ATC Aptitude Prep vs Merchant Navy Aptitude Test
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ATC Aptitude Prep
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Passing isn't the same as getting hired. The FAA's published pass mark for its air traffic controller aptitude test is 70%. But it sorts everyone who passes into score bands — and since 2018 it has selected candidates only from the top two: Well Qualified (85–89%) and Best Qualified (90%+). Thousands of people pass every year and are never referred. Most prep aims at the pass. ATC Aptitude Prep aims at the band. WHAT YOU GET • 2,100 original practice questions across the nine skills every ATC selection battery tests • Six interactive timed drills, generated fresh every run — nothing to memorise, only skill to build • A full-length practice battery: 100 questions in 100 minutes, scored into the real bands • A worked explanation for every single answer — the method, not just the letter • Spaced repetition that resurfaces what you got wrong, right before you'd forget it • A readiness score and per-skill mastery, so you always know what to work on tonight • Flashcards and a glossary: ICAO phonetics, headings, Zulu time, flight levels, separation • Works fully offline. No account. No sign-in. No ads. No tracking. THE NINE SKILLS Spatial reasoning & 3D orientation · Numerical, time & distance · Pattern recognition & sequences · Working memory · Multitasking & divided attention · Logical reasoning & analogies · Situational judgment & prioritisation · Scanning & visual search · ATC knowledge basics The FAA's assessment, EUROCONTROL FEAST, NATS, NAV CANADA and Airservices Australia were developed independently — and all converge on these same constructs. None requires prior aviation knowledge. They measure aptitude, and aptitude is trainable. THE SIX DRILLS Heading & Turn · Radar Scan · Clearance Memory · Dual-Task · Sequence Sprint · Time to Conflict Every round is generated fresh, so you can run them forever. Speed is scored on every real battery, not just accuracy — the questions teach the method, the drills build the speed. HONESTY ABOUT WHAT THIS IS No ATC selection battery publishes its test items — they are proprietary and only ever seen in a supervised test centre. Nobody can sell you "the real questions." Every question, drill and explanation here is an original work, written from public descriptions of the skills these tests measure. PURCHASE REQUIRED ATC Aptitude Prep is free to download, and a purchase is required to use it — there is no free tier. All three plans unlock everything: • Monthly — $9.99 per month, auto-renewing • Annual — $49.99 per year (about $4.17/month) with a 3-DAY FREE TRIAL, auto-renewing • Lifetime — $99.99 one-time purchase, never renews Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Prices are in US dollars and may vary by storefront. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://joykhansayan1.github.io/atc-aptitude-prep/privacy.html DISCLAIMER ATC Aptitude Prep is an independent study aid. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, sponsored by, or associated with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pearson VUE, EUROCONTROL, NATS, NAV CANADA, Airservices Australia, or any other testing authority. ATSA, FEAST and all other marks are the property of their respective owners and are used only to describe the kind of aptitude testing this app helps you practise. No real test questions are reproduced. The ATC reference material is simplified for study and is not for operational use.
Merchant Navy Aptitude Test
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Everything a deck officer gets tested on, and everything a cadet faces before they get there. 35 training modules covering bridge watchkeeping, navigation, the Rules of the Road, signals, engine-room reasoning and the aptitude papers used in cadet selection. NOT A FIXED CARD DECK Most maritime study apps hand you a set list of questions to memorise. This one builds every item from the underlying rules. Light fits come from the COLREG light rules, buoys from the IALA system, circuits and gear trains from physics. Run a module twice and the questions are different. Nothing can be learned by rote. WATCHKEEPING (8 modules) Bridge Watchkeeping: hold detection accuracy across a full 10-minute watch, where fatigue is the real opponent AIS Target Stream: routine traffic streams past and the pace quickens; react only to the rare distress signal Target Count Buoy Comparison Bridge Console Radar & VHF Helm & Calculation Traffic Priority NAVIGATION (5 modules) Relative Motion: judge CPA, TCPA and bearing drift straight off the radar picture, then hold the skill when the display flips from north-up to head-up Chart Grid Relative Bearing Compass & Chart Work Passage Planning RULES & SIGNALS (6 modules) - Rules of the Road: crossing, head-on, overtaking and the Rule 18 hierarchy, by day and from lights alone at night. Every scene carries genuine risk of collision and exactly one defensible call - Navigation Lights & Day Shapes: who is she, what is she doing, which way is she heading - IALA Buoyage: laterals, cardinals, danger and safe-water marks in both Region A and Region B. The red/green flip is the classic trap; drill it until it is automatic - Sound Signals: whistle signals by ear, synthesised live. Hear it, count it, name it - Signal Alphabet & Flags: five layers per token, flag, letter, phonetic word, morse and meaning, with Aldis-lamp morse and hoist decoding - Colour Vision: practise the plate-reading format, every plate generated fresh so nothing can be memorised ENGINE ROOM (2 modules) - Mechanical Comprehension: animated gears, belts, tackles, levers, rams and ramps. Every distractor is a classic mistake - Electrical Comprehension: which lamps burn, which burns brightest, what a blown fuse takes down COMMS & CODES (5 modules) - Position Report Recall • Radio Read-Back • VHF Traffic • Identity Check - Code Matching EXAM CORE (9 modules) - Mental Arithmetic, Number Series, Matrices, Logic & Reasoning - Verbal Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Tables & Charts - Cube Rotation, Cube Folding The spatial, numerical and verbal items that academy and sponsorship papers still use. Not seamanship, but it is in the exam, so it is in the app. CHOOSE YOUR ROLE Tell the app whether you are heading for the deck, the engine room or a traffic-monitoring seat, and the modules that matter most come first. Change it whenever your career does. WORKS AT SEA Everything runs offline. No account, no sign-up, no connection required. WHO IT IS FOR Deck cadets and officer candidates preparing for academy entrance and shipping company selection. Watchkeeping officers refreshing the rules before a revalidation. Marine engineers and ETO candidates working through mechanical and electrical reasoning. Anyone preparing for a naval or traffic-monitoring selection battery. The Colour Vision module is screening practice only. It is not a medical test and cannot replace an official examination; screen calibration and ambient light both affect results. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any maritime university, administration, shipping company or certification body. Module content is written for study and does not replace official publications. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: https://deck.candevecioglu.com/support/ Terms of Use: https://deck.candevecioglu.com/terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://deck.candevecioglu.com/privacy-policy/
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Verdict
ATC Aptitude Prep and Merchant Navy Aptitude Test are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. ATC Aptitude Prep sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Merchant Navy Aptitude Test sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | ATC Aptitude Prep | Merchant Navy Aptitude Test |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MD Shahariar Nazim Joy | Can Devecioglu |
In-app purchases
ATC Aptitude Prep
- Monthly$9.991 Month
- Annual3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Lifetime Access$99.99
Merchant Navy Aptitude Test
- Weekly$4.997 Days
- Lifetime$19.99
Questions
Is ATC Aptitude Prep free?
Is Merchant Navy Aptitude Test free?
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