Well, stage 2 is not a twilight zone, I have been there and survived to tell the tale. Just! It's a full day of computer-based and written aptitude testing... no surprises, nothing juicy to report... You need to get along there for 0930 (ouch!) and the day kicks off with a talk / q&a session on the scheme. There are up to 20 candidates per date, which, split into two groups, is essentially the capacity of the venue. Everyone seemed pretty high calibre, all with at least some sort of flying experience and I didn't meet anyone I wouldn't happily fly with (I can detect dickheads very rapidly!).
Not a very diverse bunch of people - overwhelmingly male, white, middle class - obviously this isn't a social inclusion project, but I do wonder why wannabes are all so alike! Strange. Would make a PhD actually.
As for what tests to expect, the computer tests are for co-ordination, arithmetic, memory, multi-tasking, and can get quite demanding if not impossible. But as far as preperation goes, each test has instructions and also gives you a practice example/game before you begin. There's also a group discussion exercise slotted in, again designed to be done without prior preperation. You're jumping in cold but the water's warm. It's a good day!
As for the silence from everyone who's done stage 2 already... probably because a) they're now conscious that the CTC people read this pprune stuff and are sensitive to it; b) Mary et al are perfectly nice, open and dedicated people, so once in there we're able to learn enough that there's little mystery or unanswered questions left to gossip or whine about; and c) folks either have been too busy rushing back for stage 3 and 4 already, or, are instead off drowning their sorrows having sampled the comforts of CTC's rather nice Dibden country club, er, training centre, and admired the hundreds of photos of recent type-rating graduates for EasyJet, BA, et al, but been unsuccessful in getting themselves invited back anytime soon!