and cube nets (spatial awareness), matrices and figure series (logical reasoning) and word problems.

• CUT E / AON

  A third set of exercises: deductive reasoning, matrices, the multitask landing, directions (spatial transformation), position around a beacon (GYRO / RBI) and coordination with the tunnel.

• COMPASS

  A fourth set of exercises: flying a primary flight display, orientation from the instruments and short-term memory.