Ryanair

The Simulator Assessment

Lesson 3 of 4•1 min read•3 exercises

The simulator check — typically flown in a Boeing 737 simulator, reflecting Ryanair's single-type fleet — is not a test of whether you can already fly the aircraft. It is a test of trainability: basic handling, instrument scan, and how you respond to instruction and workload.

What assessors look for

Raw-data handling: holding headings, altitudes and speeds without automation doing it for you.
Scan discipline: a steady instrument scan that does not collapse when a secondary task appears.
Following instructions: applying a correction the first time it is given — assessors weight improvement between attempts heavily.
Crew behaviour: communicating clearly, sharing workload with the other candidate, and staying composed after mistakes.

How to prepare

Review basic instrument flying theory and standard rate turns, climbs and descents, and chair-fly the profile until the numbers are automatic. If you can, book an hour in a fixed-base simulator beforehand. In the assessment itself, verbalise what you are doing, correct errors without dwelling on them, and remember that a calm recovery from a mistake often scores better than an error-free but silent performance.

What the test looks like

A worked example from each exercise in this lesson, exactly as the test presents it.

Hand-Eye-Foot Coordination Test

Example: what the test looks like

You fly the blue aircraft over the runway and keep it centred inside the coloured target gate. Every few seconds a disturbance pushes it sideways, forward/backward, and rolls it — apply opposite yaw, pitch, and roll to bring it back, exactly like the drift-and-recover loop below. In Assessment mode the live score is hidden, mirroring real pilot assessments.

Assessment mode · demo

This preview flies itself — in the real test every correction is yours, via keyboard, game controller, or rudder pedals. Drift past the runway edges, the forward/backward band, or roll beyond 55° and you lose points.

Path Following Test

Multitasking Test

Practice the relevant tests

Assessment-grade exercises to practice the relevant competences.

4:00

Hand-Eye-Foot Coordination Test

A real-time three-axis coordination test. Keep the aircraft centred on the target runway while periodic disturbances push it left/right, forward/backward, and roll it from side to side. Best practised with a game controller or rudder pedals mapped to the three control axes.

6 minNeuro-SensomotoricGamepad

2/5

Path Following Test

A hand-eye coordination test of fine-motor precision, built on the continuous path-tracking format used across pilot aptitude screening. Steer a dot along a winding track from the green start to the red end without drifting off the path. The same route repeats each round so your improvement is measurable.

4 minNeuro-SensomotoricGamepad

2:14

PilotVeterinarianTeacher

Multitasking Test

Two tasks at once: scan number grids for duplicate pairs while answering spoken questions from your phonebook, agenda, mental math and word categories — some of which must be answered at an exact moment on the clock.

6 minIntellectual

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