Thanks for the responses. I appreciate it. I just got done with my surprise PFT and did better than I thought I would, my boyfriend and I both. We're both going for commissions - him for Combat Engineer and me for Pilot. I'll brush up on your suggestions KWilcox949, and congrats on that score! That's super good.
And DragonAdder, best of luck to you as well! Let me know how it goes. : )
Got a 61 8/8/8, apparently I now have the highest scores for anyone from the OSO office (for now). My experience:
-Math: Know how to use the quadratic equation in case factoring isn't possible. Make sure you plug in f(x) for f(x) and not x, I almost got my first question wrong by clicking on the trick answer but caught my mistake just in time. Second question involved solving for the circumference of a sphere given the fact that the volume and surface areas are equal (formulas were given). Fractional exponent of a number (e.g. 32^(3/5)). Had a couple questions on averages, but not the easy kind (e.g. you're given sets of data described in averages, not all individual numbers). Had a freaking question about finding the area of a crust of pizza, given that the slice of pizza had an angle of 60 degrees??? How appropriate given that it was pi day, I knew it has something to do with arc length but I just guessed and moved on. Question on the volume of a space between a cylinder inside a square box. Last one I remember was a somewhat simple algebra question involving cube roots. Was taken aback that it cut things off early but I took it as a good sign. To quote someone else on here, it's the system saying, "ok we're done here."
-Reading: Not much advice to offer here, will just repeat that you should pretend to be interested in what you're reading and only derive data from the passage itself. This section I answered the most questions compared to others.
-Mechanical: Very first question asked what happens to temperature during an isothermal expansion (stays constant), only knew this from my physics knowledge from college. Had a question on binary, whooped when I saw that. Question with 4 snapshots of an aircraft doing a loopdee loop, asked where would the G forces be strongest. Bernoulli's theorem, know how volume flow and velocity work. What info do you need to calculate work. Simple question on the final height of a rocket given a 3 second burst of acceleration/deceleration when the burst was cut off. A few questions on mechanical advantage for pulleys/ramps, e.g. how much force required, which is easier to lift or how much rope needed to pull. Name of an inductor symbol from basic circuit diagrams, though "inductor" wasn't one of the choices so I guessed. Again, it cut me off somewhat early.
-Aviation: One history question (ME-262). Had to use the standard weight for gasoline to determine how much fuel a plane needed to dump due to extra weight shifting its center of gravity. Green shirts, flaps, poop deck, name for airflow around a cylinder and pressure differences around the airfoil. Something about who an aircraft wing commander reports to, guessed CO. Also was cut off early.
-Personality: You are a leader who doesn't display outbursts when stressed, is aggressive and yet is respectful of authority. Pick one of these when presented with a pair, if a pair has both, be honest. Don't feel the need to pick a choice you picked earlier, treat each question pair as unrelated instances. Again, to quote an another user, these questions basically ask if you are a dick or an asshole.
-UAV: Similar method to what KWilcox949 suggested. Took a post it note and drew 4 squares around a central one, marking the outer ones N,S,E and W. When looking at the top down viewpoint with the triangle pointing in a certain direction toward a dot and north pointing up, I would simply orient my post it note so that the direction indicated was now at the top of my post it note (NW, SE, SW and NE would be in between the N,S, E and W squares). Then just picked the correct parking lot based on this rotation. Don't read which target lot you need to target, utilize the audio for that. Exploit the practice section as many times as you want, it will give you different examples each time so it's worth it. For the real deal, my reaction time was between 1-2.5 s, only 2 wrong.
-Dichotic Listening: Make sure you know whether to press the clutch or trigger for even/odd numbers, I was mentally rehearsing the opposite before the test, thus always read all directions for all sections just in case. About a second in between each set of alphanumeric characters voiced in each ear at the same time. Helps to lean your head in the direction of the target ear you're listening to. You could also practice this with 2 friends synchronizing speaking alphanumeric characters into each ear.
-Vertical Tracking: There is a bit of a delay associated when pushing/pulling the throttle, so be patient when waiting for the crosshair to catch up to the plane. Overcompensating is exactly what the system wants you to do. You know you're doing good in this and subsequent practical tests if the plane starts to behave more erratically/redirecting suddenly.
-Vertical and 2D Tracking: For the joystick that's associated with the 2D tracking, X axis is normal (left means left, right means right) but Y axis is inverted (e.g. pull back to go up, push forward to go down) so it may help to play some video games to get used to this. Also, be aware that when the joystick is in the rest position (centered), no motion will happen. Focus 2/3 of your attention on the 2D portion and 1/3 on the vertical tracking. If you can get green on both crosshairs at the same time, even if for an instant, it will rack up major points. Don't try to predict where the planes will go, just do your best to follow, as I believe that it takes into account average distance your crosshairs are from the planes. Also, it may help to keep your vertical crosshair within the middle 1/3 of the screen, as overcompensation is much more likely with your attention divided.
-Vertical, 2D and dichotic hearing: Longest portion, think I had to listen to each ear three times. 2/3 of your attention on the dichotic listening, 2/9 on the 2D and 1/9 on the vertical. The rate of the alphanumeric characters is the same, so you can revert back to the 2/3+1/3 rule from before during the brief gap (about a second) between each set of alphanumeric characters.
-Vertical, 2D and EMERGENCY PROCEDURES: Write down all the directions associated, and take your time to memorize them, as there is no practice portion unlike the previous sections. Two knobs will be used to change the direction of your gauges. The top knob will control your fuel, the side knob will control your power. Clutch is used to reset once adjustments have been made. I don't believe there's a way to know which direction you need to rotate the knobs, so pick a direction and slowly turn the knob, when you confirm it's the right direction, turn it all the way to min/max, otherwise turn it the other way to min/max. Fire: both gauges need to go down, then press clutch. Engine: Both gauges need to go up, press clutch. Propeller: DON'T TOUCH THE TOP KNOB ASSOCIATED WITH FUEL, turn power knob so that the power gauge goes all the way up, then press clutch (I almost pressed the clutch too early on this last part, but saved myself). When an emergency procedure pops up, drop your vertical and 2D tracking to focus on fixing it as quickly as possible, then get back to the tracking when you're done resolving it.
I'm sure there were other questions but these were the questions I can remember. Resources used: pdf study guide, books in order of usefulness: [ASTB-E Study Guide, Barron's, ARCO, Learning Express], flashcards on cram.com, sample questions on the med.navy.mil website, Marine Gouge, Marine Aviation Supplement, the pdf detailing how the practical portion works and of course all the threads here at AirWarriors. Any questions, please ask; if I don't know the answer to your question, I will find out. All feedback is welcome.
