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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)

OperationChungus

Well-Known Member
pilot
Is there an actual guideline for the minimum scores required? I see 5/6/6 posted, but have also seen others get in with lower. Also I talked to a recruiter and he told me 6/7/6 but this office seemed different. Everything was secretive and I had to pry answers from them which should've been easy info.


You might have seen lower scores, but you need to meet the minimum for your respective designator (6 PFAR for SNA and 6 FOFAR for SNFO) to be considered.

You may have seen (for example) an applicant only applying for SNA have a 5/6/5 get a PROREC-Y. Since they’re not going for NFO the FOFAR doesn’t apply to them. The PROBOARD is only looking at the OAR, AQR, and PFAR scores for an individual applying for SNA when it comes to the ASTB.

If you saw board results from before the latest PA (April 2019) came out, the score minimums were different.
 

KabarJaw

Member
Long time lurker. I took the OAR yesterday and scored a 52. Not as great as some others on this site but I am satisfied with it. I doubt I will have much to say that others have not already said but I'll post what I can.

I used Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Tests and Aegis Group Complete ASTB Study Guide.

As others have said, Barron's was a good starting point and is certainly worth checking out. The Aegis Group one was alright for the mechanical portion but is not very useful for the math portion. It has a lot of very basic information about concepts you learned in middle school and high school but it doesn't get into some of the more complex questions you will encounter in the actual test. It's practice questions were much more intense than the information it gives you and actually had some mistakes in the questions. It was useful for the mechanical section and was actually more comprehensive than the Barron's book was. I would just stick with Barron's and the resources on this site but the Aegis Group was somewhat useful for the mechanical section, I was glad to have it but still wouldn't recommend that someone buy it, if that makes sense.

I took advantage of a lot of the flashcards available online, using them to figure out what I needed to work on. I also made my own flashcards with the flashcards.io app. It lets you check a box if you get a card wrong and then you can focus on the one's you missed, which was useful. Otherwise I mostly just used what was on this site. I studied every day or every few days (depending on my school schedule) for around 2 months before the test.

Advice about each test in the order that I took it:

Math: As a couple people have mentioned, you will have some basic formulas available to you in a tab on the side of the screen. These formulas include things like the formula for the Circumference of a Circle, which was a question I had. So focus on actually practicing doing a lot of the basic equations instead of just memorizing them. There were questions about simplifying equations, so learn things like FOIL or whatever method works for you. I had questions regarding people going different speeds at different parts of a journey and figuring out their average speed. I actually didn't have any "work together" questions, which was unfortunate because I had gotten quite good at those. I didn't receive any log or matrices questions, which probably says something about how I did on this section. This was easily my weakest area.

Reading: Obviously dry stuff. Just don't make any assumptions that aren't actually in the reading. Maybe you know that Mount Everest is in the southern Himalayas, but did the reading itself tell you that or infer it? If not, you should not pick that answer. A lot of the harder ones were about training programs in the Department of Defense, I figured that it was a good thing if I was reading those.

Mechanical: As others have said, mostly concepts. I only had one actual math problem and it was super simple stuff about weight on a lever. I didn't actually have any questions about different types of levers. It is mostly logic. There were a lot of "which would hit the ground first" questions (a bullet is fired out of a rifle towards the ground at the same time a bullet is dropped, which hits the ground first? A big rock and small rock are dropped at the same time... etc). I did have a question about control rods in a Nuclear Reactor so learn what those do. I did not have any questions about circuits. I did have questions about water flowing through tight places and air flow around the wings of a plane. Know Bernoulli's Effect. I want to clarify that I am saying effect, not equation. Maybe someone who does better on it will get a question about the equation but prioritize knowing the effect itself, as a concept, first. Lastly, obviously, Newton's Laws. Gravity was a big part of my test.

That is what I got, I will add to this if I remember something later. Pretty much everything I said has been posted before so the best way to anticipate what will be on the test is to go back 50 pages and just read. I didn't do amazing so I probably didn't get a lot of the more complex questions, so please look around to find those if you think you will do well. But I will say, prioritize the basics. There is no reason to spend hours studying logs and matrices if you don't have the basics down because you won't get those questions anyway. Lastly, don't panic, relax. Take a minute in between tests to breathe deeply, do some jumping jacks (studies show that exercise improves test performance, also eat something, I am an education major, I know this stuff) or meditate. You will do just fine.

Also, if all else fails:
 
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Danielle29

Active Member
Hey guys I'm retaking my test very soon and I'm really nervous.

I'm mostly scared about the Performance Based Measures Battery (PBM)
-SO I get the UAV part but the sections after that is what gets me. I know you have to line up the green crossfire into the target BUT DO YOU NEED TO HIT ANY BUTTONS OR DO YOU JUST PUSH YOUR THROTTLE AND/OR STICK TO LINE UP AND NOTHING ELSE?? I was pressing the button as I lined it up for the throttle section, stick, throttle/stick, and throttle/stick/direction parts and I think that's where I got dinged up.
-Also the last part for the emergency throttle/stick stimulation, I'M SO CONFUSED. I didn't know what I was doing or what the section is all about. Can anyone please explain?

Any and every help is much appreciated!
 

Rahul Gupta

Active Member
Hey guys I'm retaking my test very soon and I'm really nervous.

I'm mostly scared about the Performance Based Measures Battery (PBM)
-SO I get the UAV part but the sections after that is what gets me. I know you have to line up the green crossfire into the target BUT DO YOU NEED TO HIT ANY BUTTONS OR DO YOU JUST PUSH YOUR THROTTLE AND/OR STICK TO LINE UP AND NOTHING ELSE?? I was pressing the button as I lined it up for the throttle section, stick, throttle/stick, and throttle/stick/direction parts and I think that's where I got dinged up.
-Also the last part for the emergency throttle/stick stimulation, I'M SO CONFUSED. I didn't know what I was doing or what the section is all about. Can anyone please explain?

Any and every help is much appreciated!
Calm down! Just breathe and relax if you hype yourself up b4 the exam your gonna burn out. Chill go eat an ice cream and then read the following:

  1. The first part of this test will require u to align your cross-airs to a really fast moving dot, the dot will only be moving vertically on this portion.
  2. The next part will split into two screens, one with a dot moving up and down and the right screen will display a dot moving everywhere. You will have 2 cross-airs and you will control the one on your left screen with your throttle and the one on your right screen with your joystick. The goal of this is to get as close to the dot as possible. Tbh this part of the test will kick your ass a bit but as long as you don't panic and keep your cool you will be ok. Just get as close as you can get to aligning the dots with your cross-airs.
  3. You will get a dichotic listening test alone. It will ask you to hit the right trigger for even #'s and to hit a button on your throttle for odd #'s. It will also ask you to do this based on the ear you are listening to it through. So it will say right ear or left ear. Best tip for this is to close your corresponding eye on the ear it does not want you to pay attention to - (make sure to read the directions and write them down)
  4. This part is hell! It will combine part 2 and 4 of what I mentioned above so a dichotomy test and a the dot test on two screens. Just do your best here listen to what ear you need to listen through and if you need even or odd #'s (it will specify these things) at the same time you will be aligning cross-airs to the moving dots.


YOU'LL BE FINE....BIGGEST THING IS TO CHILL OUT AND NOT PANIC!
 

Seahawkhelo

New Member
I've seen on here in a few places that a PFAR score of 5 is not passing.. can anyone confirm this? I am applying SNA, NFO. On my application I put pilot as my only choice (Because that's truly all I want to do), but my recruiter insisted I put down NFO as second option. Does he know I wont get slotted for SNA, and is just trying to meet his quota by pushing me to go NFO?

My scores were:
57 5/5/6

I was in the same situation back in 1996 (yes I'm old as dirt) and both the recruiter and me agreed that we would list my second choice as intel since I did not want to be an NFO. A month later I received a congratulations letter. I called my recruiter excited that I was accepted to be a pilot-he said that I was accepted as a NFO, I looked at the letter again and it did in fact say Naval Flight Officer. I wanted to climb through the phone and strangle the recruiter, but I was restrained and asked him how I got NFO if we listed intel as my second choice. He played dumb.

I told him no thank you, re-took the test, and in less than two months I was accepted as a Naval Aviator, not a Naval Flight Officer. Twenty three years later and an aviation command tour behind me, I'm still loving it! Even if you eventually have to complete a tour as a aircraft carrier navigator (aka SUPER SWO), you will still work for another aviator!

Recruiters and Detailers....watch out, they sell snake oil!
 

FormerRecruitingGuru

Making Recruiting Great Again
I was in the same situation back in 1996 (yes I'm old as dirt) and both the recruiter and me agreed that we would list my second choice as intel since I did not want to be an NFO. A month later I received a congratulations letter. I called my recruiter excited that I was accepted to be a pilot-he said that I was accepted as a NFO, I looked at the letter again and it did in fact say Naval Flight Officer. I wanted to climb through the phone and strangle the recruiter, but I was restrained and asked him how I got NFO if we listed intel as my second choice. He played dumb.

I told him no thank you, re-took the test, and in less than two months I was accepted as a Naval Aviator, not a Naval Flight Officer. Twenty three years later and an aviation command tour behind me, I'm still loving it! Even if you eventually have to complete a tour as a aircraft carrier navigator (aka SUPER SWO), you will still work for another aviator!

Recruiters and Detailers....watch out, they sell snake oil!
Why are you responding to a 4 year old post?
 

Danielle29

Active Member
Calm down! Just breathe and relax if you hype yourself up b4 the exam your gonna burn out. Chill go eat an ice cream and then read the following:

  1. The first part of this test will require u to align your cross-airs to a really fast moving dot, the dot will only be moving vertically on this portion.
  2. The next part will split into two screens, one with a dot moving up and down and the right screen will display a dot moving everywhere. You will have 2 cross-airs and you will control the one on your left screen with your throttle and the one on your right screen with your joystick. The goal of this is to get as close to the dot as possible. Tbh this part of the test will kick your ass a bit but as long as you don't panic and keep your cool you will be ok. Just get as close as you can get to aligning the dots with your cross-airs.
  3. You will get a dichotic listening test alone. It will ask you to hit the right trigger for even #'s and to hit a button on your throttle for odd #'s. It will also ask you to do this based on the ear you are listening to it through. So it will say right ear or left ear. Best tip for this is to close your corresponding eye on the ear it does not want you to pay attention to - (make sure to read the directions and write them down)
  4. This part is hell! It will combine part 2 and 4 of what I mentioned above so a dichotomy test and a the dot test on two screens. Just do your best here listen to what ear you need to listen through and if you need even or odd #'s (it will specify these things) at the same time you will be aligning cross-airs to the moving dots.

YOU'LL BE FINE....BIGGEST THING IS TO CHILL OUT AND NOT PANIC!
Thank you so much!!! But still confuse for throttle/stick sections. When lining it up for the cross airs, I don't need to press the triggers or anything right?
 

OperationChungus

Well-Known Member
pilot
Thank you so much!!! But still confuse for throttle/stick sections. When lining it up for the cross airs, I don't need to press the triggers or anything right?

All you have to do is put the crosshairs over the target and it will turn green. While it's not over the target, it'll be red. Just get it in the general area and don't stress it. For the emergency procedures part you just have to twist knobs and click a button.

Try to be accurate over trying to be SUPER fast and you'll be fine. Obviously try to have some speed.
 

Rahul Gupta

Active Member
Thank you so much!!! But still confuse for throttle/stick sections. When lining it up for the cross airs, I don't need to press the triggers or anything right?
No, at least not until the end section. At the very end you will have to press the right trigger or left throttle button depending on the numbers read into your ear (odd or even). Remember, just read and follow the directions it's really simple do not overthink this!
 

pleahy15

Well-Known Member
Thank you so much!!! But still confuse for throttle/stick sections. When lining it up for the cross airs, I don't need to press the triggers or anything right?
I do not believe so. But I am pretty sure the official instructions before you test that section tell you what to do. So, just read those carefully.
 

Ed014

Well-Known Member
23162

Can someone please let me know if I am understanding this right. The solution is a bit confusing to me.


This is the way I understand it. I do 1/1 + 1/2 + 1/.5 = 3.5 and then I do 1/3.5 = .285714....so I am assuming they did the 1/3.5 but didn't show that step and at the end just rounded to .3?

If I am completely wrong please let me know. I am trying to get better at this stuff.

Thank you.
 

Danielle29

Active Member
Hi guys!
So I have asked previously about the PBM section but I'm studying right now and I'm confused about the reading section. So when I was studying for my first try of taking the exam (books), it gave me specific questions about the passage. But when I took the exam, I was so confused on what they're trying to ask from me? It gave me a passage and 4 sentences. So what are you suppose to pick? Summary of the passage? Thank you once again!!
 
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