Awesome stuff man, congrats!First Attempt: 60 8/9/8, applying for SNA
Took the ASTB today, I appreciate each and every one of you who posted about their experiences, couldn't have done it without you guys.
OAR: 60
AQR: 8
PFAR: 9
FOFAR: 8
LPSS: 68
Prepped for about 2 weeks for the OAR portion of the test, probably prepped around 2 months on and off for ANIT and PBM. I also did a coaching session with Lou from the ASTB Prep app. He doesn't tutor you on questions to prep, but rather gives pointers and directions on how to approach them. Would definitely recommend checking out if you're a little lost.
Math: To give a little background on myself, I took classes up to Calculus 3, so math came pretty naturally. Got a few simple probability questions, logarithms, matrices, exponents in a fraction, factoring, and DRT. They didn't go super in depth, like for example having to solve P(A|B) into P(A&B), etc. Told me I had 40 minutes and kicked me out around 12 minutes in. I went through each worksheet on the Gomez drive at least once, and I think I did the probability worksheets (i and d/combinatorics) 3-4 times. Even if I knew how to do some of the worksheets, I downloaded and plugged it into ChatGPT and asked, "Tell me all the formulas and tricks I need to know in order to solve all of the questions in the worksheet," or something along that line. Be prepared enough to a point where you don't need to search up anything and complete an entire worksheet.
Reading: I didn't really study for this section at all. I would say reading in general is neither a strength or a weakness. Read a few navy documents and called it a day. Like what everyone says, very dry military instructions. I had no idea what it was saying half the time. Got kicked out in the last 3 minutes
Mechanical Comprehension: I took AP Physics 1 and 2 in high school and pretty much went off of that. Don't remember too much but I remember a good amount of electricity, pulleys, kinematics, etc. Mostly theory, like everyone says, I had maybe 3 questions where I had to actually calculate/estimate. Got kicked out when I had around 10 minutes left.
Nice refresher on pretty much everything you need to know for this section
After a few videos on youtube here and there, mostly studied off the ASTB Prep app
I wish I was more prepared for this section; definitely understudied. Please go through as many practice tests as you can for this. Focus more on the concepts than the calculations.
ANIT: Watched the first 5 videos of the Private Pilots License Lectures from MIT like everyone said, watched alot of videos from the Free Pilot Training Youtube channel during my drive going to/coming back from work, used the CRAM Anit flashcard everyone says to use, also used Popeye's ANIT Gouge. I used an app called ANKI and imported the flashcards from quizlet (CRAM and Popeye's gouge) I also deleted all of the multiple choice while memorizing the flashcards so I can fully recite it. Also pretty much memorized everything that could come out from the ANIT test portion from the ASTB Prep App. CRAM ANIT flashcards cover a good amount of content that comes out on the test. However, like some people say, it is not enough. I'd recommend overstudying here, since you'll need that same knowledge for flying later anyway. I saw a few questions that did not appear on any gouges or flashcards across the forum.
PBM:
I'm not the type to be frugal and save money when it comes to investing in my education/future. I was able to try different resources for the ASTB, and especially for the PBM portion. I'll list out the pros and cons that I've experienced with each platform.
1. Jantzen-Mike Simulator: (I also want to say they did an amazing job making this, and I really appreciate them making it a resource available for everyone. Not trying to throw shade or anything, but I wanted to give my objective opinions on them, as with any of the other resources that I will be talking about.)
Pros: Free! Does the job well enough, Covers Dichotic Listening (kinda), Emergency Procedures, Vertical(Throttle) and 2D Plane (Stick) tracking. Able to set different timers to practice. Gives you a score at the end to show you how you're doing (dopamine)
Cons: Only up or down controls on the throttle (no control), feels grainy? Up-down movements felt like the cursor was flying away compared to its cross movement counterpart.
2. ASTB Prep APP:
Pros: Includes all of PBM, Terrain Association, and UAV portions. Accessible since it's on ur phone, tablet or macbook. Able to set timers for practice, also able to separate stick and throttle for practice (Throttle only, Stick only, Throttle and stick together, etc). Gives you a % tracked at the end, green for a "pass," red for a "practice more." Granulated throttle controls, feels pretty smooth.
Cons: DLT sticks to single ear during the entire test, Emergency procedures only happen once at the end instead of how it would happen multiple times during the test.
3. TBAS Study Pro on Steam
Pros: Probably the most similar to the actual exam.
Cons: The uav section tests accuracy but not how fast you are. Unable to practice the stick and throttle under a certain timer. Had to do the entire PBM to get a "score." Taxing on the PC? I have a 5 year old 1660 TI graphics card, and running the app froze my computer sometimes
If I had to give a tip for the stick and throttle portion of the PBM, start slowly and build up. Mastery with the stick and throttle will take time, and it will be frustrating for the first few days at least if you are new to the inverted controls. I started with the Jantzen Sim at the easiest difficulty and probably did that for 3-4 days. When I started getting decent scores (under 50), I started to increase the difficulty tick by tick. Your patience and ability to keep going through frustrations will reward you eventually.
If you have other questions, I'd be happy to help you out. Stay confident and good luck with your preparations!
Sources (I didn't use all of them):
Gomez Drive
Kyle's Drive
Study guide
Math practice test (114 questions)
Jantzen-Mike Sim
Popeye's Anit Gauge Quizlet
ANIT Miscellaneous Knowledge Quizlet
What were your average PBM and tracking scores on your TBAS Study pro stats section to get that 9?
