Good evening everyone!
Long time lurker here. Firstly, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has given gouge, created study guides, answered questions and just provided some sort of help to assist others with their prep for the ASTB. I took the ASTB in January after grinding out most of winter break studying, and got a 5,4,4. I felt pretty prepared going into it. I had a good chunk of time dedicated to UAV, Terrain Association, and Stick n Throttle prep. However, I completely muffed the PBM on test day and was pretty bummed but at least I knew what to expect. It also allowed me to shift my focus on my weaker points in the areas of Math/ANIT knowledge that I did not dial in on. I just took it again yesterday and got a 6,8,7. I would like to share what helped me personally for each section and hopefully it can assist others too. I know my score isn't crazy high compared to many others on here, but I do believe it is somewhat competitive. I am currently Active Duty, and a MECEPer in college. Fell in love with aviation as an Avi maintainer on hornets.
Math: ASTB Prep App, Kyle and Gomez Drive Pretty much these three things were all I used to prep for the Math portion. I think they helped a bunch, but Math has always been my hardest subject, so I did struggle on a few questions no doubt. I really focused on memorizing the formulas given to you in the subsections of the ASTB Prep app. Once I had most formulas memorized, I would go through the Kyle/Gomez drives and work out the practice problems. I did not have any Logs/Matrices on my exam, but I highly recommend knowing rules of exponents, logs, probability, simple/compound interest, geometry formulas for circles, triangles, rectangles, squares, know your roots (I had a cube root question), factoring/simplifying and touch up on fractions. Overall, I think I did the worst on this section but still felt confident during most of it because of these sources below.
drive.google.com
drive.google.com
Reading: I did not study at all for this section. You just gotta lock in and thug it out. However, process of elimination is your bff here. If any of the answers have any verbiage that does not directly relate to the passage, probably not your answer. This section can seem monotonous, but you just need to grind it out and you'll be golden.
Mechanical: ASTB Prep App & ASTB Tutoring App (Circular patch logo, blue/black colors) These two are what I mostly used and I think I did very well on this section. The Kyle and Gomez drive have a plethora of information and formulas as well already organized to help you with studying. I'm about 99% sure the exam had 5-6 questions that I had practiced from the Tutoring App verbatim and a few more that were pretty similar. I HIGHLY suggest getting this app along with the ASTB Prep App. Know the rules for Mechanical Advantage, pulleys, angular velocity, basic circuitry and terminology, Ohms Law, Kinetic/potential energy formulas.
ANIT: ASTB Prep App, Cram Flashcards, Kyle/Gomez Drive I know most people recommend the FAA handbook as well, but I did not need it. All of these resources had more than enough information to set me up for success with the exam. I will share the cram flashcard link, but I spent a good chunk of my study time rolling through those 400 cards. Once again browse through the Kyle/Gomez drives as you will get plenty of good gouge through there. I pretty much flew through the subsections of the prep app, and would try to take one of the tests for the ANIT portion each week. Know Roll, Pitch, Yaw and the flight surfaces associated (ailerons, elevator, rudder), transponder questions, TACAN, I had a cat launch question, VASI light and its meaning, naval terminology on the boat & locations, and some other aircraft related things. You will be set up to do very well using these sources! Dropping the cram link below.
www.cram.com
PBM: I am fortunate enough where my NROTC unit has a stick and throttle with the janzten sim to practice. I was averaging mid 100s on the stick and throttle (hardest mode) on the sim. I would try and practice about an hour or so every day I was at school. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I could barely break sub 300 when I first started, you just got to practice this one! The stick and throttle on the exam is easier in my opinion than the hardest mode on the sim.
Stick/Throttle with Dichotic Listening: I’ve seen most people recommend taking the headphone off the non-target ear. I personally used the method where I just leaned into my target ear and focused that way. I also wrote down even numbers = trigger, odd = clutch and had it all placed right in front of me. I think I did fairly well, maybe missed 1 or two but my response times were quick. This one was kinda fun to be honest, but you will feel like you’re all over the place with the stick/throttle. Just hang in there and nail the listening cues and you’re gravy.
UAV: ASTB Prep App or the TBAS App on the desktop. I only used the ASTB Prep App for my first attempt and the compass method. I was pretty much nailing 38-40/40 (Averaging 2ish seconds) using the compass method on the ASTB Prep App before my first exam attempt. I will say I was expecting the UAV on the ASTB to look like the one on the ASTB Prep app, but it is more of a 1980s version in my opinion. That threw me off a bit, and my reaction times were much slower, and I definitely missed a few my first time. For my second attempt, I created every possible outcome on a sheet of paper (shoutout whoever mentioned this in the thread a while back) and just held that paper up and selected it from there. I also practiced this way for the last month or so and I was running close to sub 2 sec reaction times. I don't think I missed a single UAV on the exam and was definitely around 2 seconds per answer. I will share what my practice sheet looked like. The compass method is completely fine too; just make sure you try not to miss any on the UAV. I think you really make some money in that section!
Emergency Procedures: Write them down beforehand and have it in front of you. It pretty much goes in order, so I set my dials for the first EP as soon as I was tracking with my stick/throttle. This allowed me to press the clutch and clear the EP pretty much right away. Knock out the EP as soon as you can and then get back to tracking. I think you have 10 seconds, which is more than enough time.
Terrain Identification: ASTB Prep App and TBAS I mostly used my phone and the ASTB prep app for practice before my first attempt. I would just find two landmarks on the RH side picture that were pointing North and would drag my pencil over to the LH side and line it up that way. The ASTB Prep app is way harder than the exam in my opinion because all the landmarks are much smaller, and plus I was using my phone, so they were pretty tiny. I don't think I did great my first time, and I downloaded TBAS to practice on my PC. which was pretty darn similar to the actual exam. I believe there is about 20 on the ASTB. I would always shoot for 1-3 rounds of 20 questions every night on the TBAS app which helped me immensely. I feel like I did much better on my second attempt.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope this can help others in the future. Download the google drives to your phone and browse through them whenever you have free time. Even if it is only 15 minutes, I can assure you that on a consistent basis will make all the difference. Once again, huge thanks to everyone who has shared all their tips and tricks in the past on this thread. I am not the smartest dude out there by any means, but with all these resources and managing your time efficiently, you WILL do well on the ASTB. If you do poorly like me on the first attempt, don't feel too discouraged. Use everything you learned to revamp your studying so you can nail it the second time around. Feel free to message me with any questions!
Long time lurker here. Firstly, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has given gouge, created study guides, answered questions and just provided some sort of help to assist others with their prep for the ASTB. I took the ASTB in January after grinding out most of winter break studying, and got a 5,4,4. I felt pretty prepared going into it. I had a good chunk of time dedicated to UAV, Terrain Association, and Stick n Throttle prep. However, I completely muffed the PBM on test day and was pretty bummed but at least I knew what to expect. It also allowed me to shift my focus on my weaker points in the areas of Math/ANIT knowledge that I did not dial in on. I just took it again yesterday and got a 6,8,7. I would like to share what helped me personally for each section and hopefully it can assist others too. I know my score isn't crazy high compared to many others on here, but I do believe it is somewhat competitive. I am currently Active Duty, and a MECEPer in college. Fell in love with aviation as an Avi maintainer on hornets.
Math: ASTB Prep App, Kyle and Gomez Drive Pretty much these three things were all I used to prep for the Math portion. I think they helped a bunch, but Math has always been my hardest subject, so I did struggle on a few questions no doubt. I really focused on memorizing the formulas given to you in the subsections of the ASTB Prep app. Once I had most formulas memorized, I would go through the Kyle/Gomez drives and work out the practice problems. I did not have any Logs/Matrices on my exam, but I highly recommend knowing rules of exponents, logs, probability, simple/compound interest, geometry formulas for circles, triangles, rectangles, squares, know your roots (I had a cube root question), factoring/simplifying and touch up on fractions. Overall, I think I did the worst on this section but still felt confident during most of it because of these sources below.
Gomez's ASTB Test Prep Package - Google Drive
drive.google.com
Kyle's ASTB Study Kit 2019 - Google Drive
drive.google.com
Reading: I did not study at all for this section. You just gotta lock in and thug it out. However, process of elimination is your bff here. If any of the answers have any verbiage that does not directly relate to the passage, probably not your answer. This section can seem monotonous, but you just need to grind it out and you'll be golden.
Mechanical: ASTB Prep App & ASTB Tutoring App (Circular patch logo, blue/black colors) These two are what I mostly used and I think I did very well on this section. The Kyle and Gomez drive have a plethora of information and formulas as well already organized to help you with studying. I'm about 99% sure the exam had 5-6 questions that I had practiced from the Tutoring App verbatim and a few more that were pretty similar. I HIGHLY suggest getting this app along with the ASTB Prep App. Know the rules for Mechanical Advantage, pulleys, angular velocity, basic circuitry and terminology, Ohms Law, Kinetic/potential energy formulas.
ANIT: ASTB Prep App, Cram Flashcards, Kyle/Gomez Drive I know most people recommend the FAA handbook as well, but I did not need it. All of these resources had more than enough information to set me up for success with the exam. I will share the cram flashcard link, but I spent a good chunk of my study time rolling through those 400 cards. Once again browse through the Kyle/Gomez drives as you will get plenty of good gouge through there. I pretty much flew through the subsections of the prep app, and would try to take one of the tests for the ANIT portion each week. Know Roll, Pitch, Yaw and the flight surfaces associated (ailerons, elevator, rudder), transponder questions, TACAN, I had a cat launch question, VASI light and its meaning, naval terminology on the boat & locations, and some other aircraft related things. You will be set up to do very well using these sources! Dropping the cram link below.
ASTB Aviation/Nautical Information Test (ANIT) [comprehensive] Flashcards - Cram.com
Study Flashcards On ASTB Aviation/Nautical Information Test (ANIT) [comprehensive] at Cram.com. Quickly memorize the terms, phrases and much more. Cram.com makes it easy to get the grade you want!
PBM: I am fortunate enough where my NROTC unit has a stick and throttle with the janzten sim to practice. I was averaging mid 100s on the stick and throttle (hardest mode) on the sim. I would try and practice about an hour or so every day I was at school. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I could barely break sub 300 when I first started, you just got to practice this one! The stick and throttle on the exam is easier in my opinion than the hardest mode on the sim.
Stick/Throttle with Dichotic Listening: I’ve seen most people recommend taking the headphone off the non-target ear. I personally used the method where I just leaned into my target ear and focused that way. I also wrote down even numbers = trigger, odd = clutch and had it all placed right in front of me. I think I did fairly well, maybe missed 1 or two but my response times were quick. This one was kinda fun to be honest, but you will feel like you’re all over the place with the stick/throttle. Just hang in there and nail the listening cues and you’re gravy.
UAV: ASTB Prep App or the TBAS App on the desktop. I only used the ASTB Prep App for my first attempt and the compass method. I was pretty much nailing 38-40/40 (Averaging 2ish seconds) using the compass method on the ASTB Prep App before my first exam attempt. I will say I was expecting the UAV on the ASTB to look like the one on the ASTB Prep app, but it is more of a 1980s version in my opinion. That threw me off a bit, and my reaction times were much slower, and I definitely missed a few my first time. For my second attempt, I created every possible outcome on a sheet of paper (shoutout whoever mentioned this in the thread a while back) and just held that paper up and selected it from there. I also practiced this way for the last month or so and I was running close to sub 2 sec reaction times. I don't think I missed a single UAV on the exam and was definitely around 2 seconds per answer. I will share what my practice sheet looked like. The compass method is completely fine too; just make sure you try not to miss any on the UAV. I think you really make some money in that section!
Emergency Procedures: Write them down beforehand and have it in front of you. It pretty much goes in order, so I set my dials for the first EP as soon as I was tracking with my stick/throttle. This allowed me to press the clutch and clear the EP pretty much right away. Knock out the EP as soon as you can and then get back to tracking. I think you have 10 seconds, which is more than enough time.
Terrain Identification: ASTB Prep App and TBAS I mostly used my phone and the ASTB prep app for practice before my first attempt. I would just find two landmarks on the RH side picture that were pointing North and would drag my pencil over to the LH side and line it up that way. The ASTB Prep app is way harder than the exam in my opinion because all the landmarks are much smaller, and plus I was using my phone, so they were pretty tiny. I don't think I did great my first time, and I downloaded TBAS to practice on my PC. which was pretty darn similar to the actual exam. I believe there is about 20 on the ASTB. I would always shoot for 1-3 rounds of 20 questions every night on the TBAS app which helped me immensely. I feel like I did much better on my second attempt.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope this can help others in the future. Download the google drives to your phone and browse through them whenever you have free time. Even if it is only 15 minutes, I can assure you that on a consistent basis will make all the difference. Once again, huge thanks to everyone who has shared all their tips and tricks in the past on this thread. I am not the smartest dude out there by any means, but with all these resources and managing your time efficiently, you WILL do well on the ASTB. If you do poorly like me on the first attempt, don't feel too discouraged. Use everything you learned to revamp your studying so you can nail it the second time around. Feel free to message me with any questions!
