Airline assessments are the last hurdle between any cadet and their first airline job. One of the aspects that forms a key part of this recruitment process is a simulator assessment. With Ryanair recently starting recruitment again for low time pilots we have put together a brief look at what you can expect, and importantly where you can prepare for this all important assessment.
To view the full list of simulator assessment preparation options click here.
What can I expect?
While every airline simulator assessment differs they often share key components.
- Briefing - You will normally be given a short amount of time to brief your simulator partner on the departure you plan to fly. Highlight things such as altitude and speed restrictions, and inform them of any calls you are expecting them to make, for example distances for turns. Try to bring in a short discussion of T.E.M.
- Departure/SID - The flying segment will often start on the runway and require you to fly a departure, usually following a SID. If your brief was thorough this should be straightforward and something you have plenty of experience of from your MCC/APS.
- General Handling - You will often be asked to complete some steep turns, climbs and descents. You may also be asked to perform accelerations and decelerations. These are designed to test your scan technique as you will be flying mainly on the instruments.
- NAV Aid Work - This depends entirely on the assessment, and could be anything from "where are you relative to the X,Y,Z Nav Aid?" to flying a full NDB hold. Expect at-least some radial tracking.
- An Event/Emergency - You will often then be 'paused' and given an event or situation to deal with. This is purely to test you CRM work and your knowledge of a decision making model.
- Brief and Approach - After making your decision you'll complete an approach brief, again considering T.E.M, before then hopefully flying a successful approach and landing.
Do I need to prepare?
Yes, if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. That being said, if you are fresh out of your MCC/APS and importantly are familiar with the type your assessment is going to be on, getting additional preparation might be a waste of money. Ultimately, only you can tell if you are prepared for an assessment or not.
Where can I prepare?
Pilot Network is a flight school comparison platform, so we have asked our Verified Training Providers on the offerings they have for simulator prep. Listed A-Z here are their options...
Updated 16/02/2021
Airline Experience (UK)
Our simulator assessment preparation course offers a downloadable guide to the assessment day and we recommend at least 2 hours in our simulator for £50 an hour. If you would like to bring a colleague we can use our multi crew simulator for £150 an hour that can be split between both pilots.
50/hr - Single Crew
150/hr - Multi Crew (Price can be split between both pilots)
Read reviews and find out more...
Aviation Insider (Various Locations)
Aviation Insider offer professional, Simulator Assessment Preparation Sessions that are designed to give you the best possible chance of passing your simulator check and getting the job. Our preparation sessions have been created to be as close to the real assessment as possible with previous client feedback but we don’t just teach you what previous clients had, we equip you with the tools to handle all situations.
For Prices and Booking Click Here
Read reviews and find out more...
EAS Barcelona (Spain)
For preparation for airline assessment we offer a two-hour training package in either the Airbus A320, or Boeing 737NG Simulator with a type-qualified instructor at a cost of €500 for two hours. In the sim session all the manoeuvres normally required in the assessment will be practiced with the parameters required by the assessment examiner.
€250/hr per person.
Read reviews and find out more...
Jet Masterclass (UK)
We offer a 2-hour simulator prep session with a TRI/SFI for £750 + VAT. We specialise in raw data manual flying and our pilots have had great success with sim assessments for many airlines. We are a type rating training provider, so we know the standard required. We host both TUI and Virgin recruitment at our facility, so we have a very good understand of what the recruiters are looking for.
£187.50 + VAT/hr per person (if the session is shared between two pilots)
Read reviews and find out more...
Motion (UK)
We are very pleased to extend our discounted rate to those pilots who are seeking employment, during the horrible COVID Situation. This rate is £60/hr. Fully inclusive, with an excellent instructor and free guides sent by email.
£60/hr per person
Read reviews and find out more...
Skyborne Airline Academy (UK)
Skyborne offer one day sessions to prepare you for every element of your airline recruitment process, with tailored options to suit your needs.
Our passionate and highly experiences instructors will provide world leading guidance at our purpose built training facility and include assessments in the UKs first fixed-base B737 MAX simulator. Sessions with our supportive team are aimed to develop your skills as you familiarise yourself with next-generation equipment and build your ability and confidence to prepare you for success.
As well as the simulator time booked, our sessions include a 2-hour assessment preparation workshop, a one-hour brief and post simulator debrief for you and your sim partner.
2hr Sessions - £650 inc VAT per pair
3hr Sessions - £900 inc VAT per pair
4hr Sessions - £1,200 inc VAT per pair
£162.5 inc VAT/hr per person (for a 2 hour session, discounts apply to longer sessions)
Read reviews and find out more...
SimAir 737 (UK)
Our SimAir 737 pre-sim assessment sessions are all conducted on our fixed-base B737-800 simulator at Gloucestershire Airport and include comprehensive briefing and debriefing; all relevant instrument approach plates, checklists etc.
The team at SimAir 737 have directly helped many pilots start their airline careers or move into new employment with airlines such as Easyjet, Ryanair, Thomas Cook and Jet2, to name but a few!
Standard Prices are:
£179.00 for 60 minutes
£269.00 for 120 minutes
We currently are running a sale which reduce the price to:
£71.60/hr per person (Sale Price)
Read reviews and find out more...
VA Airline Training (UK)
To support all pilots (both experienced and new), we have made access to our excellent FTD1 type-specific (A320 and B737) simulators and talented instructors more flexible and affordable. Our 'dry' hire rates are at a spectacularly affordable COVID special of 50% of our usual rate and our 'wet' hire (with instructor) rates for sim preps and LPCs have been very experienced in preparing pilots specifically for the Dublin B737 Type Rating assessments; which have now recommenced.
All VA APS MCC Graduates currently (due COVID) get 2-hours (1PF/1PM) FREE crew-pair sim-prep included in their course fee (Crew Refresher Training), 6-months after course completion or before an airline assessment sim ride whichever comes sooner. This means that APS MCC Graduates are always ready and fresh prior to meeting an airline assessor.
Individual sim-prep solutions special COVID fees:
Simulator Dry Hire - £120 inc VAT per hour (£60 per pilot) - crew need to be familiar with type (TR or APS MCC)
Simulator Wet Hire (with an instructor) - £240 inc VAT per crew per hour (£120 per pilot)
£60/hr inc VAT per person (dry hire)
£120/hr inc VAT per person (wet hire - includes instructor)
Read reviews and find out more...
To view the full list of simulator assessment preparation options click here.
Thank you to all our verified training providers for providing this information. If you are an ATO and wish to be added to our list please contact us.
HR and Technical Assessments
The simulator assessment only forms a small part of the standard airline assessment day. You will also face a HR, Technical and sometimes group interview. These can be the point that even the most competent pilots come un-stuck.
If you feel you need to prepare for this section of the assessment then we recommend you consider using our partners at AirlinePrep who offer bespoke support to pilots both in airline assessments. They are the only airline interview and assessment training provider associated to BALPA.
To find the latest available pilot jobs visit our partners at PilotBase.
We hope you find this helpful
The Pilot Network Team
