How can you train MIC for the DLR test?

MIC (Monitoring & Instrument Coordination) is the computer-based test part where you use a joystick and pedals to monitor several displays at once while making fine motor corrections. Because it needs real hardware, MIC itself is hard to "cram" in any strict sense — what you can realistically train is the underlying skill: watching, judging, and reacting at the same time while a second task runs in parallel.

What MIC actually demands

In the MIC test part, you sit at a workstation and have to keep a target or set value centred (or stable) using a joystick and pedals, while simultaneously tracking other instruments and, in some setups, reacting to acoustic signals or extra tasks. This is genuine multitasking under time pressure: attention has to keep splitting across several channels while hands and feet stay active in fine, coordinated movements. It measures less knowledge and more coordination, sustained attention, and stress tolerance — skills considered relevant for manual flying later on.

What you can realistically practise at home

Even without the exact test setup, a few underlying building blocks can be worked on:

• Hand-eye coordination with a joystick or gamepad: flight simulators, or simple tracking/balance-style games where you keep an object centred or on a path, train a similar pattern to the "keep it centred" element in MIC.
• A second task alongside the tracking: doing a tracking exercise while also reacting to a sound cue or watching a second display practises the dual-task principle that's central to MIC — split rather than single-focus attention.
• A calm, focused baseline: since MIC runs under time pressure with several simultaneous stimuli, it reportedly helps to work on general stress regulation rather than relying on one specific "training method".
• Regularity over one-off sessions: as with the other computer-based performance tests, short, repeated practice sessions tend to work better than occasional long ones right before the test date.

What you can't really train

The exact test setup, the precise handling characteristics of the joystick and pedals used, and the specific set values and secondary tasks aren't publicly known and likely change between sittings. Practising without matching hardware can only ever approximate the underlying skill, not the exact test situation. There's no such thing as guaranteed "MIC training" in the sense of a specific outcome — practice can build familiarity with the general demand, but no more than that.

Why the DLR Exam Trainer doesn't cover MIC

The DLR Exam Trainer trains ten of the computer-based test types in the DLR test battery, offline and without an account — MIC is deliberately not one of them, because it requires real hardware like a joystick and pedals that can't be meaningfully reproduced on a smartphone or tablet. For more on the test part itself and why it's so hard to reproduce on a phone, see What is the MIC test (joystick test) in the DLR test?

TipPut your limited prep time toward test types you can actually train — like concentration, mental arithmetic, or visual memory — and go into MIC with a calm mindset rather than expecting a dedicated training method for it.

Exactly how MIC is weighted, and whether it's even part of your specific procedure, differs by airline, flight school, and over time. The current information from the DLR or from the relevant airline or flight school is what counts.