Navigating Flight School Assessments: My Experience with the AON Assessment

Embarking on the journey to become a commercial pilot is both thrilling and demanding, and one of the early hurdles is passing various flight school assessments. These tests are designed to evaluate your potential as a pilot—looking at cognitive abilities, coordination, decision-making, and how you perform under pressure. They can be quite varied, depending on the flight school or airline, but they all share the same goal: finding candidates who can handle the demands of flying.

My AON Assessment Experience

Recently, I had the opportunity to take the AON assessment, which is one of the more well-known aptitude tests used by some flight schools and training organisations. It’s a computer-based test that challenges you with tasks involving multitasking, hand-eye coordination, memory, and logical thinking. To be honest, I was a bit nervous going in, but I found the experience really valuable.

How I Prepared

In preparation, I used Pilot Assessments, and I can’t recommend it enough. Their practice material is spot on and gives you a real feel for what to expect. One thing to note is that the practice assessments are actually longer and a bit more intense than the real thing. But that’s a good thing—it means when you sit down for the real AON test, it feels much more manageable.

My Top Tips

1. Practise Just Before the Real Thing: Doing a full practice session right before the actual assessment really helped me get into the right headspace. It’s like a warm-up that gets your brain firing on all cylinders.

2. Don’t Let Mistakes Get to You: If you feel like you’ve messed something up, just let it go and move on. The worst thing you can do is dwell on it and let it affect the rest of your performance. Stay focused and keep going.

3. Try Your Best: It sounds simple, but giving it your all, staying calm, and staying confident makes a big difference.

Final Thoughts

The AON assessment, like many pilot aptitude tests, is designed to challenge you. But with the right preparation and mindset, it’s completely doable. Resources like Pilot Assessments give you a solid edge, and taking the time to understand the format and practise effectively will really pay off.

Fly high and good luck!