MIC in the DLR Test: The Joystick Multitasking Test

Hardly any part of the DLR test raises as many questions as the MIC. A joystick, several instruments and numbers coming through the headphones: it sounds like a flight simulator, and like something you could hardly manage without flying experience. Neither is true. According to the DLR, the MIC is explicitly not a realistic flight simulation, and another publicly accessible version of the info sheet states that flying experience is not required.

This article explains what the MIC is, what it measures and how it is set up, as far as that is publicly documented. The basis is the DLR info sheet "MIC – Monitoring and Instrument Coordination: information and recommendations". Copies are accessible online, including a version dated 25 November 2004. Details may have changed since then, and according to candidate reports some procedures also involve pedals or a thrust lever. The documents you receive with your invitation are therefore always what counts.

What is the MIC in the DLR test?

MIC stands for Monitoring and Instrument Coordination and is the DLR's multitasking test with a joystick. You hold given values on cockpit-style instruments and work on an additional task through your headphones at the same time.

The test uses instruments that resemble a cockpit, but the display and the control behaviour are built specifically for it. If you have flown before, your advantage is therefore likely to be limited, and if you have never held a joystick you are by no means out of the running. According to the info sheet, an extensive practice phase before the actual test lets you get used to the system.

The EFA explicitly lists psychomotor skills and multitasking among the abilities examined for the DLR certificate (as of September 2026). For an overview of all test parts, see What is tested in the DLR test?, and for the short version on the joystick, DLR test: MIC and joystick.

What exactly does the MIC measure?

According to the DLR info sheet, the MIC measures two things: your psychomotor function and your multitask capacity. As the name says, monitoring instruments is part of it too.

That fits the job: in the cockpit you monitor displays, listen to the radio and work through checklists while flying. The MIC tests the basic ability behind this, distributing attention sensibly while your hands keep working precisely.

How the DLR weights and scores the individual sub-tasks is not public. Figures on tolerances or scoring systems that you find in forums are not substantiated.

How is the MIC set up?

According to the DLR info sheet, the MIC shows three instruments in the classic "Basic T" arrangement: compass, altimeter and airspeed indicator. You control heading and altitude with the joystick and engine power with buttons on a touchscreen, and in the final section a listening task is added.

The readings are linked, and that is the heart of the task. In level flight, more power increases speed and less power reduces it. If you climb with the same power, your speed drops. A correction in one place therefore affects another instrument, which you then need to check again.

The difficulty increases in stages. First come single manoeuvres such as "fly a course of 300°" or "maintain an altitude of 5200 ft", then combinations such as "climb at a course of 300°" or a right turn while descending. Later you are also asked to keep your speed constant by adjusting engine power. In the final section the listening task runs in parallel: you hear rows of numbers and, according to the info sheet, press a green button after the third even number in succession and a red button after the third odd number in succession.

ImportantThis reflects the publicly accessible info sheet. Whether your version has different controls or a different additional task is stated in the documents for your appointment. Read them in full before you practise anything.

Which strategies help in the MIC?

The most effective strategy is a clear order of attention: keep the flight parameters stable first, then serve the additional task, and switch between the two in a steady rhythm. The points below are general principles for multitasking, not official DLR tips.

Set priorities ("aviate first"). Aviation has a basic rule: fly the aircraft first. Applied to the MIC, the control task is always running and the listening task comes on top. That does not mean ignoring the numbers, only that after every response your eyes go straight back to the instruments.

A fixed scan pattern. Move your eyes across the instruments in the same order every time, for example heading, altitude, speed and round again. If you stare at one instrument until it is perfect, you usually lose the other two.

Small corrections, steady hand. The info sheet describes that the value changes faster the harder and longer you deflect the joystick. Large inputs therefore easily lead to overshooting. Small inputs work better: make one, wait briefly, check the effect, correct again.

Think ahead about the links. When you climb, your speed will fall. If you know that, you adjust power early instead of waiting until the airspeed indicator is far off. This is exactly what the DLR recommends: think thoroughly about how the displays change during the different manoeuvres.

Count the listening task on the side. A simple inner counter is enough for the rows of numbers: even, even, even means respond, and every change resets the count. Keep it as plain as possible.

Let mistakes go. A missed number or a deviation is over the moment it has happened. Breathe out, return to your scan pattern and carry on. There is more on this in our article on stress and mindset.

How can you practise the MIC at home?

There are three things you can usefully practise at home: understanding the instruments, handling a joystick and working under dual load. The DLR itself advises restraint: there are basically no objections to practising with a flight simulator, but you should not overdo it.

The reasoning matters. Neither the display nor the control dynamics of the test (sensitivity, turbulence, inertia) correspond to those of a commercial simulator. According to the DLR, anyone who practises very intensively with a simulator risks not being able to react flexibly enough to changes in the task or the dynamics. In essence, the DLR's three recommendations are:

1. Think thoroughly about the instruments, the changes on the displays during the manoeuvres, and the controls.
2. Do not practise too much with a computer flight simulator. You will get used to the handling during the extensive practice phase before the test.
3. Do not put yourself under pressure. Intensive preparation does not guarantee success, and it is possible to pass a test without any preparation.

A sensible practice plan follows from that:

• Official documents first. With the DLR's invitation, or the EFA's booking confirmation, you receive documents and access to the official preparation software. It shows the real test formats. If you cannot find the email, check your spam folder, then ask the DLR or the EFA.
• Understand the instruments. Take a sheet of paper and play through manoeuvres: what happens to heading, altitude and speed in a climbing right turn, and which inputs do you need?
• Joystick familiarisation in moderation. If you have never used a joystick, an inexpensive model plus a desktop flight simulator or a third-party MIC replica on your PC is enough to get a feel for fine inputs. A few short sessions will do. The goal is a steady hand, not memorising one simulator's dynamics.
• Train dual load. Hold heading and altitude in the simulator while someone reads numbers to you that you respond to using a simple rule.

Which desktop programs and web-based offerings exist and how they differ is covered in DLR test practice software and apps compared.

What can a phone app contribute to the MIC, and what can't it?

A phone app cannot train the MIC, because it lacks the decisive ingredients: the joystick and the continuous control task. That also applies to the DLR Test Trainer: the app trains ten test types and explains the MIC only on an info page. For the control task you need desktop software with a joystick.

What an app can contribute are the component skills that come together in the MIC:

How to train these modules is covered in our articles on RMS, OWT and KRN. The benefit is indirect: the less capacity listening and reading take up, the more is left for the hand on the joystick. No app is a substitute for the official preparation software, and the DLR Test Trainer is an independent project with no connection to the DLR.

What are the most common mistakes in the MIC?

The typical mistakes have less to do with talent than with attention and dosage. This list follows from the logic of the task, not from any official evaluation.

• Overcontrolling. Joystick inputs that are too large, followed by frantic counter-steering. Remedy: small inputs, wait for the effect.
• Tunnel vision. One instrument is held perfectly while the others drift away. Remedy: a fixed scan pattern.
• Blocking out or overrating the additional task. If you only listen to numbers, you lose altitude. If you ignore the numbers, you give away an entire part of the task. Remedy: a plain inner counter, then straight back to the instruments.
• Forgetting the links. Climbing without adjusting power costs speed. Remedy: play through manoeuvres beforehand.
• Too much simulator. Heavy practice with one particular simulator makes you expect its dynamics. The DLR warns against exactly that.
• Wasting the practice phase. Use the practice phase before the test to deliberately try out the joystick's sensitivity rather than just getting it over with.

Sources

• DLR: DLR-Zertifikat Cockpit (pilot certificate)
• European Flight Academy: Selection process
• European Flight Academy: FAQ
• Pilotest: DLR MIC – Monitoring and Instrument Coordination test (third-party provider)