Skip to the page
Independent practice site, run by civiliansFacts last checked:
Military Aptitude Tests
Menu

Air Force pilot selection · AFPC pages checked Nov 6, 2026

PCSM score: AFOQT Pilot, TBAS and flying hours

Updated Nov 6, 2026

PCSM, the Pilot Candidate Selection Method, is the Air Force's pilot-aptitude score. It is built from three inputs: TBAS, your highest AFOQT Pilot score on file (or EPQT for enlisted RPA) and civilian flying hours; the weights are not released and a private pilot license by itself adds nothing.

Three inputs, one score

AFPC does not release the weights, so the boxes show what goes in, not how much each counts.

  1. AFOQT Pilot compositehighest on fileMK · TR · IC · AI
  2. TBAS9 subtests
  3. Civilian flying hoursCapped (60 or 41+)
  4. PCSM1–99

Source: AFPC PCSM FAQ, checked Nov 6, 2026.

What each input means

AFOQT Pilot composite. PCSM reads the highest Pilot score you have on file; enlisted RPA applicants are scored on the EPQT instead. The composite is built from four AFOQT subtests: Math Knowledge, Table Reading, Instrument Comprehension and Aviation Information; how they combine is on AFOQT scores.

TBAS. A psychomotor and multitasking battery with no score of its own: its measures go straight into PCSM. The TBAS section below has its rules.

Civilian flying. Flying hours count only up to a cap that AFPC states two ways, 60 hours in its PCSM FAQ and 41+ as the new maximum on its PCSM home page after the December 29, 2021 algorithm change. We print both because AFPC does; the first figure is also the one in the Air Force Reserve's flying-training guidebook. What counts is logged flight time, not the certificate it leads to. Hours in an FAA-approved training device count the same as flying hours (up to the cap) if they are logged in your logbook with a CFI signature.

PCSM calculators are guesses

With the weights unpublished, every PCSM calculator online is an estimate, not the Air Force formula. Use one to see which input moves the number, never to decide whether a retest is safe.

The TBAS, AFPC's hands-on test

The TBAS is listed here as a fact card; the test is psychomotor, so this site has no TBAS quiz.
FactDetailSourceChecked
Full nameTest of Basic Aviation Skills (TBAS)AFPC PCSM program [1]
Who takes itAir Force pilot and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) pilot applicantsAFPC PCSM program [1]
FormatComputerized psychomotor, spatial-ability and multitasking subtests, answered with a keypad, joysticks and foot pedalsAFPC PCSM programAir Force Reserve [1][2]
SubtestsNine subtests; AFPC does not publish their namesAFPC PCSM program [1]
Time at the testAbout 1 hour 15 minutesAFPC PCSM program [1]
Where you testOver 100 locations worldwide; schedule through a Military Personnel Flight or a recruiterAFPC PCSM program [3]
ResultsPCSM usually within 2 business days after the TBAS results reach AFPC, if your AFOQT is already on fileAFPC PCSM program [3]
RetakesAt most 3 TBAS administrations, at least 90 days apartRetaking the TBAS or the AFOQT re-scores PCSM under the current algorithm, so a PCSM can go down.AFPC PCSM programAir Force Reserve [2][3]
Free official prepOATTS, the free official AFOQT and TBAS familiarization softwareAFPC PCSM programOATTS [1][4]

AFPC does not name the 9 subtests, so the subtest names you find on prep sites are those sites' own reconstructions. The one official way to see the task types beforehand is OATTS, the free familiarization software listed in the table.

Read the retake row before booking a second attempt: a new TBAS or AFOQT result re-scores PCSM, and the table says what that can do to it.

After the score comes out

AFPC says the PCSM is usually ready 2 business days after the TBAS results arrive, if your AFOQT is already on file. The one published floor: Air Force Reserve pilot and RPA pilot applicants need a PCSM of at least 10.

PCSM is an Air Force measure. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Army applicants do not get one; their tests are compared on how to become a military pilot.

PCSM and TBAS questions

What is a good PCSM score?

There is no published target. The one floor in print is a PCSM of 10 for Air Force Reserve applicants. AFPC describes PCSM as one part of the board's whole selection process, not a pass mark, and keeps no data on who was selected.

Can you practice for the TBAS?

Officially, only with OATTS, the free familiarization software AFPC points to for the AFOQT and the TBAS. A question bank cannot stand in for a test run on joysticks and pedals, which is why this site has none.

How often can the TBAS be retaken?

Up to three times, at least 90 days apart. Each new result re-scores PCSM.

Does a private pilot license raise your PCSM?

Not by itself. Only logged flying hours enter PCSM, and only up to the cap AFPC states as 60 hours in one place and 41+ hours, the new maximum, in another.

Sources

with the date we checked each

  1. [1]AFPC PCSM program: TBAS information access.afpc.af.milchecked Nov 6, 2026
  2. [2]Air Force Reserve: AFRC Undergraduate Flying Training guidebook (February 2023, PDF) airforce.comchecked Nov 6, 2026
  3. [3]AFPC PCSM program: PCSM FAQ access.afpc.af.milchecked Nov 6, 2026
  4. [4]OATTS: official AFOQT and TBAS familiarization software af-oatts.github.iochecked Nov 6, 2026