Memory Recall

Memory Recall is exercised constantly in daily life. When someone tells you a phone number and you hold it in mind long enough to dial, you are using auditory short-term memory. When you remember where you parked your car in a multi-storey car park, you are using spatial memory. When you glance at a shopping list and then walk through the shop recalling items without looking again, you are using visual memory with rehearsal.

Working memory, the more demanding form, is engaged whenever you must hold information in mind whilst simultaneously doing something else. Following spoken directions while driving (holding the next instruction in mind whilst navigating the current one), keeping track of a conversation involving multiple people, or remembering the first part of a long sentence while reading the rest all require working memory. These everyday demands mirror the memory challenges presented in pilot aptitude tests, where the candidate must encode information quickly, retain it through a period of distraction or competing task demands, and then retrieve it accurately on request.

• ATC clearances and readback:
• Air Traffic Control clearances routinely contain multiple pieces of information delivered in a single transmission: a heading to fly, an altitude to climb or descend to, a speed restriction, and a frequency to contact next. The pilot must listen to the entire clearance, retain all elements, read them back correctly, and then execute them in sequence. A missed element can result in a level bust, an incorrect heading, or a loss of communication with the controlling authority. This is a direct application of auditory short-term memory under time pressure.
• Approach briefings and procedures:
• Before commencing an instrument approach, the crew briefs the procedure: the inbound course, the decision altitude or minimum descent altitude, the missed approach procedure (including the heading to fly, the altitude to climb to, and the hold or routing to follow), and any relevant NOTAMs or restrictions. This information must be retained in working memory and recalled accurately if a go-around is required, often at a moment of high workload when there is no time to re-read the chart.
• Memory items in emergency procedures:
• Certain emergency procedures must be performed from memory before the crew has time to consult a checklist. These are known as "memory items" and typically cover the most time-critical actions: for example, the initial response to an engine fire, a rapid decompression, or a rejected takeoff. The ability to recall and execute these actions accurately under stress is a direct function of long-term memory retrieval, but the initial learning and rehearsal of these items relies on the same encoding and retention skills assessed in Memory Recall modules.
• Situational awareness and state tracking:
• Throughout a flight, the pilot must maintain an ongoing mental picture of the aircraft's state: the current altitude, heading, speed, fuel state, active frequency, selected navigation aids, and the position of other traffic. This continuous updating of information in working memory is the foundation of situational awareness. When workload increases (for example, during weather diversions or holding procedures), the demands on working memory increase correspondingly, and the risk of forgetting or confusing information rises.

• Power checks and performance figures:
• Before departure, helicopter pilots calculate and commit to memory a set of performance figures: the maximum permitted torque for the current conditions, the expected hover torque, the go-around torque margin, and the minimum single-engine climb speed if applicable. These figures must be retained throughout the departure phase and recalled instantly if performance is below expectations or if an engine fails during a critical phase of flight.
• HEMS and SAR mission briefings:
• Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and Search and Rescue (SAR) crews receive mission briefings that may include grid references, casualty information, hazard warnings, radio frequencies, hospital details and weather limitations. These briefings are often received whilst the crew is preparing the aircraft for departure, requiring them to encode and retain mission-critical information under time pressure and competing task demands.
• Low-level navigation and waypoint tracking:
• During low-level helicopter operations, particularly in military contexts, pilots navigate between waypoints using memorised headings, distances and timings. The pilot must hold the current leg's details in working memory whilst simultaneously flying the aircraft, monitoring instruments, and scanning for obstacles. Forgetting a waypoint heading or timing during a low-level sortie can result in a significant navigational error in a high-risk environment.

Memory failures in the cockpit are a well-documented source of operational risk. Forgotten clearances, missed checklist items, and lost situational awareness have all been identified as contributing factors in aviation incidents and accidents ^[3]. By assessing Memory Recall during selection, test designers are evaluating a candidate's baseline capacity for the kind of information retention that professional flying demands every day.

The variety of memory tasks used across different test systems (spatial sequences, auditory recall, visual association, n-back updating) reflects the variety of memory demands encountered in the cockpit. A pilot must be able to remember what they hear (ATC clearances), what they see (instrument readings, chart information), and what they do (procedure sequences), often simultaneously. Testing multiple types of memory provides a more comprehensive picture of the candidate's readiness for these demands.

Working memory capacity, the amount of information a person can hold and manipulate at one time, is a strong predictor of performance under high workload conditions ^[4]. In aviation, workload peaks during departure, arrival, approach, and any abnormal or emergency situation. During these phases, the pilot must retain and process multiple streams of information concurrently. A candidate with greater working memory capacity is better equipped to manage these demands without shedding important information.

Modules that assess working memory specifically (such as the DLR's n-back Visual Memory task or the reverse-order recall in Tracked Memory) are particularly diagnostic of this capacity. These tasks require the candidate not just to remember information, but to actively manipulate it, which is precisely the cognitive demand that increases during high-workload phases of flight.

Memory Recall is one of the most broadly assessed skills in pilot aptitude testing, with dedicated modules appearing in the Aon, COMPASS, Advanced COMPASS, DLR, Vienna Test System and Arctic Shores assessments. The DLR assessment alone includes three separate memory modules (Tracked Memory, Visual Memory MEK, and Visual Memory VMC), each targeting a different aspect of memory. This breadth of assessment reflects the central importance of memory to safe and effective pilot performance.

In spatial sequence tasks, the candidate observes a series of positions highlighted in sequence on a grid or arrangement of blocks, and must then reproduce that sequence from memory. The VTS Corsi Block-Tapping (CORSI) module uses nine irregularly placed blocks, with sequences that increase in length and include a requirement to recall sequences in reverse order. The Arctic Shores Tiles module presents sequences of coloured tiles that increase in length, with distraction tiles introduced in later stages.

These tasks assess visuospatial short-term and working memory: the ability to remember where things appeared and in what order. The reverse-recall component of the CORSI module adds a working memory demand, requiring the candidate to mentally reverse the sequence before responding.

In auditory recall tasks, the candidate listens to a sequence of numbers read aloud by the computer and must recall them, typically in reverse order. The DLR Tracked Memory (RMS) module presents 25 tasks in which randomly generated numbers are spoken, and the candidate must recall them in reverse order.

This format assesses the phonological loop component of working memory and places additional demand on the central executive through the requirement to reverse the sequence. The auditory delivery removes the option of re-reading the information, mirroring the real-world challenge of retaining spoken ATC clearances.

In visual associative tasks, the candidate must memorise pairings between visual elements and identifiers, and then recall the correct element when prompted with its identifier. The DLR Visual Memory (MEK) module presents 40 elements (which may include coloured shapes, text or numbers) each paired with a randomly generated number. The candidate must memorise these pairings and reproduce them on request.

This format assesses the ability to form and retrieve associations between items, a type of memory that is directly relevant to cockpit operations where the pilot must remember which instrument shows which parameter, which frequency belongs to which station, and which checklist action relates to which system.

In n-back tasks, the candidate views a continuous stream of items (such as coloured shapes) and must indicate whether the current item matches the item shown n positions earlier. The DLR Visual Memory (VMC) module presents 40 coloured shapes and requires the candidate to continuously update their memory, discarding old items and comparing each new item against the item held in memory from n steps ago.

The n-back format is one of the most demanding memory assessments used in pilot aptitude testing. It requires constant updating of the contents of working memory, sustained attention, and the ability to inhibit responses to items that are similar but not identical to the target. This mirrors the continuous updating demands of maintaining situational awareness during flight.

In aviation information recall tasks, the candidate is shown information in a format resembling real cockpit data (altitude, heading, speed, radio frequency) and must memorise and recall it after a brief interval. The COMPASS and Advanced COMPASS Memory modules present aviation-relevant data and require the candidate to recall it accurately.

This format has high face validity for pilot selection: it directly mirrors the operational task of receiving, retaining and recalling aviation-specific information. The data presented is structured in a way that is meaningful within an aviation context, which allows candidates with aviation knowledge to apply chunking strategies (grouping related values together) to improve their performance.

Some memory modules embed the recall task within a broader assessment that includes a concurrent cognitive demand. The Aon Working Memory (gridChallenge) module requires the candidate to memorise the positions and order of dots displayed on screen, but between memorisation and recall phases, the candidate must answer spatial reasoning questions (identifying mirrored or rotated images). This dual-task design adds a realistic element of distraction, requiring the candidate to protect the memorised information from interference whilst performing a different cognitive task.

This format is particularly relevant to aviation, where memory is rarely tested in isolation. In the cockpit, the pilot must retain information (such as a clearance or a procedure step) while simultaneously managing other tasks (flying the aircraft, communicating, monitoring systems). The dual-task memory module assesses the candidate's ability to maintain information in working memory under exactly this kind of competing cognitive demand.

Memory Recall is assessed in the following pilot aptitude test systems:

The table below outlines the Memory Recall modules in each assessment, linking each to the relevant preparation activity in our software.

Having identified the modules relevant to your assessment, you can navigate directly to the corresponding activities within our software.

Our software organises activities by the type of assessment you are preparing for, the skill being evaluated, and the specific airline, flying school or cadet scheme you are applying to. This means you do not need to manually cross-reference the table above; the relevant Memory Recall activities will already be included in your tailored preparation.

To find the activities relevant to you, navigate to one of the following within the software:

• Activities by Aptitude Test
• If you know which test system your assessment uses. For example, to find Memory Recall activities for the DLR, navigate to Activities by Aptitude Test and select DLR.
• Activities by Skill
• If you want to focus specifically on Memory Recall across all test systems. Navigate to Activities by Skill and select Memory Recall to see every relevant activity.
• Activities by Airline, Flying School or Cadet Scheme
• If you know where you are applying but not which test system is used. Navigate to Activities by Airline or Activities by Flying School and select your chosen organisation. The software will include the appropriate Memory Recall activities alongside all other relevant preparation.

If you have created a Preparation Strategy, the relevant Memory Recall activities will already appear in your Focus Activities; no additional navigation is required.

Memory Recall is closely associated with several other competencies assessed in pilot aptitude testing. Candidates preparing for Memory Recall modules may also benefit from developing the following related skills: