Took my third and final ASTB attempt this morning, scored a 64 9/9/9. I am certain I would not have passed without this forum, so thank you to everyone who contributed! I guess it’s my turn. Here we go...
First and foremost, do not be me. I took it two times prior with only about a couple of days of studying for each. That is a mistake, trust me. Do the work and put time into it. There is no way around it, you have to put in time and effort. So here is how I passed:
After failing the first two times, I was in crisis mode. I took two and a half months between my second and third attempt, and I studied between 2-6 hours every day (save a couple days here and there). It may have been overkill, however I felt this was enough time for me. Be smart, and don’t leave any stones unturned. If you think you might need it, chances are you will need it. Also, use the forum as a gouge to help figure out what you need to know. I will link what I found helpful at the end. Also, this forum is priceless. Read through it all if you have time, at the very least read to page 200. It is the best resource there is, no contest.
MATH:
I was familiar with most of the math, but decided to relearn all the subjects anyway. I saw logs, geometry, simplifying polynomials, probability and some other stuff. I felt I did the best here, and I don’t think I got anything wrong. I mainly used Kyle’s guide to prep, but I also used Barron’s, the ASTB App, ACT prep, and Sam’s drive. One of the things I found most helpful was the 114 question long math study guide in Kyle’s guide. I did that when I first started studying to help identify my weak points, and again two days before I took the test. If you can do that guide without any help, you will be prepared for the math section. I found Barrons was a bit too easy, but practicing fundamentals is never a bad idea. BTW, make sure your fundamentals are solid (multiplying, dividing, roots, ect), it will save you time and effort. Make sure that the fundamentals are like second nature. Just practice as much as possible basically. I practiced 1-2 hours every day, and I felt this was sufficient.
READING:
The reading portion is very dry and boring. I did not prep anything specific here, but I do read a good bit so I’m sure that helps. Try not to space out and bring a pair of earplugs. My recruiting office gets loud and distracting, which is detrimental when it comes to this section. It is a lot of Navy and military type paragraphs, nothing regarding specific vocabulary words. It has a paragraph and then 4 options of statements that may or may not be accurate. Don’t assume anything, even if it makes sense. If it is not explicitly stated in the text, it is probably not correct. Don’t sweat it too much, just try your best.
MECHANICAL:
Basically just a physics 1 review. I maybe did 30 minutes of prep for this section, but I am a Mechanical Engineering student so this stuff is not too difficult for me. I would definitely study this if you are not familiar with physics concepts. There are some great guides out there that will get you well prepared for this section. Its not really hard, but make sure to know the basic physics formulas (force, acceleration, momentum, work, power, ect). Also, study up on circuits and have a basic understanding of electrical concepts (v=ir, p=iv, ect). Know your gears and pulleys. Pulleys for sure, they were on every test I took. Also, mechanical advantages. Again, there are great study guides out there that will get you prepped.
ANIT:
I studied for this as much as I studied for the math section, if not more. The FAA handmanual is a fantastic resource. In Kyle’s guide, there is a PDF version as well as a doc with highlighted chapters. I read all of the highlighted chapters, and a few more as well. Make sure to read up on carburetors. I also read Barron’s, it's a pretty good source to get a nice base. I memorized all of the cram flashcards, the proprofs flashcards, and made my own set with squadron designations, boat naming, history, and a few other miscellaneous things. Also, the ASTB app is a fantastic resource. It will get you pretty decently prepared. I did flashcards whenever I had freetime. I also deleted all social media so that I would not get tempted to not do flashcards.
On my test, I was asked a lot of things that were not in my studying materials, however. They asked about gas under nighttime VFR, carburetor icing, some boat related stuff that was pretty easy, what will happen if a plane is overloaded, and some other stuff that stumped me. I got very few questions that were actually related to aeronautics, like maybe 3. Sometimes, you just get screwed. Try to learn as much as you can, and then make educated guesses when you get stumped on the test. You can do well on this, just try to learn as much as possible and pray that you don’t get asked obscure questions. I feel like I did not exactly crush this section, but I also don’t feel like I failed it. If you do bad here, I think you can save your score with the PBM.
NAFTI:
Don’t lie on this. Be truthful and honest and let the test do its job. If anything, keep in mind that they don’t like people who break the law. That’s about it. It’s a nice break in my opinion. I took a long time to do this portion, but this is where you can give your mind a break, honestly.
UAV:
Use the compass trick and run through as many flashcards as you can. Nervous got to me and I got stumped a couple of times where it took me 4+ seconds to answer, I even got one wrong. Most of my answers were within 1-2 seconds though. Just practice, and you can kill this section.
PBM:
So, I think this may be one of the highest weighted sections on the exam. I felt like I killed this part. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to buy a set of hotas. I bought the same ones my office used off of amazon, which is the logitech x52. There is a simulator that a couple of guys made here that you can use to prepare for this section, and it is almost exactly the same (if not a little bit harder). The simulator even has a dichotic listening training. I used JoyToKey to map my mouse and keyboard to the stick and throttle, and it worked very well. I would very strongly recommend this. They are a little expensive, but it was worth it to me. Save up if you have to, but get the stick and throttle and practice for this section. I practiced every night, and I did very well here.
For the dichotic listening, lean into the target ear. I also wrote an E on my right and an O on my left to help solidify that right is for even numbers and left is for odd. Also, accuracy over speed, but don’t be slow (not sure if that helps). For the stick and throttle, focus on the stick first, then the throttle. The hierarchy of what I focused on is this:
I think that’s everything. I am so happy to be done with this test, it’s been such a relief to get it knocked out for good. Anway, study hard and you can do well.
Thank you again to everyone who has posted in this forum, and good luck! Hopefully I will see some of you in flight school!
RESOURCES:
Kyles Guide:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AvPi5oH_h_13TGajDvflDWkftwXO8LS6?usp=sharing
Sam’s Guide:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CQS9Sa-9L3gAG0c0nQD_qz5Ic3m9W8NX?usp=sharing
Barron’s:
https://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Mili...ocphy=9010651&hvtargid=pla-491758052125&psc=1
Post 6759: https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...ur-questions-here.28348/page-446#post-1043326
Simulator:
https://jantzenx.github.io/ASTB/
HOTAS:
https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Sai...ocphy=9010651&hvtargid=pla-381707157077&psc=1
JoyToKey:
https://joytokey.net/en/download
ProProfs:
https://www.proprofsflashcards.com/story.php?title=astb-aviation-nautical-inforfmation-test
Cram:
https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-4718163
My Quizlet:
https://quizlet.com/_a10u8s?x=1jqt&i=3qalgz
Roots and perfect numbers Quizlet:
https://quizlet.com/_a0rv6o?x=1jqt&i=3qalgz
I think that’s it. Please message me if you have any questions!
First and foremost, do not be me. I took it two times prior with only about a couple of days of studying for each. That is a mistake, trust me. Do the work and put time into it. There is no way around it, you have to put in time and effort. So here is how I passed:
After failing the first two times, I was in crisis mode. I took two and a half months between my second and third attempt, and I studied between 2-6 hours every day (save a couple days here and there). It may have been overkill, however I felt this was enough time for me. Be smart, and don’t leave any stones unturned. If you think you might need it, chances are you will need it. Also, use the forum as a gouge to help figure out what you need to know. I will link what I found helpful at the end. Also, this forum is priceless. Read through it all if you have time, at the very least read to page 200. It is the best resource there is, no contest.
MATH:
I was familiar with most of the math, but decided to relearn all the subjects anyway. I saw logs, geometry, simplifying polynomials, probability and some other stuff. I felt I did the best here, and I don’t think I got anything wrong. I mainly used Kyle’s guide to prep, but I also used Barron’s, the ASTB App, ACT prep, and Sam’s drive. One of the things I found most helpful was the 114 question long math study guide in Kyle’s guide. I did that when I first started studying to help identify my weak points, and again two days before I took the test. If you can do that guide without any help, you will be prepared for the math section. I found Barrons was a bit too easy, but practicing fundamentals is never a bad idea. BTW, make sure your fundamentals are solid (multiplying, dividing, roots, ect), it will save you time and effort. Make sure that the fundamentals are like second nature. Just practice as much as possible basically. I practiced 1-2 hours every day, and I felt this was sufficient.
READING:
The reading portion is very dry and boring. I did not prep anything specific here, but I do read a good bit so I’m sure that helps. Try not to space out and bring a pair of earplugs. My recruiting office gets loud and distracting, which is detrimental when it comes to this section. It is a lot of Navy and military type paragraphs, nothing regarding specific vocabulary words. It has a paragraph and then 4 options of statements that may or may not be accurate. Don’t assume anything, even if it makes sense. If it is not explicitly stated in the text, it is probably not correct. Don’t sweat it too much, just try your best.
MECHANICAL:
Basically just a physics 1 review. I maybe did 30 minutes of prep for this section, but I am a Mechanical Engineering student so this stuff is not too difficult for me. I would definitely study this if you are not familiar with physics concepts. There are some great guides out there that will get you well prepared for this section. Its not really hard, but make sure to know the basic physics formulas (force, acceleration, momentum, work, power, ect). Also, study up on circuits and have a basic understanding of electrical concepts (v=ir, p=iv, ect). Know your gears and pulleys. Pulleys for sure, they were on every test I took. Also, mechanical advantages. Again, there are great study guides out there that will get you prepped.
ANIT:
I studied for this as much as I studied for the math section, if not more. The FAA handmanual is a fantastic resource. In Kyle’s guide, there is a PDF version as well as a doc with highlighted chapters. I read all of the highlighted chapters, and a few more as well. Make sure to read up on carburetors. I also read Barron’s, it's a pretty good source to get a nice base. I memorized all of the cram flashcards, the proprofs flashcards, and made my own set with squadron designations, boat naming, history, and a few other miscellaneous things. Also, the ASTB app is a fantastic resource. It will get you pretty decently prepared. I did flashcards whenever I had freetime. I also deleted all social media so that I would not get tempted to not do flashcards.
On my test, I was asked a lot of things that were not in my studying materials, however. They asked about gas under nighttime VFR, carburetor icing, some boat related stuff that was pretty easy, what will happen if a plane is overloaded, and some other stuff that stumped me. I got very few questions that were actually related to aeronautics, like maybe 3. Sometimes, you just get screwed. Try to learn as much as you can, and then make educated guesses when you get stumped on the test. You can do well on this, just try to learn as much as possible and pray that you don’t get asked obscure questions. I feel like I did not exactly crush this section, but I also don’t feel like I failed it. If you do bad here, I think you can save your score with the PBM.
NAFTI:
Don’t lie on this. Be truthful and honest and let the test do its job. If anything, keep in mind that they don’t like people who break the law. That’s about it. It’s a nice break in my opinion. I took a long time to do this portion, but this is where you can give your mind a break, honestly.
UAV:
Use the compass trick and run through as many flashcards as you can. Nervous got to me and I got stumped a couple of times where it took me 4+ seconds to answer, I even got one wrong. Most of my answers were within 1-2 seconds though. Just practice, and you can kill this section.
PBM:
So, I think this may be one of the highest weighted sections on the exam. I felt like I killed this part. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to buy a set of hotas. I bought the same ones my office used off of amazon, which is the logitech x52. There is a simulator that a couple of guys made here that you can use to prepare for this section, and it is almost exactly the same (if not a little bit harder). The simulator even has a dichotic listening training. I used JoyToKey to map my mouse and keyboard to the stick and throttle, and it worked very well. I would very strongly recommend this. They are a little expensive, but it was worth it to me. Save up if you have to, but get the stick and throttle and practice for this section. I practiced every night, and I did very well here.
For the dichotic listening, lean into the target ear. I also wrote an E on my right and an O on my left to help solidify that right is for even numbers and left is for odd. Also, accuracy over speed, but don’t be slow (not sure if that helps). For the stick and throttle, focus on the stick first, then the throttle. The hierarchy of what I focused on is this:
- Listening
- Stick
- throttle
I think that’s everything. I am so happy to be done with this test, it’s been such a relief to get it knocked out for good. Anway, study hard and you can do well.
Thank you again to everyone who has posted in this forum, and good luck! Hopefully I will see some of you in flight school!
RESOURCES:
Kyles Guide:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AvPi5oH_h_13TGajDvflDWkftwXO8LS6?usp=sharing
Sam’s Guide:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CQS9Sa-9L3gAG0c0nQD_qz5Ic3m9W8NX?usp=sharing
Barron’s:
https://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Mili...ocphy=9010651&hvtargid=pla-491758052125&psc=1
Post 6759: https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...ur-questions-here.28348/page-446#post-1043326
Simulator:
https://jantzenx.github.io/ASTB/
HOTAS:
https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Sai...ocphy=9010651&hvtargid=pla-381707157077&psc=1
JoyToKey:
https://joytokey.net/en/download
ProProfs:
https://www.proprofsflashcards.com/story.php?title=astb-aviation-nautical-inforfmation-test
Cram:
https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-4718163
My Quizlet:
https://quizlet.com/_a10u8s?x=1jqt&i=3qalgz
Roots and perfect numbers Quizlet:
https://quizlet.com/_a0rv6o?x=1jqt&i=3qalgz
I think that’s it. Please message me if you have any questions!
