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

[ChrisF11]

Hello, I am currently studying for the ASTB using the ASTB Prep app from the app store, as well as Gomez's ASTB Prep Google drive.

I finished the math section in the app and was looking over the math materials in Gomez's drive and found myself a bit overwhelmed with how much information was within it. For those of you who have taken the ASTB and used the Gomez drive or ASTB app, would it be helpful to go over everything within the drive and study up on it all, or are there specific areas I shouldn't spend too much time on? Also, in your opinion, is the Gomez drive and ASTB Prep app enough to do well? Or should I plan to pull from more study material such as ASTB study guides on amazon etc.

I wanted to take the ASTB by the end of July, but still have to start learning and study the mechanical, ANIT, and PBM sections as I've never taken a physics class or know much about aviation and nautical information. I do play video games so I'm not too worried about going over the PBM section and learning information within it, but am a little worried learning all the mechanical and ANIT information is going to take longer than up until the end of July for me to really grasp it all and be confident in my ability to do well.

I recently graduated with a bachelors in psychology and decided I wanted to join the Navy as a pilot or NFO after not being too interested in psych careers. I am new to this site so am still exploring a lot of information posted, but wanted to see if any of you could share some insight or advice into these questions I have as of now.

 

[ZuluSierraLima]

Hey Chris - welcome! The ASTB PREP app is a must (worth the money). Not too sure about the Gomez drive since I took the OAR about a year ago and only used a OAR study guide I got off Amazon along with THE "YouTube university." Here is also a link to all the information in one reddit post that I have personally bookmarked.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AirWarriors/comments/16n3hof

I'm going to be taking the ASTB test (again after never studying for it the first time around) next month and have been back on the consistent study train. The Momentrix ASTB study guide has been helpful along with a lot of the links that are all in that reddit post (CRAM, quizlet, ground school videos, flight/joystick sim, etc.)

Have you started flying yet? I recently spoke to a recruiter that mentioned me having my PPL (private pilot certificate obtained on April 4th, 2025) was a huge plus. If you haven't taken a discovery flight yet I'd highly recommend it.

Good luck and maybe we'll see each other in SNA training/OCS if all goes well!

Cheers!

 

[ZuluSierraLima]

Recently took the ASTB. Got a 49 7/6/8. It was super long towards the end when doing joystick. All I can say is study frequently and get reps in everyday. I didn’t finish a single portion of the test on time and took it one question at a time, that probably destroyed my OAR score.

Math: got kicked out after like 15 questions. Not sure if I started getting them all wrong or guessed like a pro. Lots of tough algebra equations that started to turn into weird fractions.

Reading: short paragraph and had to eliminate wrong choices. Seemed easy but at times there seemed to be 2 right answers.

Mechanical: had a tough time here because a lot of what I studied didn’t show up on the test. Mostly just basic questions asking what would happen if…

ANIT: this made me feel so terrible about myself haha. Be honest and stick to what you believe.

Aviation/nautical: I studied so hard for this portion and it paid off. ASTB prep helped with this. I would also just obsess over the FAA book and read it or listen to it frequently.

UAV and joystick: just get a real joystick and astb prep app and practice everyday. I treated this like basketball, you just had to get reps in everyday and be ready to play. Jomo simulator was best for this.

Anyway, my vision is too bad for SNA, so we’ll see what happens.

Cheers

Great post, Ladiesman.

What is your vision? I thought they allowed glasses, contacts or corrective vision surgery... Curious what they told you.

Thanks!

 

[Dom0220]

Hello, I am currently studying for the ASTB using the ASTB Prep app from the app store, as well as Gomez's ASTB Prep Google drive.

I finished the math section in the app and was looking over the math materials in Gomez's drive and found myself a bit overwhelmed with how much information was within it. For those of you who have taken the ASTB and used the Gomez drive or ASTB app, would it be helpful to go over everything within the drive and study up on it all, or are there specific areas I shouldn't spend too much time on? Also, in your opinion, is the Gomez drive and ASTB Prep app enough to do well? Or should I plan to pull from more study material such as ASTB study guides on amazon etc.

I wanted to take the ASTB by the end of July, but still have to start learning and study the mechanical, ANIT, and PBM sections as I've never taken a physics class or know much about aviation and nautical information. I do play video games so I'm not too worried about going over the PBM section and learning information within it, but am a little worried learning all the mechanical and ANIT information is going to take longer than up until the end of July for me to really grasp it all and be confident in my ability to do well.

I recently graduated with a bachelors in psychology and decided I wanted to join the Navy as a pilot or NFO after not being too interested in psych careers. I am new to this site so am still exploring a lot of information posted, but wanted to see if any of you could share some insight or advice into these questions I have as of now.

Chris, here is my strategy that I posted in an earlier discussion on this forum.
A strategy I've used recently is to plug the question in into chatgpt. IF the questions include shape diagrams such as triangles this method doesn't work at least for me. Have chatgpt you through the problem. Then have chatgpt generate more similar problems to the original question. This gives you the reps necessary to become familiar with the concept if asked in a similar way on the test. Additionally you can ask Chatgpt what this concept is called then either research the concept on youtube to gain greater familiarity with the concept, and use Khan Academy if desired.

 

[EWO69]

I took the ASTB for the first time today. Here is how it went. Hopefully, you can learn from it.
Background AWO1 (NAC/AW) 1300 Flight hours in P-8A
Roughly 25-30 hours of studying using ASTB Prep and the ASTB app.

OAR - 45
AQR - 5
PFAR - 5
FOFAR - 5

Math - About 14 questions of varying difficulty before it ended early. I'm not sure if that was because I did well or poorly. I felt as if I was able to answer almost all of them correctly.
Reading - This was the section I studied the least. It was slightly more difficult than anticipated, and very boring as well. Went the full 20.
MCT - Felt okay with this section, I was not as prepared as I should have been. This was probably my weakest due to focusing on studying for math 70% of the time.

PBM
Dichotic hearing - This is where things went downhill for me. After starting, my joystick became disconnected, and I was unable to answer 90% of the test. This was a crushing blow, considering I was feeling pretty good up until this point. The proctor was able to replace it with a working one for the rest of the PBM. The throttle and joystick never came unplugged. I'm really not sure why it happened.
Joystick and Throttle - Very straightforward, obviously, this could have been improved.
Joystick and Throttle + EP's - I wrote the EP's down, I had no issue with the multitasking, and followed the directions. After completing them 2/3 times, I noticed the screen go red, signifying I "died/crashed" if I'm not mistaken. I was a bit confused about why I didn't successfully complete them, considering I followed the instructions. Any feedback for this would be greatly appreciated. Totally plausible, I just messed them up despite my confidence.
UAV - I missed maybe 4-5 with a time that was probably below 2 seconds. Nerves got me here for sure.
ANIT - I answered maybe 15 questions, and it ended early. I felt like this was the easiest section, consisting mainly of aviation-related questions. No history, a few aircraft questions. General aviation knowledge.
NATFI - Annoying.
Terrain - Straightforward with the compass rose trick.
I plan on putting a package in for SNA, so I will start putting a package together with these bare minimum scores and most likely plan to retest in the future.

 

[ChrisF11]

Hey Chris - welcome! The ASTB PREP app is a must (worth the money). Not too sure about the Gomez drive since I took the OAR about a year ago and only used a OAR study guide I got off Amazon along with THE "YouTube university." Here is also a link to all the information in one reddit post that I have personally bookmarked.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AirWarriors/comments/16n3hof

I'm going to be taking the ASTB test (again after never studying for it the first time around) next month and have been back on the consistent study train. The Momentrix ASTB study guide has been helpful along with a lot of the links that are all in that reddit post (CRAM, quizlet, ground school videos, flight/joystick sim, etc.)

Have you started flying yet? I recently spoke to a recruiter that mentioned me having my PPL (private pilot certificate obtained on April 4th, 2025) was a huge plus. If you haven't taken a discovery flight yet I'd highly recommend it.

Good luck and maybe we'll see each other in SNA training/OCS if all goes well!

Cheers!

Hey Zulu, I really appreciate your reply! I am still in the early stages of studying and am moving through the ASTB App and Gomez drive mainly right now, but I will be sure to explore that reddit post and its contents further to help broaden my study material.

Congrats on getting your PPL! I am not currently trying to go for a PPL as I was told it isn't necessary to take the ASTB and be accepted as a NA or NFO, but can definitely see how it would be a huge plus in terms of learning relevant material to the ASTB/SNA training in general. Will definitely look into a discovery flight though and perhaps pursuing a PPL first would be a fun route to explore!

Thanks so much again and perhaps we will!

Good luck to you as well!

 

[ChrisF11]

Chris, here is my strategy that I posted in an earlier discussion on this forum.
A strategy I've used recently is to plug the question in into chatgpt. IF the questions include shape diagrams such as triangles this method doesn't work at least for me. Have chatgpt you through the problem. Then have chatgpt generate more similar problems to the original question. This gives you the reps necessary to become familiar with the concept if asked in a similar way on the test. Additionally you can ask Chatgpt what this concept is called then either research the concept on youtube to gain greater familiarity with the concept, and use Khan Academy if desired.

Hey Dom, this is a great strategy! I never even thought about using ChatGPT like this. Sounds really helpful and will definitely try it out. Thanks!

 

[ZuluSierraLima]

I took the ASTB for the first time today. Here is how it went. Hopefully, you can learn from it.
Background AWO1 (NAC/AW) 1300 Flight hours in P-8A
Roughly 25-30 hours of studying using ASTB Prep and the ASTB app.

OAR - 45
AQR - 5
PFAR - 5
FOFAR - 5

Math - About 14 questions of varying difficulty before it ended early. I'm not sure if that was because I did well or poorly. I felt as if I was able to answer almost all of them correctly.
Reading - This was the section I studied the least. It was slightly more difficult than anticipated, and very boring as well. Went the full 20.
MCT - Felt okay with this section, I was not as prepared as I should have been. This was probably my weakest due to focusing on studying for math 70% of the time.

PBM
Dichotic hearing - This is where things went downhill for me. After starting, my joystick became disconnected, and I was unable to answer 90% of the test. This was a crushing blow, considering I was feeling pretty good up until this point. The proctor was able to replace it with a working one for the rest of the PBM. The throttle and joystick never came unplugged. I'm really not sure why it happened.
Joystick and Throttle - Very straightforward, obviously, this could have been improved.
Joystick and Throttle + EP's - I wrote the EP's down, I had no issue with the multitasking, and followed the directions. After completing them 2/3 times, I noticed the screen go red, signifying I "died/crashed" if I'm not mistaken. I was a bit confused about why I didn't successfully complete them, considering I followed the instructions. Any feedback for this would be greatly appreciated. Totally plausible, I just messed them up despite my confidence.
UAV - I missed maybe 4-5 with a time that was probably below 2 seconds. Nerves got me here for sure.
ANIT - I answered maybe 15 questions, and it ended early. I felt like this was the easiest section, consisting mainly of aviation-related questions. No history, a few aircraft questions. General aviation knowledge.
NATFI - Annoying.
Terrain - Straightforward with the compass rose trick.
I plan on putting a package in for SNA, so I will start putting a package together with these bare minimum scores and most likely plan to retest in the future.

Thanks for the info here! What did you use to study for the Math and MCT sections? Feeling good about the PBM but taking the OAR test again has me thinking I need a lot more time to study than I thought...

 

[ZuluSierraLima]

Took the astb yesterday after about 3 weeks of studying on average an hour a day and nearing 4-5 hours a day a week leading up to the exam.

Scored: 61 8/7/6

I just wanted to do my part and relay what I learned after taking it. I also want to emphasize that I’m not going cover things that were already covered in the rest of this thread however, I did want to focus on a few things that I felt weren’t emphasized enough throughout the thread.

Math: I went in with the most confidence on this section, as others did, however I missed a few easy questions due to the over confidence. I was introduced to logs and matrix multiplication around the fourth or fifth question so I believe I was doing good and solved those no problem. An example of an a question that stumped me towards the end was a complicated exponent problem. Something like: 7^(2x+3)/(3^(x/2) = 5x^4x. Although I may have been able to solve this problem given enough time by plugging in the possible answers, it was nearing the end of my test and I didn’t have enough time. Another problem was something like: how many sides would a polygon need for all the interior angles to equal 144 degrees. So my recommendation for this section would be even if you’re confident, go through and just practice at least a few of each type of problem in the astb prep app or otherwise mentioned by users on this thread.

Reading: same as others have posted

Mechanical: same as others have posted (easiest section by far if you have a slight grasp of physics just review valance electrons)

ANIT: I studied the most for this section as I had no background in aviation, the ram cards, and the ASTB prep app have a lot of good knowledge as others have stated on this thread. Take the practice tests on the app over and over again until you’re scoring 100s. use the flashcards in the ASTB prep app and cram cards until you know almost every single one. (I got no history). MY MOST IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THIS SECTION:

#1 go through the thread and study every single thing that is specifically mentioned to be on others exams. For example: Airport Gun lights, airspace, airspeeds, enlist rates etc…

#2 I’m sorry to say this and I know most of you studying don’t want to hear it but the ASTB prep app and CRAM cards are NOT ENOUGH. Even though I did not do this, my other recommendation is go through the highlighted chapters in the FAA handbook from Kyle‘s Drive. You’ll be able to find the link a few pages back if you search through for a bit. Another recommendation I have is when taking the practice test on the ASTB app, if you see any terminology you don’t know whether it’s the right answer or the wrong answers in that question search them up so you’re familiar. Most of the answers even if they’re wrong are important things that could pop up on the test.

PBM: Everything stated by everyone else in this thread about this section is 100% accurate. I bought the Logitech x52 from amazon and practiced using the Jantzen sim. (Another note for no reason whatsoever: amazon has a great return policy)

That’s all folks. Most importantly, stay calm. My last note is after doing some research into the various Excel sheets with the board results. The percentage acceptance rate for the last few boards has been very high so use that to calm your nerves.

This thread was priceless thank you everyone and good luck.

Thanks for the insight Konrad! Do you mind sending a link to the Kyle's Drive? I have the Gomez drive bookmarked but can't seem to track down this resource. Appreciate it.

 

[Dy1anLR]

Hello, I am currently studying for the ASTB using the ASTB Prep app from the app store, as well as Gomez's ASTB Prep Google drive.

I finished the math section in the app and was looking over the math materials in Gomez's drive and found myself a bit overwhelmed with how much information was within it. For those of you who have taken the ASTB and used the Gomez drive or ASTB app, would it be helpful to go over everything within the drive and study up on it all, or are there specific areas I shouldn't spend too much time on? Also, in your opinion, is the Gomez drive and ASTB Prep app enough to do well? Or should I plan to pull from more study material such as ASTB study guides on amazon etc.

I wanted to take the ASTB by the end of July, but still have to start learning and study the mechanical, ANIT, and PBM sections as I've never taken a physics class or know much about aviation and nautical information. I do play video games so I'm not too worried about going over the PBM section and learning information within it, but am a little worried learning all the mechanical and ANIT information is going to take longer than up until the end of July for me to really grasp it all and be confident in my ability to do well.

I recently graduated with a bachelors in psychology and decided I wanted to join the Navy as a pilot or NFO after not being too interested in psych careers. I am new to this site so am still exploring a lot of information posted, but wanted to see if any of you could share some insight or advice into these questions I have as of now.

Honestly, took the ASTB yesterday and maybe I had a unicorn experience but not a single rate/distance problem, like 1 log problem, and no x takes one hour y takes 4 how long to complete it together problem. Which was weird as that was what I had been preparing for. It was mostly just percentages (x% off then additional y% off), simple exponent stuff, and basic algebra. I would focus on what other people have said appears a lot but put most of your focus on the anviation/nautical and pbm. I spent the last week using the uav and identification in the the astb apple store app. I also used a joystick and throttle off facebook marketplace and used the steam app “tbas study pro” (it has a astb section). Although I wasn’t ready for the god awfully high sensitivity of the real test it prepared me very well for the whole thing. Gave myself a hard time during the test because I thought I was doing awful in every section and walked away with 62/8/9:

I took the ASTB for the first time today. Here is how it went. Hopefully, you can learn from it.
Background AWO1 (NAC/AW) 1300 Flight hours in P-8A
Roughly 25-30 hours of studying using ASTB Prep and the ASTB app.

OAR - 45
AQR - 5
PFAR - 5
FOFAR - 5

Math - About 14 questions of varying difficulty before it ended early. I'm not sure if that was because I did well or poorly. I felt as if I was able to answer almost all of them correctly.
Reading - This was the section I studied the least. It was slightly more difficult than anticipated, and very boring as well. Went the full 20.
MCT - Felt okay with this section, I was not as prepared as I should have been. This was probably my weakest due to focusing on studying for math 70% of the time.

PBM
Dichotic hearing - This is where things went downhill for me. After starting, my joystick became disconnected, and I was unable to answer 90% of the test. This was a crushing blow, considering I was feeling pretty good up until this point. The proctor was able to replace it with a working one for the rest of the PBM. The throttle and joystick never came unplugged. I'm really not sure why it happened.
Joystick and Throttle - Very straightforward, obviously, this could have been improved.
Joystick and Throttle + EP's - I wrote the EP's down, I had no issue with the multitasking, and followed the directions. After completing them 2/3 times, I noticed the screen go red, signifying I "died/crashed" if I'm not mistaken. I was a bit confused about why I didn't successfully complete them, considering I followed the instructions. Any feedback for this would be greatly appreciated. Totally plausible, I just messed them up despite my confidence.
UAV - I missed maybe 4-5 with a time that was probably below 2 seconds. Nerves got me here for sure.
ANIT - I answered maybe 15 questions, and it ended early. I felt like this was the easiest section, consisting mainly of aviation-related questions. No history, a few aircraft questions. General aviation knowledge.
NATFI - Annoying.
Terrain - Straightforward with the compass rose trick.
I plan on putting a package in for SNA, so I will start putting a package together with these bare minimum scores and most likely plan to retest in the future

I took the ASTB for the first time today. Here is how it went. Hopefully, you can learn from it.
Background AWO1 (NAC/AW) 1300 Flight hours in P-8A
Roughly 25-30 hours of studying using ASTB Prep and the ASTB app.

OAR - 45
AQR - 5
PFAR - 5
FOFAR - 5

Math - About 14 questions of varying difficulty before it ended early. I'm not sure if that was because I did well or poorly. I felt as if I was able to answer almost all of them correctly.
Reading - This was the section I studied the least. It was slightly more difficult than anticipated, and very boring as well. Went the full 20.
MCT - Felt okay with this section, I was not as prepared as I should have been. This was probably my weakest due to focusing on studying for math 70% of the time.

PBM
Dichotic hearing - This is where things went downhill for me. After starting, my joystick became disconnected, and I was unable to answer 90% of the test. This was a crushing blow, considering I was feeling pretty good up until this point. The proctor was able to replace it with a working one for the rest of the PBM. The throttle and joystick never came unplugged. I'm really not sure why it happened.
Joystick and Throttle - Very straightforward, obviously, this could have been improved.
Joystick and Throttle + EP's - I wrote the EP's down, I had no issue with the multitasking, and followed the directions. After completing them 2/3 times, I noticed the screen go red, signifying I "died/crashed" if I'm not mistaken. I was a bit confused about why I didn't successfully complete them, considering I followed the instructions. Any feedback for this would be greatly appreciated. Totally plausible, I just messed them up despite my confidence.
UAV - I missed maybe 4-5 with a time that was probably below 2 seconds. Nerves got me here for sure.
ANIT - I answered maybe 15 questions, and it ended early. I felt like this was the easiest section, consisting mainly of aviation-related questions. No history, a few aircraft questions. General aviation knowledge.
NATFI - Annoying.
Terrain - Straightforward with the compass rose trick.
I plan on putting a package in for SNA, so I will start putting a package together with these bare minimum scores and most likely plan to retest in the future.

For uav section definitely just practice the astb prep app until your brain rots then do it some more. Some people like the paper on pencil trick (on youtube) but it never worked for me. I would just like see where the orientation is on the map and if I was southwest looking northeast I would know the parking lot to the left is west and the one on the right is south. Not sure if that explains it well but just find a way to mentally be able to recognize them and I missed one and I think average reaction time on the test was probably around 2 seconds. For your emergency procedure is it maybe possible it wasn’t fully 100% or 0% when you pressed the clutch? Definitely weird though as when I pressed the clutch the screen returned to normal. You are in good shape to do well your next try especially since that was your score with the joystick not working properly. You can also download tbas study pro on steam and get second hand hotas if you want to improve the pbm section even more and be 100% ready.

 

[ladiesman2179]

Great post, Ladiesman.

What is your vision? I thought they allowed glasses, contacts or corrective vision surgery... Curious what they told you.

Thanks!

20/200 uncorrected rip
20/30 corrected
Need lasik but waivers aren’t 100% acceptance rate from what I hear.
Has anyone had luck with getting Snfo with bad uncorrected vision?

 

[EWO69]

Thanks for the info here! What did you use to study for the Math and MCT sections? Feeling good about the PBM but taking the OAR test again has me thinking I need a lot more time to study than I thought...

I focused on the ASTB prep app as well as a few practice tests from kyle's drive.

 

[EWO69]

Honestly, took the ASTB yesterday and maybe I had a unicorn experience but not a single rate/distance problem, like 1 log problem, and no x takes one hour y takes 4 how long to complete it together problem. Which was weird as that was what I had been preparing for. It was mostly just percentages (x% off then additional y% off), simple exponent stuff, and basic algebra. I would focus on what other people have said appears a lot but put most of your focus on the anviation/nautical and pbm. I spent the last week using the uav and identification in the the astb apple store app. I also used a joystick and throttle off facebook marketplace and used the steam app “tbas study pro” (it has a astb section). Although I wasn’t ready for the god awfully high sensitivity of the real test it prepared me very well for the whole thing. Gave myself a hard time during the test because I thought I was doing awful in every section and walked away with 62/8/9:



For uav section definitely just practice the astb prep app until your brain rots then do it some more. Some people like the paper on pencil trick (on youtube) but it never worked for me. I would just like see where the orientation is on the map and if I was southwest looking northeast I would know the parking lot to the left is west and the one on the right is south. Not sure if that explains it well but just find a way to mentally be able to recognize them and I missed one and I think average reaction time on the test was probably around 2 seconds. For your emergency procedure is it maybe possible it wasn’t fully 100% or 0% when you pressed the clutch? Definitely weird though as when I pressed the clutch the screen returned to normal. You are in good shape to do well your next try especially since that was your score with the joystick not working properly. You can also download tbas study pro on steam and get second hand hotas if you want to improve the pbm section even more and be 100% ready.

Dude I didn't have a single rate/distance problem either. I will be taking your advice for my next attempt. Ill keep ripping all the study material and tests on the app for the next few months until I feel better about it, I will getting the TBAS study pro game from steam as well. As for the EP's im really not sure, I turned the E and I nobs until they physically could not turn anymore. I took the test on the saitek x52 which seemed kinda janky and cheap. With the joystick and throttle being switched out after the calibration phase maybe thats the reason? Im going to take my next test at the location on base instead of the NROTC office I took it at this time.

 

[JDillon]

people who took the test… For the PBM tests, do they just throw you into it, expecting that you know what it is or do they give you an introduction/tutorial type thing to each part?

 

[EWO69]

people who took the test… For the PBM tests, do they just throw you into it, expecting that you know what it is or do they give you an introduction/tutorial type thing to each part?

For each section of the PBM, there is a practice test as well as an explanation before you start.