ADAPT Pilot Test Explained: What Symbiotics Screening Covers

The practice set. Each task is original, timed, and scored. None of them is an item from a live ADAPT test.

Why the email says ADAPT, Symbiotics or CAE

ADAPT is a pilot aptitude product from Symbiotics. CAE uses it on many of the cadet programmes it delivers for airlines, so the careers page may name the airline and CAE, while the invitation names Symbiotics or ADAPT. On the routes listed below, those labels describe the same screening step.

That does not mean an airline uses ADAPT everywhere. Some carriers screen with Aon on their own account and use ADAPT only on the CAE cadet route.

How long it takes

There is no published time limit that applies to every ADAPT sitting. Some campaigns run one continuous online session with several tasks; others split the control exercises from the maths and reasoning sections. Your invitation tells you which format you will get.

What the tasks look like

Most ADAPT work means doing more than one thing at once, or keeping a manual control stable while something else asks for an answer. Speed matters on the timed parts, but a fast wrong answer does not help, and neither does dropping one job to do another perfectly.

The examples below match the practice tasks on this site, which are built around what candidates report. The timings are our practice timings, not a published Symbiotics schedule.

• Ball and Plate: tilt the plate so the ball stays on the centre circle while the plate keeps shifting.
• Cockpit: four jobs at once: flying through gates, watching traffic, keeping fuel within a band, and answering a character question when it appears.
• Cube Folding: study an unfolded cube net and decide which 3D cube it folds into.

ADAPT sittings can also include flight manoeuvres, figure comparison, left-right judgement, maths and physics. The full set with descriptions is on the ADAPT preparation page.

Which pathways use Symbiotics ADAPT

The airlines and cadet routes below are reported to use ADAPT for at least one pathway. Most of this comes from CAE programme pages and candidate reports, and a new hiring campaign can change the battery, so treat the list as a guide and let your invitation have the final word.

Not on this list as an ADAPT screen: Ryanair, Jet2 and many other carriers that candidates report as Aon for their own online filter. Emirates, Etihad and Transavia name COMPASS on their cadet and pilot pages.

How to prepare

Memorising answers will not carry you: the programme chooses the mix, and the numbers change between runs on the maths and physics tasks. What transfers is practising each skill under time pressure until you know which job you drop first when the load goes up, and then training that job.

Our free ADAPT practice includes four tasks: Ball and Plate, Cube Folding, Distinguish Left and Right, and Scan and Compare Figures. The full preparation adds Cockpit, Flight Test, Maths and Physics. Every task is timed and scored, and the training hub compares your results with other candidates and suggests what to practise next.

Start the free ADAPT practice →

If your invitation names Aon or COMPASS instead, use the practice for that battery. Aon, ADAPT and COMPASS are all included in the same Pilot Preparation subscription. Practice for PILAPT, FAST and TestAir360 is not available yet.

The short version

Symbiotics ADAPT is the aptitude screen CAE uses on many cadet routes, and a few other programmes use it too. Your invitation decides the mix, so train the control, attention and reasoning tasks under a clock rather than chasing answers. Start with the free practice to see the pace, and you will know within one session where your weak spots are.

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