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Old 11th Apr 2006, 10:59
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Confabulous
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Ireland
Age: 44
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A good friend of mine went for the GAPAN tests, only to be told he was 'on the low side of average'. Didn't stop him being called 'well above average' by his flight instructor. The GAPANs are for all intents and purposes useless. God knows how many people have been put off commercial flying careers by these people.

This isn't just secondhand experience, I went myself and was confronted by tests to remember a string of numbers and letter (all with no context, i.e 56473 as opposed to 122.85, DFGDB as opposed to LIFFY). The funniest one was being required to keep a ball in the centre of a screen, and after a minute finding the controls reversed. Fair enough for a test pilot, but not a commercial candidate. I got an 'average, tending to slightly below average' by the way, and so far my instructors seem very pleased with my progress. So it's utter, utter toss. They'd be better off sticking us in front of MS Flight sim - at least that would be more representative.

Actually it was an interesting experience - coming out of the interview to be confronted by one of the owners of a certain flight training organisation (coincidentally one of the GAPAN briefers as well) to see if he could convince me to train with his school, while reeling from the news that I was 'below average'. On hearing this, he muttered that I shouldn't believe everything I hear! Ok he was right, but the connections are clear - get them in, take their money and then sell them a 'solution'.

Ignore their 1950s meanderings and get down to the business of flying and learning - that's the only way you'll know.
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