ATSA Visual Relationships: Left, Right and the Eye

In the ATSA's visual relationships section you see a large jet, a small aircraft and a word, LEFT or RIGHT, and you answer True or False: is the small aircraft on that side? In the first part you judge from the large jet's own point of view, as if sitting in its cockpit. In the second part an eye symbol sometimes appears, and when it does you judge from the eye's point of view instead. Items are reported to come quickly, so the skill is making the viewpoint switch reliably in a second or two.

The FAA doesn't publish the format of this section, and the real items belong to the test vendors. This article draws on candidate reports going back to the ATSA's 2016 launch and on Pearson VUE's description of what the test covers. Keys, timings and item counts may vary between versions; follow the on-screen instructions on test day.

What the section asks you to do

A detailed 2016 candidate write-up on the pointSixtyFive controller forum, sometimes called the "spatial relationship" section there, describes it this way:

• Part 1: two aircraft on a map-like background, one large and one small, plus a text box reading RIGHT or LEFT. You take the large aircraft's viewpoint, "pretend you're the pilot looking straight ahead," and say whether the text is correct for where the small aircraft is. The aircraft change positions and headings from item to item.
• Part 2: an eye is added on some items. When the eye is present, it changes the viewpoint. When it isn't, the part 1 rule still applies.
• You answer Yes/No (True/False) on the keyboard.

Candidate-reported: in 2016 the answer keys were on the numeric keypad, with a plastic overlay. A candidate who tested in 2021, after Pearson VUE began administering the ATSA, reported that the overlay was gone and True/False were mapped to the T and F keys. Another candidate warned that the mouse couldn't be used for this section. Read the key instructions carefully rather than relying on older accounts.

Pearson VUE's FAA page lists "spatial awareness" among the abilities the ATSA assesses. This section is the most direct test of it: mentally rotating your frame of reference to match someone else's heading, fast and without error.

The core method: face the way the viewer faces

Left and right depend on which way the viewer is facing. Your own left and right on the screen only match the jet's when the jet is pointing up the screen, the same way you "face" into the monitor. For every other heading you need to translate. Here is the whole rule set for the jet's viewpoint, by where its nose points on the screen:

Jet's nose points	Jet's LEFT is toward	Jet's RIGHT is toward
Up the screen	Screen left	Screen right
Down the screen	Screen right	Screen left
To screen right	Top of screen	Bottom of screen
To screen left	Bottom of screen	Top of screen

Diagonal headings follow the nearest row, but don't try to memorize a table under time pressure. Instead, use one physical anchor: imagine your right arm stretched out from the jet's right wing. Whichever side of the jet's centerline the small aircraft is on, that arm either points toward it or away from it.

The eye viewpoint

When the eye appears, you become the eye. Stand where the eye is, look toward the large jet, and ask whether the small aircraft is to your left or right. The 2016 account said every eye it saw was directly in front of the large jet, facing it. That's a helpful case to know, because an observer facing the jet head-on sees the jet's left and right reversed: something off the jet's left wing appears on the observer's right. But don't treat that as a shortcut you can apply blindly. Check where the eye actually is and which way it's looking on every item.

Worked examples

These are original illustrations, not real test items. Picture a plain map:

1. Part 1. The large jet points down the screen. The small aircraft is to the jet's screen-left. The text says LEFT. A jet pointing down has its right wing on screen-left, so the small aircraft is on the jet's right. The answer is False.
2. Part 1. The jet points to screen right. The small aircraft is above it on the screen. The text says LEFT. A jet heading screen-right has its left wing toward the top of the screen. True.
3. Part 2 with eye. Same picture as example 1, but an eye sits below the jet, looking up the screen toward it. The eye faces up, the same way you face the monitor, so the eye's left is screen-left. The small aircraft is on screen-left, the text says LEFT. True, even though the same text was False from the jet's cockpit.
4. Part 2 without eye. A new item in part 2 shows no eye. Go straight back to the jet's viewpoint.

Techniques that help

Find the heading first

Your first glance should go to the large jet's nose, then to the eye if there is one, and only then to the small aircraft and the word. Reading the word first primes an answer before you have the frame of reference.

Use "same" or "flipped"

For the two most common orientations, reduce the decision to one word. Viewer facing up the screen: "same" as you. Viewer facing down the screen: "flipped." Sideways headings take a beat longer, which is exactly why they're worth extra practice.

Check for the eye on every item in part 2

The most expensive error in part 2 is carrying the eye rule onto an item with no eye, or missing a small eye and using the jet's view. Make "eye or no eye?" an automatic first check.

Assign one finger to each answer

Whatever the keys turn out to be, keep one finger resting on True and another on False. Moving your hand or glancing at the keyboard costs time you don't have.

Common mistakes

• Answering from your own screen view rather than the viewer's.
• Judging which way the small aircraft is pointing. Only its position relative to the viewer matters.
• Applying the eye viewpoint when no eye is shown, or ignoring it when it is.
• Slowing down to double-check, then missing the next item. A 2021 candidate felt the section was slightly faster on the real test than in the practice software they had used.
• Practicing with a mouse when the test is keyboard-only.

How to practice

Paper diagrams help you learn the rule, but they don't train speed. The skill that matters is making the translation automatically, so short timed sets with varied headings work best. Rotating a toy plane or your phone on a desk can also build the intuition for sideways headings.

Our Visual Relationships practice uses original, generated scenes covering both the jet viewpoint and the eye viewpoint; the demo gives you a short taste. It's built from public descriptions, so expect the real test's graphics and pace to differ, and no practice can promise a result. Spatial judgment under time pressure also underpins the ATC Simulation, so the two sections pair well. For the full picture see the ATSA overview, our preparation plan and pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Whose left and right do I use in visual relationships?

According to candidate reports, the large jet's, as if you were its pilot, unless an eye is shown. When the eye appears, you use the eye's left and right as it looks toward the jet.

How fast are the items?

The FAA hasn't published timings. Candidates describe the section as fast, and a couple of seconds per picture is often mentioned, but we couldn't confirm an exact figure. Train until the decision is automatic rather than aiming for a specific speed.

Does the direction the small aircraft is pointing matter?

Not in the format candidates describe. The question is only where the small aircraft is relative to the viewer, left or right.

Which keys do I press?

Accounts differ by year. Earlier candidates described keypad keys with an overlay; a 2021 candidate reported T and F. Use whatever the on-screen instructions give you on the day.