What are the tests like?

[Uncle Fester]

No, no, I am not at ALL saying you shouldn't study. I'm the one who has to do all the extra paperwork when one of you dumbasses fails to excel, after all.

I'm saying that there's no point in spending all your time in the books in the weeks/months you're in A-Pool. There's a lot of stuff in there you need to know for the exams, and somewhat less stuff you'll need to know for the duration of your flying career, and quite a bit of stuff you don't need to learn for the test and will never, ever see again. Since you as a pre-API stud/stash don't know what information is what, you're going to waste a lot of your time learning useless info. And I do mean useless.

If you're one of those guys who thinks it's "unprofessional" not to know every single little nugget of info, you're also going to be that guy everyone hates getting for a Stan Check. You'll probably also be an E-2 FO. *sigh*

I always tell my classes - in the great marathon that is flight school, one of the purposes of API is to find your pace. Neither slacking off and trying to catch up at the last minute nor melting your eyeballs by being a type-A motard bookworm. You might squeak through API with the former, but I guarantee you it'll catch up to you in the VTs, and you'll be the, "But Sir! I'm not up for that event yet!" guy. The latter is also no recipe for success. I've remediated plenty of guys who were twitchy from lack of sleep and too much Red Bull. "SirIguessIstudiedaboutfifteenhoursadayeverydaysinceDayZeroandmaybegetthreehoursofsleepanightbutitsokayIdidthisincollegeandgota3.8Idon'tunderstandhowIfailedWeatherIdidfineonAero."

Balance in all things, even strain, don't sweat the small stuff, and sweat the big stuff, but not before it's time.

 

[torpedo0126]

Uncle Fester

--I take it you work in FltMngmt. How much entertainment do you form perusing this form and seeing what rumors we come up with?

 

[PropAddict]

If you're one of those guys who thinks it's "unprofessional" not to know every single little nugget of info, you're also going to be that guy everyone hates getting for a Stan Check. You'll probably also be an P-3 Pilot. *sigh*

Fixed, for the single anchor crowd.

My $0.02: if you want to study, then study. It can only help you later, adn you'll still have time to chase the mullet girls at Florabama.

Do you need to go high order and start cramming now, now, now because you heard API is a firehose? Very no.

It's easy for most of us too look back through the gauzy curtains of memory and say, "A pool was sooo awesome. Nothing like these !@#^%&ing 18 hour days I work now. Live it up while you can!"

But lost is that starry-eyed optimism and childlike wonder at the life of a Naval Aviator, that only a fresh Ensign can possess. All you've wanted to do for the past 4+ years was go fly Navy planes and you're chomping at that bit. That's commendable.

. . .But reading API books in A Pool is not going to get you there any faster.

 

[scottwith1t]

Agree with everyone above. There were more than a few learning objectives that my instructors told us we didn't need to know, and I'd hate to have been the guy that wasted time studying useless material before I classed up. Like uncle fester said, a good read through of each subject is all you need. I'm no genius by any stretch of the imagination, and I made it through just fine. Study the learning objectives once you class up, get with a good group that studies hard instead of f-ing around, and you'll do great.

wasted what time? sitting around for 6 months?

oh gosh, don't want to waste time learning something that might not be tested, that might cut into all the other incredibly time consuming and important activities that A-poolers must partake in damn near all day.

yea, don't bother studying because a few learning objectives arn't required, wouldn't want to complicate your life with such studying when there is so much else to do.

 

[cfam]

I'm saying that there's no point in spending all your time in the books in the weeks/months you're in A-Pool.

Exactly what I meant..sorry if it didn't come out clearly. I just read through the subjects before classup, then got with a good group and studied my ass off once i classed up.

If you're one of those guys who thinks it's "unprofessional" not to know every single little nugget of info, you're also going to be that guy everyone hates getting for a Stan Check. You'll probably also be an E-2 FO.

Was the E-2 fo community that bad? I didn't have a prof in API who had E-2s, so I never had a chance to ask.

 

[cfam]

wasted what time? sitting around for 6 months?

oh gosh, don't want to waste time learning something that might not be tested, that might cut into all the other incredibly time consuming and important activities that A-poolers must partake in damn near all day.

yea, don't bother studying because a few learning objectives arn't required, wouldn't want to complicate your life with such studying when there is so much else to do.

Actually, I only sat around for 3 weeks as a FO. Yeah, if I had 6 months I might have looked at the stuff too. Again, I didn't say don't study the stuff at all, just don't kill yourself with it.

 

[Uncle Fester]

wasted what time? sitting around for 6 months?

oh gosh, don't want to waste time learning something that might not be tested, that might cut into all the other incredibly time consuming and important activities that A-poolers must partake in damn near all day.

yea, don't bother studying because a few learning objectives arn't required, wouldn't want to complicate your life with such studying when there is so much else to do.

Not that your salty SNA wisdom isn't appreciated or anything, but you're being a tool. There is indeed much else to do in life, and studying for the sake of studying, when a goddamned API instructor is telling you that you don't need to know some of this stuff, or spend your months in A-Pool completely immersed in the books, is a waste of time.

API's not easy, but it isn't goddamned medical school either. There's lots of stuff to learn, but it's not that much, and you will have ample time to study for it once you've classed up. Take advantage of your time in A-Pool. If laying on the beach isn't your speed, fine. Go work on your MBA or train for the Ironman or learn how to play the dijjeridoo or take a pottery class or be a fucking bartender, whatever. But the idea that you need to spend hours studying each day is wrong, and unproductive.

Uncle Fester

--I take it you work in FltMngmt. How much entertainment do you form perusing this form and seeing what rumors we come up with?

The amusing stuff's not the rumors so much as the Ensign Wisdom - "I'm in the VT's now, so I've got this shit all figured out." And how many of you guys will run wild with something your roommate said because he's two weeks ahead of you in the program, rather than what you've been briefed on.

Seriously, if you want to know something, ask an instructor. I'll be the first to admit that there are instructors who are assholes (yes! shocking I know, but it's true). If you don't get a real answer from one instructor, ask another. There's lots of us. This shit ain't classified. If we don't know, we'll say so. If we tell you don't worry about it, then don't worry about it. If we tell you it's out of your control, so worry about what you can control, that's not code for, "...but if you dig around hard enough, you'll find the Magic Ring of Power that will guarantee your success!"