The RAF aptitude test decides which trades are open to you, and mechanical comprehension is part of it

The RAF's aptitude test includes mechanical comprehension alongside verbal and numerical reasoning, spatial reasoning, electrical comprehension and a work rate exercise. Our mechanical test drills gears, levers, pulleys and forces, and our reasoning test covers the verbal and numerical sections.

We have no electrical comprehension, work rate or spatial section that matches the RAF's, and our questions are original rather than RAF items. The RAF links to its own online practice test from its role pages, which is the closest guide to the real format. Required scores differ by trade and are not published on the pages we read.

The RAF describes its aptitude test as a way of showing which trades might suit you. It works more like a sorting tool than a single hurdle, so the trades open to you depend on how you score across the sections.

Look at the trades you want before you prepare, and ask your careers office which sections they weigh. The RAF does not publish trade-by-trade score requirements on the pages we read, so that conversation is the honest way to decide where to spend your practice time.

The older RAF booklet defines each test. Verbal reasoning is using and interpreting written information. Numerical reasoning is working with fractions, decimals and formulae and interpreting numerical information. Mechanical comprehension is working with mechanical concepts. Spatial reasoning is how shapes and objects work. Work rate is a timed coding exercise, and electrical comprehension uses circuit-style questions.

Newer role pages describe six sections, with memory dropped. Some pages are years apart, so check the current description on the RAF role page and use its practice test before you book.

Mechanical items usually turn on a handful of ideas: gears turning in opposite directions, levers trading force for distance, pulleys sharing load, and pressure spreading through liquids. Once those are familiar, many questions become quick.

Our mechanical aptitude test drills those ideas with worked explanations, and the guide to passing one shows which principles come up most. For the circuit questions, revise series and parallel circuits from GCSE physics.

After the aptitude test, the RAF lists a selection interview at your local Armed Forces Careers Office. It covers family life, education, work experience, interests and what you know about the RAF and your chosen role. Some roles add a second interview or test at an RAF base over one to three days.

The health assessment focuses on hearing, eyesight and body mass index and reviews past illnesses. The Pre-Joining Fitness Test is a 2.4km run at a local gym with a target that depends on age and gender; RAF Regiment applicants run 2km in 9:30.

Officer and aircrew applicants may sit an additional computer-based aptitude test at RAF Cranwell, depending on the role, and attend the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre. There, officers assess leadership, teamwork, communication, motivation and problem solving.

A provisional offer of service interview checks that you understand the terms of service before training. Reserves complete basic recruit training at RAF Halton over 15 days. Our spatial reasoning test is useful practice for the shape section.