First off, I want to thank everyone that contributes to these boards there is a ton of information here that was really helpful to me. I took the ASTB on Friday and scored a 7/8/7 56 for Form 4. Below are my thoughts on the test:
Math Section:
By far I studied for this section the most. As some have already said this section felt a lot easier to me than the Arco practice tests. To prepare for this I used a combination of different resources, Arco Officer Candidate Book, Arco Flight Aptitude Book, Barrons and the Marine Gouge. I used these books to gauge what types of questions I could expect and for the most part they were very accurate. To help re-learn some of the algebra that I forgot I picked up Kaplan’s GRE prep book (highly recommend it). After all the preparation the only questions I struggled on during the test were a few word problems that I ran out of time on and had to guess. If your not great at word problems work with someone that is that can help you out because they will be on the test.
Reading Section:
The practice tests from the Arco books were pretty accurate for this. I don’t feel like there is much studying to do on this section. It’s more of understanding what they are testing and how you need to approach each question. Ignore any previous knowledge, if its not said in the paragraph then its not the right answer. I did 3 Arco practice tests and I felt like I did well on this section on the actual test.
Mechanical Section:
This section isn’t as ‘common sense’ as some people make it out to be in my opinion. Calling it common sense may imply that you don’t need to spend much time studying for it, which would be a mistake. Definitely know some physics.. mechanical advantage/pressure/density/buoyancy all the topics that are covered in the Marine Gouge/Arco/Barrons. Don’t just memorize answers though because the test will ask you questions about the same topic but in a different way and if you don’t truly understand the answers that your studying then you won’t get them right on the test.
Spatial Apperception:
If your not a private pilot or student then you might want to spend a decent amount of time on this section. Its very possible to do well on this section without any experience however you will just have to make sure you put a lot of emphasis on this section while your studying. Arco is good prep for this section but be aware there will be a new angle introduced on the test and a lot more emphasis placed on knowing the degree of bank of the airplane. There are a few sample questions on the beginning of the test take your time going through them and familiarize yourself with what your going to be looking at.
Aviation and Nautical Information:
I was surprised how focused this section was on just aviation. I spent a lot of time studying for this section but I am also working towards my private pilot license and have to take my FAA written soon anyway. I used the Gleim private pilot test prep and read various chapters from the FAA handbook relating to principles of flight, weather, navigation, airport operations etc.
Aviation Supplemental Test:
Again, surprised at how focused it was on just aviation. The Arco books made it seem like it was a combination of all the different sections, I would say 90% of my questions were directly related to aviation knowledge. This may be different on other forms however as long as you are studying hard for the rest of the sections you will do fine here.
Links:
The Marine Gouge/Atrickpay's study guide goes without saying and honestly I used too many to even list. I was constantly using google to find gouge or explanations of things I didn’t understand. I would encourage everyone else to do the same. Below are a few of the main links used:
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/pilot_handbook/
http://www.testprepreview.com/asvab_practice.htm
http://www.grafitto.com/~mark/astb/#info
http://www.boat-ed.com/wa/course/p1-3_boatparts.htm
http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/quizzes/MechanicalAptitude/
http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/download/MilitaryFlight.pdf
http://manlypat.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/astb_study_guide.pdf
In summary, this test can be beaten. It took me a lot of hard work and to be honest I’m still sour about missing a couple on the math section that I may even retake it. As long as you want to do well then you will put in the required amount of time. Not everybody will need a month to prepare for this. Some will need more and some will need less but if you are taking the practice tests you will be able to gauge where you’re at throughout your preparation. If you are doing all the practice tests efficiently then you can feel confident going in. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask I’ll try and check the thread as much as I can.
Math Section:
By far I studied for this section the most. As some have already said this section felt a lot easier to me than the Arco practice tests. To prepare for this I used a combination of different resources, Arco Officer Candidate Book, Arco Flight Aptitude Book, Barrons and the Marine Gouge. I used these books to gauge what types of questions I could expect and for the most part they were very accurate. To help re-learn some of the algebra that I forgot I picked up Kaplan’s GRE prep book (highly recommend it). After all the preparation the only questions I struggled on during the test were a few word problems that I ran out of time on and had to guess. If your not great at word problems work with someone that is that can help you out because they will be on the test.
Reading Section:
The practice tests from the Arco books were pretty accurate for this. I don’t feel like there is much studying to do on this section. It’s more of understanding what they are testing and how you need to approach each question. Ignore any previous knowledge, if its not said in the paragraph then its not the right answer. I did 3 Arco practice tests and I felt like I did well on this section on the actual test.
Mechanical Section:
This section isn’t as ‘common sense’ as some people make it out to be in my opinion. Calling it common sense may imply that you don’t need to spend much time studying for it, which would be a mistake. Definitely know some physics.. mechanical advantage/pressure/density/buoyancy all the topics that are covered in the Marine Gouge/Arco/Barrons. Don’t just memorize answers though because the test will ask you questions about the same topic but in a different way and if you don’t truly understand the answers that your studying then you won’t get them right on the test.
Spatial Apperception:
If your not a private pilot or student then you might want to spend a decent amount of time on this section. Its very possible to do well on this section without any experience however you will just have to make sure you put a lot of emphasis on this section while your studying. Arco is good prep for this section but be aware there will be a new angle introduced on the test and a lot more emphasis placed on knowing the degree of bank of the airplane. There are a few sample questions on the beginning of the test take your time going through them and familiarize yourself with what your going to be looking at.
Aviation and Nautical Information:
I was surprised how focused this section was on just aviation. I spent a lot of time studying for this section but I am also working towards my private pilot license and have to take my FAA written soon anyway. I used the Gleim private pilot test prep and read various chapters from the FAA handbook relating to principles of flight, weather, navigation, airport operations etc.
Aviation Supplemental Test:
Again, surprised at how focused it was on just aviation. The Arco books made it seem like it was a combination of all the different sections, I would say 90% of my questions were directly related to aviation knowledge. This may be different on other forms however as long as you are studying hard for the rest of the sections you will do fine here.
Links:
The Marine Gouge/Atrickpay's study guide goes without saying and honestly I used too many to even list. I was constantly using google to find gouge or explanations of things I didn’t understand. I would encourage everyone else to do the same. Below are a few of the main links used:
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/pilot_handbook/
http://www.testprepreview.com/asvab_practice.htm
http://www.grafitto.com/~mark/astb/#info
http://www.boat-ed.com/wa/course/p1-3_boatparts.htm
http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/quizzes/MechanicalAptitude/
http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/download/MilitaryFlight.pdf
http://manlypat.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/astb_study_guide.pdf
In summary, this test can be beaten. It took me a lot of hard work and to be honest I’m still sour about missing a couple on the math section that I may even retake it. As long as you want to do well then you will put in the required amount of time. Not everybody will need a month to prepare for this. Some will need more and some will need less but if you are taking the practice tests you will be able to gauge where you’re at throughout your preparation. If you are doing all the practice tests efficiently then you can feel confident going in. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask I’ll try and check the thread as much as I can.
