AETC deploys new pilot screening test for FY07

By 1Lt Kirk Reimer, AETC SAS PCSM Program Manager

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS)—AETC will field a new and mandatory psychomotor skills test to be required by all candidates meeting pilot selection boards after 1 October 2006.  Replacement of the existing Basic Aptitude Test (BAT) with the new Test of Basic Aviation Skills (TBAS) this summer represents an AETC initiative to harness science and technology to screen candidates and train the pilot force more efficiently.

Pilot selection boards meeting after 1 October 2006, will require all candidates to have taken the TBAS prior to record closeout, which typically occurs two weeks before the board date.  BAT results are still required for pilot selection boards meeting before that date.  Candidates who have taken the BAT must wait 120 days before re-testing with the TBAS.  Note that the minimum time required between two successive BAT tests remains at 180 days, as will be the case for successive TBAS tests.  Candidates are highly encouraged to take the BAT as soon as possible if they are meeting a board requiring BAT and to maximize their time window to take TBAS for a subsequent board. 

Prospective pilot candidates should pay close attention to two key dates:  BAT testing will be discontinued at all testing locations by 17 July 2006.  Some test locations may dismantle BAT and/or install TBAS sooner than others, so check with your recruiter or Test Control Officer for specifics; however, all TBAS locations must begin administering TBAS no later than 14 August 2006.  For the most current information, visit the Pilot Candidate Selection Method (PCSM) website: http://www.aetc.randolph.af.mil/sas/pcsm/.

Both TBAS and BAT measure psychomotor skills proven to be correlated to successful completion of Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT), including hand-eye coordination and listening response.  Aviation aptitude, as measured by the AF Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) and previous flying experience are two other key indicators correlated to success in UPT.  The PCSM program weights these three indicators—BAT or TBAS, AFOQT, and flying hours—and combines them into a single PCSM score.  Pilot selection boards use PCSM scores as a part of their process to evaluate and select candidates for SUPT.

In a memo to recruiting and cadet training units, Maj Gen (select) Richard E. Perraut, Jr., Air Education and Training Command Director of Plans, Requirements and Programs, said, “TBAS replaces the BAT with newer hardware and improved tests which incorporate recent advances in psychomotor and cognitive research.”  The TBAS system incorporates modern computer capability and low-glare, flat-screen monitors, as well as updated joystick and foot pedal controls which look, feel and perform more realistically.  TBAS is also an adaptable platform that can facilitate new research to advance the science of pilot screening.

Sidebar:

Candidates meeting pilot selection boards before 1 October are required to take the BAT.  BAT testing ends by 16 July, and the BAT systems will be deactivated no later than 17 July.

Candidates meeting pilot selection boards after 1 October are required to take the TBAS no later than the record closeout deadline, usually two weeks prior to board date.

Candidates wanting to be prepared to meet a board requiring the BAT and a later board requiring TBAS, must plan to take the BAT early enough to allow 120 days before re-testing with TBAS.