Originally Posted by
sheppey
What embarrassing nonsense. As the simulator assessment is a test of manual flying skill, multi-tasking as well as CRM, it would just as effective to have the candidate fly the simulator with one hand and with the other pat his head and rub his tummy and have the support pilot operating both thrust levers.(CRM at its best).
Leave the testing of mental capacity to a qualified psychologist; not an amateur who wouldn't haven't a clue
People have been complaining about this part of the assessment for a few years now.... most likely because they don't understand exactly what is being tested and make their own assumptions. e.g. "as a distraction and
perhaps to test your mental capacity."
Have a good read of the info wlshwzd posted.
Take note how the Sim gets paused for some specific questions and not others.
When I did my interview, I was currently flying the 737 (which is the Sim they used) so wasn't overloaded by a "strange type". The guys kept asking me questions throughout the detail as wlshwzd said, and I answered
most of them. When it came to manually flying a hold with the RMI (something I wasn't overly current at), I said something to effect of "I need to concentrate here, will answer that later". They immediately left me alone. Same again on the ILS, intercepting off a heading watching for the lead radial, I again asked them to the hold the questions and they did.
While I'm sure there is some element of "mental testing" (i.e. if you can't answer 2+2 while flying S&L) it really is just a distraction test.
You should prioritize flying the plane and not allow yourself to balls up an exercise because you prioritized the question during a critical phase of flight.
This part of the Sim actually tied into the interview questions I got. What's the sterile cockpit policy at your Airline? Do you break SOP's? How would you respond to a Captain who does? What's the stable gate criteria? What if you're "almost stable" at that point? etc etc etc
Personally, having worked at a few Airlines over the years, I much prefer the Air NZ sim over others I've done. They aren't looking for perfection and recognize most applicants wont have experience on the given type.