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

[Nguyen]

Hey guys,

I am taking the ASTB for the second time and wondering if the other forms are very different from the first one.

 

[Tgalvin30]

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

 

[ea6bflyr]

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

If only there were a thread dedicated to such a question....or if someone knew how to use the search function.... [SMH]

 

[BPeterson93]

Guys. I want to thank you for the gouge and all the help. My first time around I wasn't prepared at all. I pretended like I knew what to do and that this was like any other exam I had taken in my life and would just be cake. I walked out of it with a 53 5/5/5.
Needless to say, I needed to up my scores. I studied harder, I practiced, I took it seriously and it was with your help that I came out this time with a 55 6/7/7.
I'm submitting for this Oct and hope to hear back as soon as possible. I'm dying to get started on my path to wings.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Guys. I want to thank you for the gouge and all the help. My first time around I wasn't prepared at all. I pretended like I knew what to do and that this was like any other exam I had taken in my life and would just be cake. I walked out of it with a 53 5/5/5.
Needless to say, I needed to up my scores. I studied harder, I practiced, I took it seriously and it was with your help that I came out this time with a 55 6/7/7.
I'm submitting for this Oct and hope to hear back as soon as possible. I'm dying to get started on my path to wings.

If you haven't heard the Octoberish board became the September board, results are out.

 

[SoopurHero816]

Hi all, long time wannabe Marine pilot here. Took the ASTB-E yesterday 09112015 and achieved the following scores:


AQR: 6

PFAR: 5

FOFAR: 5

OAR: 58


I made a HUGE mistake which most likely resulted in me not passing the PFAR, so maybe I can help someone not make the same stupid decision. On the first dichotic listening test, you're just listening for them to say "right" or "left" ear, and then you listen for numbers in that ear. Odd numbers you press a button in your left hand, even numbers you pull the trigger in your right hand. That's all you do for the first dichotic listening test. Really not too difficult.


Here's where I went wrong: I thought I would be really clever and slip the headphone off of the ear that I wasn't listening for. So the test started out with my right ear, so I removed the left headphone. DO NOT DO THIS!!!! Because after about 20 seconds, it will switch ears but I didn't hear it because I wasn't wearing the other headphone. So I basically failed this part of the test.


Just do what others have said on the listening section: tilt your head towards the ear you're listening for. You'll hear either left or right, (the ear to listen to), followed by letters and numbers. Tilt and focus on the numbers. It's not hard, I'm just a retard for trying to game the system.


Anyways, embarrassing personal story over. As for the rest of the test:


Math- Lots of probability (averages, dice rolls,), two people painting a house, fairly basic algebra, exponents, basic arithmetic. Spend time on Khan academy and you should be fine. I'm decent at math, but I'm by no means really good and I felt ok. Ran out of time quickly though.


Reading- Main challenge here is reading dry military content, so it's hard to focus. Most answers are ridiculous assumptions that cannot be made from the paragraph, so just be comfortable reading and eliminating wrong answers.


Mechanical: Lots of pulley problems and questions about the properties of fluids. Barron's book was very helpful for me on this section. Didn't see any electrical problems.


Aviation/Nautical info: This section was difficult because it's so much like a weird trivia game. Questions ranged from lights on an airplane to naval terminology to history questions. Hard to really prepare for this one for history questions. "Which fighter was fitted with tankers during Op. Iraqi Freedom"? Yea...


Performance test: Good info on the UAV section on this thread, and you can practice as much as you like on the test. I missed a couple because you want to answer fast, but this section should be easy once you understand how it works.


See above for dichotic listening, it's really not too bad.


After listening, you start using the joystick and throttle.


Track the plane game starts off just tracking vertically with the throttle, so the plane moves straight up or down and you have to push or pull the throttle to keep the cursor on it. Then you track in 2D with just the stick, following a plane inside a box (Y axis is inverted, as others have said, so pushing forward on the stick moves the tracker DOWN).It bounces and moves all around within a box, almost like the old pong game on crack. then you combine the two. So you're tracking one plane moving only up and down on the left side with the throttle, at the same time tracking the "pong" plane moving all around inside the box using the joystick. My only tip here is that the vertical throttle plane tended to move in a consistent pattern, so try to match the throttle close and then shift focus back to the joystick.



Next, you track both planes using joystick and throttle AND listen to a specific ear again. It's a bit overwhelming, but be sure to tilt your ear and focus on the numbers. You can get through this.


The hardest part in my opinion was the last section where you have emergency procedures while tracking both planes. WRITE DOWN THE PROCEDURES when you see them in the instructions. There are three procedures with three steps each. First two steps require adjusting a knob on the throttle. The last step was to press the thumb button. Whenever these emergencies come up, stop tracking and follow the procedure as quickly as possible. I didn't react fast enough, so I only got one emergency out of three correct. I think this section is very important, so I'll give a quick example of the emergency scenario:


Fire Emergency:

1) Reduce Fuel (big knob)

2) Reduce engine speed (small knob)

3) Press clutch (thumb button)


The screen looks the same as the other tracking tests, except there are three gauges at the bottom with an arrow. Each gauge has a green, yellow, and red section with an arrow in the yellow by default. So you're tracking the planes like normal when the screen suddenly turns red and says an emergency. In the case of fire emergency, follow the steps, reduce the 1st knob first so the corresponding gauge arrow moves into the red. Then do the second knob, then quickly press the thumb button. If you get it right, the red screen will disappear and you'll be flying again like normal. Get it wrong, and it will stay red and say something like "aircraft damaged". But again, you have three emergencies. Read the directions carefully and nail this section!



Anyways, the test wasn't that horrendous, just really long. It's a tough pill to swallow thinking that I probably should have passed if I wasn't such a flippin' idiot, but I have 90 days to get over it and kill it the next time. Feel free to ask any questions while I still have it fresh in my mind.


Best of luck to my fellow aspiring aviators, and thank you to those who've passed on some very helpful knowledge on this forum.

First, this guy is right on point, I took my most recent (2nd attempt) ASTB-E a few days after him. The Air Warriors community gave me so much good advice I feel I need to contribute as well!


My first attempt with only a brisk reading through a few of these forums and pretty much just self studying, I got a 49, 5,4,5 (PFAR was 4, DOH!). So, due to the fact that my F/T job I work 3rd shift, I utilized the services of a tutor from my college (best decision ever!). He was phenomenal and I know there are different ones out there, but I met with him once a week for the first month and twice a week for the following two months before the test. I did countless hours of studying on Khan academy, youtube, and various aviation textbooks outside of the tutor sessions, but some weeks I couldn't fit even an hour of studying, so having a tutor to just re-focus is great for the poor weeks. If you think that you're going to procrastinate the studying just have no idea where to begin in studying, I highly recommend a tutor! Put your ego aside for it, it pays off! My second attempt, which was taken 09142015 I got a 55, 6,6,6. I'll break down the sections:


Mathematical/Reading/Mechanical: This is where my tutor and I utilized benchmark scoring throughout the three months. I utilized two textbooks that really were great resources: ASTB-E Study Guide: Test Prep and Practice Test Questions for the ASTB-E from Accepted Inc. and Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Tests, 3rd Edition

Here are the links for those books:

http://www.amazon.com/ASTB-Study-Gu...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443507937&sr=8-1&keywords=ASTB

http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Milit...2?ie=UTF8&qid=1443508038&sr=8-2&keywords=ASTB


The ASTB-E Study guide book I utilized in my first attempt, and Barron's mostly was used for the second. For the Barron's book, there are other aviation tests like the AFOQT and SIFT. There are math, mechanical, and aviation knowledge in those tests. USE THEM!! They are just as good and more practice. Don't neglect the reading comprehension tests, if anything it helps with vocabulary, but don't assume that the reading comprehension test is going to be a breeze. It is dry content sometimes, and when you go to take the ASTB-E, read the question first (not the answers, because then you'll focus on looking for the answers within the text) and then read the paragraph. If I could have studied something more before the test it would have been probability, 4Runner Duck was right, I got a lot of dice rolling questions (which probably means I was getting them wrong) and that was one of the subjects I neglected. I also ensured that I was strong in my multiplication, division, and square root tables. It seems elementary, but when you have been using calculators and non-timed tests throughout high school and college, going back to pencil and paper can take some people off guard with binding them up for time. My strategy was to answer accurately as possible, but not to dwell too long on a problem that I couldn't resolve in quicker than 5-7 minutes (MAX!). Also: click accurately, once you click A,B,C, or D, that is it, you can’t change your answer. I made this mistake once and nearly pulled out my hair, if you do this compose yourself and move on. I was mad, but realized that I had another 17 minutes of the math test to go, and needed the utmost concentration/speed and getting aggravated won’t resolve anything, what’s done is done. Just be careful. (I ended up getting cut off with 15 minutes remaining, so I was either doing something really right or really wrong based off of the adaptive testing)


Another great tool that I used in between studying when my eyes got tired and I didn't want to read anymore was the app Lumosity on my phone. It is an app designed by doctors/neurologists that use problem solving, speed, spatial apperception, and brain flexibility games to help keep your mind sharp. This app has some speed math games as well as a few spatial apperception games. Not only did I think this helped me in the OAR section, but also the PBM.


ANIT: This is absolutely a broad subject. I may have had an advantage with utilizing my Civil Air Patrol aerospace modules, but there's more organized information in the Barron's book. Don't ignore helicopter knowledge, I had a few helicopter questions on cyclic controls and such. Just having a broad understanding will be great in this section! Focus on the different components of the aircraft, especially the instruments! Pitot tube, attitude indicator, altitude indicator, difference between trim-tabs and flaps, elevators, ailerons, etc.


It's so weird because I also got the "Which fighter was fitted with tankers during Op. Iraqi Freedom" question. I ended up figuring out it was the F-14 Tomcat, but during the test I was like... ughhh!!! At what point, do you draw the line for studying this material?? On my first attempt I got a question about an Air Force aircraft, I can't exactly remember the question, but I was still overwhelmed with the broad selection of operational/historical aviation gouge. The weekend before my test, I watched this youtube video and I was so glad I did! It is 1hr 48mins long, but soooo worth it!

Spatial Apperception/ UAV exercise: For this one, this is where my lumosity app really came in handy. There is a penguin game on it, and it is really good with exercising your brain on this. My best advice is doing as many practice rounds before the real deal because this is the only PBM section where you get unlimited amount of practice rounds. Get your responses accurate and as quick as 1 second per question because that is what I found to be competitive. When you take the actual test, don’t get flustered if you get one wrong, move on and clear your mind (I would imagine this is a crucial trait throughout the entirety of an aviation career, in regards to keeping your cool).


PBM: 4Runner Duck covered this section well. The one thing I noticed I ended up doing once things were beginning to be combined was I let my brain relax, (if there’s such thing) I focused on the 2-D target while occasionally glancing to maintain on target with the vertical target. As he said, definitely don’t take one side of the headphones off, just tilt your head. Write down the emergency procedures. I felt like I was cheating on this portion by doing this, but realized that if they didn’t want you to write them down they would have written that in the instructions and would have had your proctor take the scrap paper away after the Math/Reading/Mechanical section. When the emergency scenarios came up, I stopped tracking for a split second to make sure my knobs were in the right direction, and make sure before entering this test that your knobs are either all the way turned up or all the way turned down so you know where you’re starting point is. Keep your cool and don’t get frustrated. Just think of it as a game, and it will go pretty smoothly. The design is to get you flustered, I feel you will do well if you just keep calm (and fly on!).


Good luck everyone! Feel free to message me if you have any questions, I will get back to you ASAP!


Thanks!

 

[4Runner Duck]

First, this guy is right on point, I took my most recent (2nd attempt) ASTB-E a few days after him. The Air Warriors community gave me so much good advice I feel I need to contribute as well!


My first attempt with only a brisk reading through a few of these forums and pretty much just self studying, I got a 49, 5,4,5 (PFAR was 4, DOH!). So, due to the fact that my F/T job I work 3rd shift, I utilized the services of a tutor from my college (best decision ever!). He was phenomenal and I know there are different ones out there, but I met with him once a week for the first month and twice a week for the following two months before the test. I did countless hours of studying on Khan academy, youtube, and various aviation textbooks outside of the tutor sessions, but some weeks I couldn't fit even an hour of studying, so having a tutor to just re-focus is great for the poor weeks. If you think that you're going to procrastinate the studying just have no idea where to begin in studying, I highly recommend a tutor! Put your ego aside for it, it pays off! My second attempt, which was taken 09142015 I got a 55, 6,6,6. I'll break down the sections:


Mathematical/Reading/Mechanical: This is where my tutor and I utilized benchmark scoring throughout the three months. I utilized two textbooks that really were great resources: ASTB-E Study Guide: Test Prep and Practice Test Questions for the ASTB-E from Accepted Inc. and Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Tests, 3rd Edition

Here are the links for those books:

http://www.amazon.com/ASTB-Study-Gu...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443507937&sr=8-1&keywords=ASTB

http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Milit...2?ie=UTF8&qid=1443508038&sr=8-2&keywords=ASTB


The ASTB-E Study guide book I utilized in my first attempt, and Barron's mostly was used for the second. For the Barron's book, there are other aviation tests like the AFOQT and SIFT. There are math, mechanical, and aviation knowledge in those tests. USE THEM!! They are just as good and more practice. Don't neglect the reading comprehension tests, if anything it helps with vocabulary, but don't assume that the reading comprehension test is going to be a breeze. It is dry content sometimes, and when you go to take the ASTB-E, read the question first (not the answers, because then you'll focus on looking for the answers within the text) and then read the paragraph. If I could have studied something more before the test it would have been probability, 4Runner Duck was right, I got a lot of dice rolling questions (which probably means I was getting them wrong) and that was one of the subjects I neglected. I also ensured that I was strong in my multiplication, division, and square root tables. It seems elementary, but when you have been using calculators and non-timed tests throughout high school and college, going back to pencil and paper can take some people off guard with binding them up for time. My strategy was to answer accurately as possible, but not to dwell too long on a problem that I couldn't resolve in quicker than 5-7 minutes (MAX!). Also: click accurately, once you click A,B,C, or D, that is it, you can’t change your answer. I made this mistake once and nearly pulled out my hair, if you do this compose yourself and move on. I was mad, but realized that I had another 17 minutes of the math test to go, and needed the utmost concentration/speed and getting aggravated won’t resolve anything, what’s done is done. Just be careful. (I ended up getting cut off with 15 minutes remaining, so I was either doing something really right or really wrong based off of the adaptive testing)


Another great tool that I used in between studying when my eyes got tired and I didn't want to read anymore was the app Lumosity on my phone. It is an app designed by doctors/neurologists that use problem solving, speed, spatial apperception, and brain flexibility games to help keep your mind sharp. This app has some speed math games as well as a few spatial apperception games. Not only did I think this helped me in the OAR section, but also the PBM.


ANIT: This is absolutely a broad subject. I may have had an advantage with utilizing my Civil Air Patrol aerospace modules, but there's more organized information in the Barron's book. Don't ignore helicopter knowledge, I had a few helicopter questions on cyclic controls and such. Just having a broad understanding will be great in this section! Focus on the different components of the aircraft, especially the instruments! Pitot tube, attitude indicator, altitude indicator, difference between trim-tabs and flaps, elevators, ailerons, etc.


It's so weird because I also got the "Which fighter was fitted with tankers during Op. Iraqi Freedom" question. I ended up figuring out it was the F-14 Tomcat, but during the test I was like... ughhh!!! At what point, do you draw the line for studying this material?? On my first attempt I got a question about an Air Force aircraft, I can't exactly remember the question, but I was still overwhelmed with the broad selection of operational/historical aviation gouge. The weekend before my test, I watched this youtube video and I was so glad I did! It is 1hr 48mins long, but soooo worth it!

Spatial Apperception/ UAV exercise: For this one, this is where my lumosity app really came in handy. There is a penguin game on it, and it is really good with exercising your brain on this. My best advice is doing as many practice rounds before the real deal because this is the only PBM section where you get unlimited amount of practice rounds. Get your responses accurate and as quick as 1 second per question because that is what I found to be competitive. When you take the actual test, don’t get flustered if you get one wrong, move on and clear your mind (I would imagine this is a crucial trait throughout the entirety of an aviation career, in regards to keeping your cool).


PBM: 4Runner Duck covered this section well. The one thing I noticed I ended up doing once things were beginning to be combined was I let my brain relax, (if there’s such thing) I focused on the 2-D target while occasionally glancing to maintain on target with the vertical target. As he said, definitely don’t take one side of the headphones off, just tilt your head. Write down the emergency procedures. I felt like I was cheating on this portion by doing this, but realized that if they didn’t want you to write them down they would have written that in the instructions and would have had your proctor take the scrap paper away after the Math/Reading/Mechanical section. When the emergency scenarios came up, I stopped tracking for a split second to make sure my knobs were in the right direction, and make sure before entering this test that your knobs are either all the way turned up or all the way turned down so you know where you’re starting point is. Keep your cool and don’t get frustrated. Just think of it as a game, and it will go pretty smoothly. The design is to get you flustered, I feel you will do well if you just keep calm (and fly on!).


Good luck everyone! Feel free to message me if you have any questions, I will get back to you ASAP!


Thanks!

Congratulations on the great scores! Are you going Navy or Marines for a flight contract? And are you hoping to fly fixed or rotary wing someday?


A lot of great advice by Soopur in here. I'm definitely going to look into this Lumosity app you mentioned. But I think my greatest downfall was being a tool and taking off one of my stupid headphones.

I also used Barron's and Accepted Inc. for my primary books, and the ASTB-E Study Guide on top of that. People should be warned though that there are some errors in the Accepted book, but I know that's already been discussed on this forum.

Definitely wanted to echo what Soopur said about the emergency procedures, because that's a really good idea. Make sure both knobs are all the way up or all the way down before you start this section. That should make it super easy to pass all 3 emergency procedures. I only passed the last procedure my first time around because I didn't react quickly enough the first time, and simply butchered the second one. And I have a feeling this section weighs heavily on your PFAR/FOFAR scores.

About 2 more months left of waiting. This 90 day retest period sucks major buttcheeks.

 

[SoopurHero816]

Congratulations on the great scores! Are you going Navy or Marines for a flight contract? And are you hoping to fly fixed or rotary wing someday?


A lot of great advice by Soopur in here. I'm definitely going to look into this Lumosity app you mentioned. But I think my greatest downfall was being a tool and taking off one of my stupid headphones.

I also used Barron's and Accepted Inc. for my primary books, and the ASTB-E Study Guide on top of that. People should be warned though that there are some errors in the Accepted book, but I know that's already been discussed on this forum.

Definitely wanted to echo what Soopur said about the emergency procedures, because that's a really good idea. Make sure both knobs are all the way up or all the way down before you start this section. That should make it super easy to pass all 3 emergency procedures. I only passed the last procedure my first time around because I didn't react quickly enough the first time, and simply butchered the second one. And I have a feeling this section weighs heavily on your PFAR/FOFAR scores.

About 2 more months left of waiting. This 90 day retest period sucks major buttcheeks.

I am going Navy for Pilot. Hopeful rotary wing! I wanna fly the SH-Seahawk, but I'll fly whatever the Navy plops me in!! The 90-Day wait period sucks, but get a tutor if you can afford it, it was the best thing I could do for myself to keep me on track.

 

[whosha]

Thoughts on a 5/5/6 54 score for NFO?

 

[KORhc]

Thoughts on a 5/5/6 54 score for NFO?

It depends on your gpa. But generally if you want to be competitive, you would want to shoot for 8's.

 

[jenn_cjsk]

Hello! I'm hoping to get some pointers for finding practice questions! I've found the great study guide and a few different sets of practice questions. I bought the Officer Candidate Tests for Dummies and the Accepted Inc. ASTB Study Guide but I really want to get my hands on as many practice questions as possible (especially for the Mechanical section!).

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd really appreciate any pointers!

 

[graduatechunk]

Hey guys!

Quick question for those who have already taken the test: Do you commonly see multiple choice answers such as "Impossible to tell" or "None of the above" ? I've seen these options in a couple of the study guides, especially the mechanical sections.

Just curious if they put these answers on the test, and if so, did anyone choose those answers?!

Thanks for any input.

 

[Staythurst]

Yes, you will see those types of answers, and it is possible that it could be the correct choice. You are right about it being a thing on the mechanical section. They really push for full understanding of the mechanical stuff, and it can be tough to pure logic your way to an answer.

 

[Sarahteacher12]

If you send me a PM I can send you a compressed file that contains multiple study guides that I've found on this forum. It isn't everything but it's a worth a shot!

Hello jpham89,

I'm new to the site too and trying to navigate how to find Astb study guides and gouges. Can you send me the compressed file that has multiple study guides? Planning on taking the oar in 3 weeks!

Thank you!
Sarah

 

[BPeterson93]

Hello jpham89,

I'm new to the site too and trying to navigate how to find Astb study guides and gouges. Can you send me the compressed file that has multiple study guides? Planning on taking the oar in 3 weeks!

Thank you!
Sarah

Sarah, the one thing you will not find from the gouges is: enough mathematical theory. That's going to be the biggest portion of the regular score system. So if you take time to study as much as you can from Algebra to Calculus, then it'll greatly improve your scores.

Are you taking the ASTB-E or just the OAR?