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

ApacheIndian

New Member
I took the ASTB today to qualify for SNA. My scores were 44 4/4/4. Obviously, this is not a passing score but I've been asked to re-take within a month (July end).

Math (MST): This is the section heavily weighted towards the computation of the AQR score which is crucial for SNA/SNFO. I saw a lot of probability problems as well as problems dealing with fractions. For example, if a family gives away 1/8 of their produce how much of their 2 2/3 produce remains? Express in vulgar fraction.
Ex2: 3 green balls, 3 blue balls and 5 white balls. Sally takes one blue ball, what is the probability of Timmy taking a white ball?
The questions were not complicated but were on a level with those found on the SAT.

Reading (RCT): This section caught me off guard a little bit since the passages were very much based on Naval working policies so the language contained therein was quite technical. The prep books did not have such passages and so I was not prepared for this and was second-guessing my answers quite a bit. Again, SAT reading comes close to the reading section here.

Mechanical (MST): Here, I was prepared for a lot of pulleys and gears but instead found general science questions posed as mechanical questions. Brushing up on basic mechanical physics is beneficial. Fulcrums are a big feature, or at least I got many of those questions. Know your levers.

ANIT: Was largely okay. Some questions were very technical especially for the aviation bit so its necessary to have a basic working knowledge of aerodynamics as well as Naval aviation trivia.

PBM (UAV/Tracking): For the UAV portion it is vitally important to be able to re-orient one's mind for every question. Look at the tracker map and then at the presented view and see how the directions need to be adjusted. The responses are timed so the lower the better.

The tracking exercise with the stick was really hard as they had inverted the Y axis and the throttle was setup such that it simulated the power buildup in a real turbine engine. The power takes time to buildup and so you need to think ahead. The more time you spend locked on to the target, the faster it moves along the Y axis. The second screen was quite tough due to the inverted Y axis and the stick having a lag. Again simulating real targeting conditions so one has to think ahead here as well.

In conclusion: Apart from the mechanical knowledge and the naval and aviation related stuff, most of the prep can be done from SAT books themselves so I'll be focused on those. Brushing up on basic physics will help out with mechanical a whole lot. I'm hoping for a vastly improved score next month.

Current prep books:
Solomons 6e
Petersons
Learning Express 5e
Barrons Military Flight Tests
 

ajpurvis

Jarhead gone squid
Questions I remember what aircraft did the navy modify to be a tanker during Desert Storm, what was the first plane to escort bombers into Germany, what creates vortices behind the wing, how do you "lean" an aircraft

Do you remember what the answers to these are? I'm coming up with the KC-135, the wildcat, induced drag, and engaging the ailerons.
 

ajpurvis

Jarhead gone squid
It's either the tomcat or s-3 viking *I think, don't know, yes, and yes

I've been searching the web and the closest thing I can find talks about the KC-135. The 135 looks like it was originally a tanker though, so that's confusing.

The P-51 was the escort. See source.
 

sgroff

Member
Do you remember what the answers to these are? I'm coming up with the KC-135, the wildcat, induced drag, and engaging the ailerons.

The aircraft that was converted to a tanker was the A-6 I'm pretty sure and the bomber escort was the P51 mustang. Jalen is right about the other two I think
 

ajpurvis

Jarhead gone squid
The aircraft that was converted to a tanker was the A-6 I'm pretty sure and the bomber escort was the P51 mustang. Jalen is right about the other two I think
I haven't come by any flashcards with this info on them... What did you use to study for the ANIT?
 

sgroff

Member
I haven't come by any flashcards with this info on them... What did you use to study for the ANIT?
That bit of trivia about the A6 tanker conversion I read somewhere on this forum and I think I read about the P51 mustang in one of the study guide gouges.
I read one or two books I found in the bargain section at Barnes and Noble about WW2 aviation, one of them was called Skies of WW2 by Jason Biggs. I liked it cause it had plenty of pictures. I also used some of the gouges found in these google drive links, its pretty disorganized so you have to look around.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qHP7UgdlcG_8MWka5XnTuNGl4Q-hqL3b
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zCfQ7iTsFBRKJzH8shh2gs7SK15cv2sM
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yF6a44EmkonbPCXAlR-W2w-GGjcSu_uV
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s0TFbrfix-01JR_nBtxMF2pfE7mo3Apm
 

jalen22

Well-Known Member
The aircraft that was converted to a tanker was the A-6 I'm pretty sure and the bomber escort was the P51 mustang. Jalen is right about the other two I think
The only thing about the a-6 is I don't remember it being an answer choice. It may have been but I don't remember
 

sgroff

Member
The only thing about the a-6 is I don't remember it being an answer choice. It may have been but I don't remember

Now that I'm looking back through my study material, it's a little confusing. One gouge says the A-6 intruder was converted to the KA-6D during the Gulf War. And the other says the S-3 Viking was convereted to the KS-3 during Iraqi Freedom. So the idea I think is that the KS-3 replaced the KA-6D.

BUT Wikipedia is saying that the KS-3 conversion never actually happened and the program was cancelled. However I the S-3B still performed tanker duties during the gulf war. And on top of that, looks like the A-7 Corsair II also did some tanker duty during Desert Storm/Shield. I doubt they would put all of those answers on the same question, so I would pick one of those if you see any of those answers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tanker_aircraft
 

sealords

Member
Please can i get a help for the formulae in solving this problem. A man is paddling a canoe upstream. Assuming he can paddle at 6 miles per hour and the stream is flowing at a rate of 3 miles per hour, after one hour of paddling, how many miles will he have traveled?
 

OperationChungus

Well-Known Member
pilot
Please can i get a help for the formulae in solving this problem. A man is paddling a canoe upstream. Assuming he can paddle at 6 miles per hour and the stream is flowing at a rate of 3 miles per hour, after one hour of paddling, how many miles will he have traveled?

6 mph - 3 mph = 3 mph net.

1 hr @ 3 mph = 3 miles.
 

Justice22293

Active Member
Please help with math problem found on ASTB math skills test MST flashcards on ProProfs: "Gravel is mixed with cement at a ratio of 5 parts of cement to 1 part of gravel. How many pounds of cement are there in 48 lbs of this mixture?" I understand basic ratios and how to solve, but somehow don't understand how to convert the parts to lbs in relation. Thanks!
 

cessna.pilot

New Member
Please help with math problem found on ASTB math skills test MST flashcards on ProProfs: "Gravel is mixed with cement at a ratio of 5 parts of cement to 1 part of gravel. How many pounds of cement are there in 48 lbs of this mixture?" I understand basic ratios and how to solve, but somehow don't understand how to convert the parts to lbs in relation. Thanks!
5 parts of cement plus 1 part of gravel makes 6 parts total, thus the mixture is 5/6 cement. 5/6 times 48 equals 40 lbs of cement in the mixture.
 

jleo_96

Active Member
Now that I'm looking back through my study material, it's a little confusing. One gouge says the A-6 intruder was converted to the KA-6D during the Gulf War. And the other says the S-3 Viking was convereted to the KS-3 during Iraqi Freedom. So the idea I think is that the KS-3 replaced the KA-6D.

BUT Wikipedia is saying that the KS-3 conversion never actually happened and the program was cancelled. However I the S-3B still performed tanker duties during the gulf war. And on top of that, looks like the A-7 Corsair II also did some tanker duty during Desert Storm/Shield. I doubt they would put all of those answers on the same question, so I would pick one of those if you see any of those answers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tanker_aircraft

I just took the ASTB on Wednesday, and had the question "what plane did the Navy convert to a tanker during OIF?"

The options were: Tomcat, Falcon, Hornet, and another I can't remember (but I know it wasn't a Viking).
I don't know of any tomcats being used for refueling, and the falcon is Air Force, so I narrowed it down to the Hornet, which I know is currently used as a refueling aircraft .
 
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