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

Andrew_franny

Andrew_franny

Active Member
I have to thank everyone who has posted on this forum. It truly is a lifeline and the only way I could have succeeded on this test.

Late post, but I went to take the ASTB this last Friday, 1/29/21.

Received a 61 8/8/7

I am happy with these scores and will be applying once I get my MEPS appointment. To give some background, I am a senior majoring in finance. The last math class I took was calc and have never taken a physics course. I have no flying experience or prior aviation knowledge. For those in college, I would recommend studying over winter break extensively and then taking the test before you start school again.

Math:
Lots of questions were similar to the ones I had seen while perusing the previous pages of the forum. Here are some examples. Ultimately, just go through the forum and look at previous posts similar to this one for test questions. Additionally, work out as many practice math tests if this is your weakest point. I also went through a lot of AFOQT questions as they appear to be more difficult than the questions on the ASTB, or OAR for semantics. Also, these questions can be a very specific kind of math. Meaning that some questions just cannot be reasoned if you have never seen them before, just like getting a base 4 question.

  • Homework is worth 10%, each test is 20%, final is worth 30%, first three tests had scores 60, 70, 80, she scored 10 points less on her final and had a homework score of 70 and her average was 85 (These numbers will probably not work out, but this is the gist and is posted on an earlier page)
  • Determining which number is a perfect number. This was new to me and I couldn't reason through to find the right answer.
  • Fisherman casting will not get any bites 7/8 of the time, if he gets a fish 1/3 of every bite, how many times to cast for x amount of fish.
  • Logs
  • Card probability
  • algebra
  • matrices
  • write a certain number in base 4
Reading:
Sucked. Zoned out a bunch during this section and I believe it is what prevented obtaining a higher score. I rarely practiced this and probably only practiced this section when I was running through practice tests. I would recommend trying to practice more, but not so much that it is interfering with the studies of your weakest subject on the test.

Mechanical:
Questions were intuitive, most of them were related to physics principles, ideas, or phenomenons. I pretty much used Kyle's gouge and the Barrons book. As I mentioned before, I never took a physics class, just studied the gouge here until I felt comfortable. I think I fared alright in this, but I certainly should have studied a little more.

  • Charles and Boyles Law
  • Newton's laws
  • gear MA
  • Acceleration problem with a cannon shooting a ball
  • Water density


ANIT:
Anything and everything. I cannot stress how even the most miscellaneous factoid can save you on this test. I studied all of Barron's, The complete ASTB Study guide, and just did as many tests as possible. The CRAM notecards helped a ton as well. With this section, I found myself trying to memorize a ton of dates, craft designations, and unit designations. Break them up into small chunks and learn them like that.

  • First Fighter to escort behind enemy lines
  • aircraft components and their functions
  • What is a Capstan
  • CH-53 sea dragon is a:
  • What is a Vortec? Or something like that, I had no idea and just guessed.
  • Jersey Colors


NATFI:
Saw repeat questions which confused me a little bit, I couldn't remember if I said I'd rather act in angry outbursts under stress or blame my mistakes on others. Don't sweat this too much, just think about what the better option is.

PBM:
  • UAV: Guys, I messed up 3 times in the last 3 questions. Couldn't believe it and definitely kept me up later that night. Missed one, then got on a bad streak. If you miss one, take a second to reset and calm down. I knew I should have done the same, just totally whiffed it.
  • Throttle/joystick/dichotic: the throttle and joystick alone are self-explanatory. When dichotic listening is added, focus on that the most, then joystick, then throttle. I say joystick second because the throttle will logically be in the crosshair more often than the joystick would, without your aid. This may be controversial but I think it worked out okay.
  • Emergencies: So came up with a decent trick, there are two knobs you need to twist on the throttle to adjust the gauges. One will be by your thumb and the other your finger but the instructions will refer to them as I-knob or K-knob (I think). When you write out the emergency procedures and place them on the keyboard, use "finger" or "thumb" to label which knobs go where. Made things extremely fast as I cleared the emergencies without fault.
I got a hotas to play star wars squadrons. While it was a lot of fun, it wasn't very beneficial. The inverted stick knowledge doesn't transfer to the test, for some reason I still wanted to push the stick forward to "go up", despite the practice. You are going to feel like you're doing awful. No other way around it, it's going to suck. Just do your best and make sure to not screw up the UAV in the final stretch.

If anything isn't clear in this post, please let me know and I'll try to fix it up. I really hope this helps guys.
 
donkeh

donkeh

Well-Known Member
If anyone is interested, I'm selling a lightly used and fully functioning X52 Pro HOTAS. Identical to the X52 used for the ASTB apart from the fact that it's black. I'm looking for $100 USD + cost of shipping (Probably going to be around 25 dollars). You probably won't ever find another one like it for cheaper, especially in the condition this thing is in. It

Send me a PM if interested, its great practice tool for the ASTB as its the one you'll be using during the exam. I can also send pictures if need be.
 
C

cvmm

Member
I am taking my second exam in a week and I am starting to get anxious. I was wondering for people who have taken the exam a second time, was it completely different than the first time you took it? Its a dumb question I know. my bad, just freaking out lol
 
M

msantos28

Member
Andrew_franny said:
I have to thank everyone who has posted on this forum. It truly is a lifeline and the only way I could have succeeded on this test.

Late post, but I went to take the ASTB this last Friday, 1/29/21.

Received a 61 8/8/7

I am happy with these scores and will be applying once I get my MEPS appointment. To give some background, I am a senior majoring in finance. The last math class I took was calc and have never taken a physics course. I have no flying experience or prior aviation knowledge. For those in college, I would recommend studying over winter break extensively and then taking the test before you start school again.

Math:
Lots of questions were similar to the ones I had seen while perusing the previous pages of the forum. Here are some examples. Ultimately, just go through the forum and look at previous posts similar to this one for test questions. Additionally, work out as many practice math tests if this is your weakest point. I also went through a lot of AFOQT questions as they appear to be more difficult than the questions on the ASTB, or OAR for semantics. Also, these questions can be a very specific kind of math. Meaning that some questions just cannot be reasoned if you have never seen them before, just like getting a base 4 question.

  • Homework is worth 10%, each test is 20%, final is worth 30%, first three tests had scores 60, 70, 80, she scored 10 points less on her final and had a homework score of 70 and her average was 85 (These numbers will probably not work out, but this is the gist and is posted on an earlier page)
  • Determining which number is a perfect number. This was new to me and I couldn't reason through to find the right answer.
  • Fisherman casting will not get any bites 7/8 of the time, if he gets a fish 1/3 of every bite, how many times to cast for x amount of fish.
  • Logs
  • Card probability
  • algebra
  • matrices
  • write a certain number in base 4
Reading:
Sucked. Zoned out a bunch during this section and I believe it is what prevented obtaining a higher score. I rarely practiced this and probably only practiced this section when I was running through practice tests. I would recommend trying to practice more, but not so much that it is interfering with the studies of your weakest subject on the test.

Mechanical:
Questions were intuitive, most of them were related to physics principles, ideas, or phenomenons. I pretty much used Kyle's gouge and the Barrons book. As I mentioned before, I never took a physics class, just studied the gouge here until I felt comfortable. I think I fared alright in this, but I certainly should have studied a little more.

  • Charles and Boyles Law
  • Newton's laws
  • gear MA
  • Acceleration problem with a cannon shooting a ball
  • Water density

ANIT:
Anything and everything. I cannot stress how even the most miscellaneous factoid can save you on this test. I studied all of Barron's, The complete ASTB Study guide, and just did as many tests as possible. The CRAM notecards helped a ton as well. With this section, I found myself trying to memorize a ton of dates, craft designations, and unit designations. Break them up into small chunks and learn them like that.

  • First Fighter to escort behind enemy lines
  • aircraft components and their functions
  • What is a Capstan
  • CH-53 sea dragon is a:
  • What is a Vortec? Or something like that, I had no idea and just guessed.
  • Jersey Colors

NATFI:
Saw repeat questions which confused me a little bit, I couldn't remember if I said I'd rather act in angry outbursts under stress or blame my mistakes on others. Don't sweat this too much, just think about what the better option is.

PBM:
  • UAV: Guys, I messed up 3 times in the last 3 questions. Couldn't believe it and definitely kept me up later that night. Missed one, then got on a bad streak. If you miss one, take a second to reset and calm down. I knew I should have done the same, just totally whiffed it.
  • Throttle/joystick/dichotic: the throttle and joystick alone are self-explanatory. When dichotic listening is added, focus on that the most, then joystick, then throttle. I say joystick second because the throttle will logically be in the crosshair more often than the joystick would, without your aid. This may be controversial but I think it worked out okay.
  • Emergencies: So came up with a decent trick, there are two knobs you need to twist on the throttle to adjust the gauges. One will be by your thumb and the other your finger but the instructions will refer to them as I-knob or K-knob (I think). When you write out the emergency procedures and place them on the keyboard, use "finger" or "thumb" to label which knobs go where. Made things extremely fast as I cleared the emergencies without fault.
I got a hotas to play star wars squadrons. While it was a lot of fun, it wasn't very beneficial. The inverted stick knowledge doesn't transfer to the test, for some reason I still wanted to push the stick forward to "go up", despite the practice. You are going to feel like you're doing awful. No other way around it, it's going to suck. Just do your best and make sure to not screw up the UAV in the final stretch.

If anything isn't clear in this post, please let me know and I'll try to fix it up. I really hope this helps guys.
Click to expand...
Great gouge! I'm going in to take my test next Thursday and I'm studying every day. I'm hoping my knowledge as a pilot helps me out but my weakness is math :( I've been doing Kyle's study guide and getting more comfortable with that section. I have almost all the cram notecards basically memorized. My last struggle is the UAV section, I've been using the trick on youtube with the paper. My question is what is a good average time on these? Also when you pull back on the stick does the plane move up or down?
 
L

lsatfiend

Active Member
Finally get to post in this thread!

Just took the ASTB today, scored 65 9/8/8. Pretty shocked at my score, as I this was sort of meant to be a 'feeler' attempt after two weeks of studying so I could better know what to study/expect when I retook it a month later - fortunately don't have to do that now though.

Background
I have a degree in international studies, failed calc my freshman year (though probably due to lack of studying more than anything). I came into this test very nervous about the math as I had almost no background. I remember when I first picked up a study guide two weeks ago I didn't even know how to multiply fractions together...

Studying - MATH
Because I have a nonexistent math background, I spent the majority of my studying focused here. I started with Barron's textbook (The only study material I bought - I think you can get by without getting anything else) and mastered the math on there. DONT STOP HERE. The textbook was amazing for giving me an introduction to basic math principles, but if it was the only thing I had studied I would have been in serious trouble.

I then went over this this great doc (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F2caVMGMDwsVU_MvYTtwbgE-EEBKy6Sl8zX-MfD18r8/edit?usp=sharing ) and worked through all the questions, highlighting the ones I was unsure about. Once I had narrowed down the concepts I needed to focus on, I used Khan Academy and other websites to make sure I mastered the content so if I encountered similar problems on the test I would crush them.

After that, I did the exact same thing with this textbook (http://www.nelnetsolutions.com/pdf/free/masterofficercandidate.pdf ). I did all the math problems, and when I got one wrong, I went back to KA & Google to understand the concepts.

DISCLAIMER: I think math was my weakest category on the real ASTB, so mileage on this strategy may vary. It was still enough to pull off a 9 though so maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought.

For ANIT I memorized all of these flashcards (https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-4718163 ). When I didn't know the answer to one (which was most of them at first) I would google the info and do a little reading about it or watch a youtube video so it would stick. Didn't really use anything else, but know about Chuck Yeager and the S-3 Viking being converted to a tanker.

The Test
Math - Felt like I completely bombed, seemed like I was making educated guesses on AT LEAST a quarter of the questions. I didn't get any log questions, matrices questions (still don't even know what those are), negative/fractional exponents, or any of the crazy stuff I've read about on here. Because the test is adaptive, I assumed if I was doing well I would see these questions, so I figured I had blown it. I honestly didn't see anything harder than what was on the google doc I shared, so I feel like if you can crush that you have this in the bag. I was also kicked out with maybe 8 minutes to go.

Reading - I have taken the LSAT (law school SAT basically) so I didn't study for this section thinking it would be cake. I was wrong - the reading was extremely dry and technical, very hard to follow, and I didn't feel good about some of my answer choices. My advice is to try to visualize what the reading is describing, maybe even draw it out (helped me). Also, write down A,B,C,D on your scratch paper and cross out answers that you're sure aren't right. I actually ran out of time on this section before I finished all the questions, so just know that it isn't a big deal. Accuracy>speed.

Mech - Pretty easy, even without a STEM background. I spent probably two days studying the material. Went through all the practice questions on the gouges I found on here, and just like math, when I didn't understand something, I would go watch youtube videos on it until I understood. Make sure you know your pulleys, the equation for work, the physics behind springs, and make sure you’re solid on levers and how to balance them. Finished with about 3 minutes to spare.

Personality Part- I’ll be honest, I thought I could game this, but there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the questions. Just answer honestly, you’re gonna feel like shit after no matter what haha.

ANIT – The flashcards I linked were key – almost every question I had was on them. Finished with plenty of time to spare – you either know the answer or you make an educated guess.

UAV – I did all of these (https://www.cram.com/flashcards/memorize/astb-uav-testing-6997985 on shuffle ) every other day or so using a hand-drawn compass found here (
) until I had it down. Didn’t make any mistakes, answered each one in under two seconds. This is the easiest one to nuke, so make sure you can do this in your sleep.

PBMs – Jeez. I played call of duty with inverted controls for around 4 hours over the 2 weeks to get used to this, didn’t feel like it helped too much but it might have improved my confidence. Lean your head to the target ear during the dichotic listening part, and STAY CALM. If you get frustrated you’ll bomb it. There were many times where my crosshairs were on the other side of the screen away from the target, so just know you can do well without being perfectly on target. Write down the emergency procedures. I actually screwed up my first emergency procedure, it was a fire and I had to turn my fuel to 0%, but I turned it up to red (because I figured red meant off?) and got a warning. Just remember YELLOW is 0%, red is 100%.

Final Thoughts

  1. Shoutout to LoneWanderer and the excellent gouge they posted (https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...scores-ask-your-questions-here.28348/page-298 post #4,462). This post is a must-read for any aspiring ASTB or OAR test-takers.
  2. Bring earplugs and a snack
  3. Do pushups between sections
  4. Get after it. Huge thanks to the AirWarriors community, I would’ve been toast without all the great info on here.
 
Andrew_franny

Andrew_franny

Active Member
msantos28 said:
Great gouge! I'm going in to take my test next Thursday and I'm studying every day. I'm hoping my knowledge as a pilot helps me out but my weakness is math :( I've been doing Kyle's study guide and getting more comfortable with that section. I have almost all the cram notecards basically memorized. My last struggle is the UAV section, I've been using the trick on youtube with the paper. My question is what is a good average time on these? Also when you pull back on the stick does the plane move up or down?
Click to expand...
My times for the UAV were about two seconds, a couple outliers were higher but I would definitely take your time if you’re feeling shaky on any. If you can, put your uav card through a pencil and then twist it, it’ll go super fast. This will free up a hand so you can keep it on the mouse. Flight stick was inverted so when I pulled back the cursor went up, pushed forward on the stick, cursor went down
 
Last edited:
Ghost SWO

Ghost SWO

Well-Known Member
Contributor
thesmith4 said:
Hey everyone, I take the ASTB-E tomorrow so I'll let you know it goes.

Just a quick question, has anyone seen this on the test?

View attachment 29699

Was just curious as it was in these flash cards: https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-4718163

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Looks like a six pack for instruments so G I think would be a magnetic compass? Instruments can be in different places depending on what aircraft you fly, or glass cockpits so none of this would be applicable. I don't think they'd ask that. Never saw something like that on the test.
 
T

thesmith4

Member
Ghost SWO said:
Looks like a six pack for instruments so G I think would be a magnetic compass? Instruments can be in different places depending on what aircraft you fly, or glass cockpits so none of this would be applicable. I don't think they'd ask that. Never saw something like that on the test.
Click to expand...
Yeah that makes sense, thanks for the reply!
 
C

Clark781

Member
lsatfiend said:
Finally get to post in this thread!

Just took the ASTB today, scored 65 9/8/8. Pretty shocked at my score, as I this was sort of meant to be a 'feeler' attempt after two weeks of studying so I could better know what to study/expect when I retook it a month later - fortunately don't have to do that now though.

Background
I have a degree in international studies, failed calc my freshman year (though probably due to lack of studying more than anything). I came into this test very nervous about the math as I had almost no background. I remember when I first picked up a study guide two weeks ago I didn't even know how to multiply fractions together...

Studying - MATH
Because I have a nonexistent math background, I spent the majority of my studying focused here. I started with Barron's textbook (The only study material I bought - I think you can get by without getting anything else) and mastered the math on there. DONT STOP HERE. The textbook was amazing for giving me an introduction to basic math principles, but if it was the only thing I had studied I would have been in serious trouble.

I then went over this this great doc (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F2caVMGMDwsVU_MvYTtwbgE-EEBKy6Sl8zX-MfD18r8/edit?usp=sharing ) and worked through all the questions, highlighting the ones I was unsure about. Once I had narrowed down the concepts I needed to focus on, I used Khan Academy and other websites to make sure I mastered the content so if I encountered similar problems on the test I would crush them.

After that, I did the exact same thing with this textbook (http://www.nelnetsolutions.com/pdf/free/masterofficercandidate.pdf ). I did all the math problems, and when I got one wrong, I went back to KA & Google to understand the concepts.

DISCLAIMER: I think math was my weakest category on the real ASTB, so mileage on this strategy may vary. It was still enough to pull off a 9 though so maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought.

For ANIT I memorized all of these flashcards (https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-4718163 ). When I didn't know the answer to one (which was most of them at first) I would google the info and do a little reading about it or watch a youtube video so it would stick. Didn't really use anything else, but know about Chuck Yeager and the S-3 Viking being converted to a tanker.

The Test
Math - Felt like I completely bombed, seemed like I was making educated guesses on AT LEAST a quarter of the questions. I didn't get any log questions, matrices questions (still don't even know what those are), negative/fractional exponents, or any of the crazy stuff I've read about on here. Because the test is adaptive, I assumed if I was doing well I would see these questions, so I figured I had blown it. I honestly didn't see anything harder than what was on the google doc I shared, so I feel like if you can crush that you have this in the bag. I was also kicked out with maybe 8 minutes to go.

Reading - I have taken the LSAT (law school SAT basically) so I didn't study for this section thinking it would be cake. I was wrong - the reading was extremely dry and technical, very hard to follow, and I didn't feel good about some of my answer choices. My advice is to try to visualize what the reading is describing, maybe even draw it out (helped me). Also, write down A,B,C,D on your scratch paper and cross out answers that you're sure aren't right. I actually ran out of time on this section before I finished all the questions, so just know that it isn't a big deal. Accuracy>speed.

Mech - Pretty easy, even without a STEM background. I spent probably two days studying the material. Went through all the practice questions on the gouges I found on here, and just like math, when I didn't understand something, I would go watch youtube videos on it until I understood. Make sure you know your pulleys, the equation for work, the physics behind springs, and make sure you’re solid on levers and how to balance them. Finished with about 3 minutes to spare.

Personality Part- I’ll be honest, I thought I could game this, but there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the questions. Just answer honestly, you’re gonna feel like shit after no matter what haha.

ANIT – The flashcards I linked were key – almost every question I had was on them. Finished with plenty of time to spare – you either know the answer or you make an educated guess.

UAV – I did all of these (https://www.cram.com/flashcards/memorize/astb-uav-testing-6997985 on shuffle ) every other day or so using a hand-drawn compass found here (
) until I had it down. Didn’t make any mistakes, answered each one in under two seconds. This is the easiest one to nuke, so make sure you can do this in your sleep.

PBMs – Jeez. I played call of duty with inverted controls for around 4 hours over the 2 weeks to get used to this, didn’t feel like it helped too much but it might have improved my confidence. Lean your head to the target ear during the dichotic listening part, and STAY CALM. If you get frustrated you’ll bomb it. There were many times where my crosshairs were on the other side of the screen away from the target, so just know you can do well without being perfectly on target. Write down the emergency procedures. I actually screwed up my first emergency procedure, it was a fire and I had to turn my fuel to 0%, but I turned it up to red (because I figured red meant off?) and got a warning. Just remember YELLOW is 0%, red is 100%.

Final Thoughts

  1. Shoutout to LoneWanderer and the excellent gouge they posted (https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...scores-ask-your-questions-here.28348/page-298 post #4,462). This post is a must-read for any aspiring ASTB or OAR test-takers.
  2. Bring earplugs and a snack
  3. Do pushups between sections
  4. Get after it. Huge thanks to the AirWarriors community, I would’ve been toast without all the great info on here.
Click to expand...
My UAV portion looked slightly different and was using a numerical heading. Did you experience the same thing?
 
L

lsatfiend

Active Member
Clark781 said:
My UAV portion looked slightly different and was using a numerical heading. Did you experience the same thing?
Click to expand...

not sure what you mean. I was shown an imagine of the yellow triangle pointing to the red target circle, and I adjusted my hand-drawn compass as needed. If it had thrown headings at me I probably would've been in trouble haha.
 
C

Clark781

Member
lsatfiend said:
not sure what you mean. I was shown an imagine of the yellow triangle pointing to the red target circle, and I adjusted my hand-drawn compass as needed. If it had thrown headings at me I probably would've been in trouble haha.
Click to expand...
yea I guess, it was basically the same they just added a numerical heading which kind of threw me off. I am pretty sure the number was the heading of the plane
 
F

Frenchiee

New Member
msantos28 said:
Great gouge! I'm going in to take my test next Thursday and I'm studying every day. I'm hoping my knowledge as a pilot helps me out but my weakness is math :( I've been doing Kyle's study guide and getting more comfortable with that section. I have almost all the cram notecards basically memorized. My last struggle is the UAV section, I've been using the trick on youtube with the paper. My question is what is a good average time on these? Also when you pull back on the stick does the plane move up or down?
Click to expand...
Did you guys found the studying guide on here or did you guys buy the book?
 
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