MaxReboLives
Member
I did see that app, was wondering if it was even worthwhile, thanks!
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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)
- Thread starter edato
- Start date
Few options 1. Read the Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge from the FAA website (PHAK). 2. Google ANIT ASTB Flashcards. 3. Search this thread for the various google drives people have posted Kyle's study guide is a popular one. 4. Get your private pilots license (not worth it, if you weren't going to do it anyways).
Just took it for my second attempt. Got a 9 8 8. A bunch of other people have already put in detail tips for studying so I'm just gonna write a couple takeaways from each section for me. FYI I'm aero eng major.
Math
Got a lot of exponential questions. Like a lot. Know how to get creative with rewriting exponents in order to simplify. Some log stuff but no matrices or anything too crazy. Trying the problems on the OAR math guide in Kyle's drive prepared me pretty well. Something I don't see a lot of people talk about is dimensional analysis. For the word problems it was very helpful for me. Understanding the units of each number and how they react helps push me in the right direction whenever I get stuck.
Mechanics
Pretty straight forward. A lot of it is intuitive if you have a good foundation in physics. So when studying really try to get a good grasp on fundamental things like pulleys, normal forces, friction and things like that. I don't think I got any electricity questions (I might have forgot but I would bet that I didn't).
Reading
I didn't prep for this but I feel like it's my weakest area. So dry. So so dry. What's weird is like half of the passages on my second ASTB were also on my first ASTB. Not that it helped because the wording always confuses me and I couldn't remember a single thing. Just take your time and use process of elimination.
ANIT
Study the cram flashcards and bounce around Kyle's drive soaking up everything you can. You can get lucky and they can ask you all questions you know or they'll throw some weird terminology or concept you've never heard of at you. Just try to know as much as you can and you should be good.
UAV
I just used a quizlet to practice for this part. While practicing, I tried to do it all in my head and was able to get almost all correct but it would take me like 2-3 seconds. When I used the compass trick from youtube I was able to go a lot faster. My average time per question on the actual test was around 1.9ish-2.5 seconds. Using the compass just takes all the brainwork out of it so you can really speed through.
PBM
I struggled with this the most on my first attempt (6 on the PFAR). I give all the credit a joystick for the week or so leading up to the exam to use on the Jantzen sim. Just mess around with that for a while and you should get pretty solid at this section. Lean your head to the side you should be listening to on the audio part. The emergency procedures can get kind of funky when you try to track and fix the emergency at the same time. I would almost completely lose the track while doing the procedure which is probably what docked me on the test. To sum it up for the PBM, BUY A JOYSTICK. And make sure you know the return policy so you can get that full refund once you're done with it.
The Kyle's drive was my #1 study resource. Take advantage of it. The Barron's book was also decent. Besides those two things and the links above that was all I used.
Math
Got a lot of exponential questions. Like a lot. Know how to get creative with rewriting exponents in order to simplify. Some log stuff but no matrices or anything too crazy. Trying the problems on the OAR math guide in Kyle's drive prepared me pretty well. Something I don't see a lot of people talk about is dimensional analysis. For the word problems it was very helpful for me. Understanding the units of each number and how they react helps push me in the right direction whenever I get stuck.
Mechanics
Pretty straight forward. A lot of it is intuitive if you have a good foundation in physics. So when studying really try to get a good grasp on fundamental things like pulleys, normal forces, friction and things like that. I don't think I got any electricity questions (I might have forgot but I would bet that I didn't).
Reading
I didn't prep for this but I feel like it's my weakest area. So dry. So so dry. What's weird is like half of the passages on my second ASTB were also on my first ASTB. Not that it helped because the wording always confuses me and I couldn't remember a single thing. Just take your time and use process of elimination.
ANIT
Study the cram flashcards and bounce around Kyle's drive soaking up everything you can. You can get lucky and they can ask you all questions you know or they'll throw some weird terminology or concept you've never heard of at you. Just try to know as much as you can and you should be good.
UAV
I just used a quizlet to practice for this part. While practicing, I tried to do it all in my head and was able to get almost all correct but it would take me like 2-3 seconds. When I used the compass trick from youtube I was able to go a lot faster. My average time per question on the actual test was around 1.9ish-2.5 seconds. Using the compass just takes all the brainwork out of it so you can really speed through.
PBM
I struggled with this the most on my first attempt (6 on the PFAR). I give all the credit a joystick for the week or so leading up to the exam to use on the Jantzen sim. Just mess around with that for a while and you should get pretty solid at this section. Lean your head to the side you should be listening to on the audio part. The emergency procedures can get kind of funky when you try to track and fix the emergency at the same time. I would almost completely lose the track while doing the procedure which is probably what docked me on the test. To sum it up for the PBM, BUY A JOYSTICK. And make sure you know the return policy so you can get that full refund once you're done with it.
The Kyle's drive was my #1 study resource. Take advantage of it. The Barron's book was also decent. Besides those two things and the links above that was all I used.
And obviously this thread is infinitely useful
flyer4life2020
Member
Which Joystick should one buy, or which joystick is most similar to the test? Lastly, an odd question, but I'm aware people say to write down the EPs for engine, fire, etc. So when say fire shows up I know everything is down (fuel and power) then clutch for example so you just move the throttle down but where is the clutch? Maybe buying a joystick might sort this out, but still wanted to ask. As for the math part, where you mentioned dimensional analysis which resources did you use for this?
The test was administered to me using the Logitech X52 flight control system. To practice I used the thrust master T-flight hotas one. I don’t think it matters too much which joystick you buy as long there’s a stick and throttle.
When I was practicing on Jantzen, the throttle tracking is kinda weird and doesn’t replicate the actual test too well. So I just pretended that my vertical tracking crosshair was moving with my throttle rather than using W and S or mapping W and S to my throttle. To each their own though, that just helped me a little. Splitting your attention is the main thing to practice here.
For the emergency procedures, there’s a fuel knob (to put fuel down you don’t turn the throttle down. Throttle is only for vertical tracking. You used knob on the throttle to turn fuel low), power knob, and clutch (clutch is just a button by your thumb on the throttle).
Dimensional analysis is just something that’s common in physics/engineering so I’m used to using it. I didn’t study it because I was used to it but you could just do some google searches or watch a YouTube video or two to understand it. It might be more useful while studying so you can understand how to solve word problems but it can help during the test.
MaxReboLives
Member
The PBM is like 1 minute per section and the UAV portion is 30 questions I think. I could be wrong
OptionsDollaraire
Well-Known Member
UAV is like 48 questions or something
MaxReboLives
Member
Oh man I’m off lol but it goes by really fast
OptionsDollaraire
Well-Known Member
Not sure if the uav portion is adaptive. Someone correct me if I’m wrong but that doesn’t sound right
Napolitano99
New Member
Just took my third and final ASTB today and scored a 49 7/8/7, definitely feeling very confident with my application now. Feel free to reach out with any questions or specifics to my prep for ASTB, id be happy to help. My final test was a far improvement from my two previous scores which were 43 4/3/4 and a 50 5/6/5. Take it from me if you’re feeling lost like theres no hope, buckle down and commit yourself using kyles guide, the flashcard link, and get yourself some HOTAS x52’s for PBM portion. I am a business major with no background in physics, mechanical, or aviation but took 2 weeks before my final exam and really commited to the test.
Finished my second attempt with a 65 8/6/8. Really wish I could've gotten the PFAR higher but I've never been much of a video game person. However, I've taken 15 hrs of flight lessons and will be doing a solo this week. Hopefully that will help make up for the low score. As for the math mechanical and ANIT sections that I did really well in I'm happy to pay it forward if anyone has questions.