SIFT case studies
SIFT · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Selection Instrument for Flight Training (SIFT) is the battery the U.S. Army uses to assess candidates who want to become aviators - most often applicants for warrant officer flight training, and also commissioning-path candidates who need a flight aptitude score on file. It is computer-delivered and made up of seven separately timed subtests, each measuring a different slice of the ability profile that flight school leans on: fast visual discrimination, locating shapes buried in visual clutter, reading aircraft attitude from an instrument depiction, comprehending technical prose, straightforward arithmetic, basic physical and mechanical reasoning, and a block of foundational Army aviation knowledge covering aerodynamics, flight controls, and service terminology. The score is one input in a larger selection file that also includes physical qualification, records, and interviews, so a strong result helps without guaranteeing anything on its own. The SIFT case studies are 5 cases and about 2,886 words.
1Hidden Figures: Checking a Candidate's Fast Identification
You are coaching a candidate on Hidden Figures. On each item the candidate sees a jumble of labeled line segments drawn on a square grid and must decide which subset forms the stated target figure.
571 words, about 3 min2Army Aviation Information: Density Altitude and a Confined-Area Go/No-Go
A UH-60 crew plans a training insertion into a mountain landing zone. Field elevation is 4,200 ft MSL, the altimeter setting is 29.92 inHg, and the forecast temperature at the LZ is 32 C.
607 words, about 3 min3Spatial Apperception: Reading Bank and Pitch from a Windscreen View
A candidate is working an untimed Spatial Apperception practice set. In frame A the true horizon crosses the windscreen at about 20 degrees to the horizontal, with the right end of the horizon as the high end: sky fills the upper-left of the view and ground the lower-right.
568 words, about 3 min4Reading Comprehension: What a Memo Actually Supports
A candidate is practising inference questions on the memo below. Her habit is to choose any option that echoes a number from the passage, and she has twice picked answers that go further than the text.
544 words, about 3 min5Mechanical Comprehension: Will the Winch Lift the Crate?
A maintenance team is rigging a temporary winch. A motor turns at 1,200 rpm and delivers 2.0 N-m of torque.
596 words, about 3 min