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

[unstoppable]

Can someone please explain The UAV Terrain? The first one was easy. This one hard

 

[DBM]

Can someone please explain The UAV Terrain? The first one was easy. This one hard

As simple as a novice myself can put it, you essential determine the direction the aircraft is flying in on the second picture. There are two pictures, the first one will always be facing North and the second one will be whatever. You need to determine the direction the aircraft is flying in on the second picture based on the first picture. For example, if picture one is always North and picture two shows picture one upside down, then the aircraft is flying south. Obviously, there is more to it, but that's as best as I can put it from my own understanding.

 

[unstoppable]

As simple as a novice myself can put it, you essential determine the direction the aircraft is flying in on the second picture. There are two pictures, the first one will always be facing North and the second one will be whatever. You need to determine the direction the aircraft is flying in on the second picture based on the first picture. For example, if picture one is always North and picture two shows picture one upside down, then the aircraft is flying south. Obviously, there is more to it, but that's as best as I can put it from my own understanding.

Thank you I apreciate it

 

[DBM]

Thank you I apreciate it

Yeah of course, no problem.

 

[Dinosaurologist]

Hey all. I've been writing up an email the past couple hours for someone who is about to take the ASTB. Thought that I should just share the email on here in case anybody is interested. I got a 67 9/9/9 on the ASTB back in July, and I would not have been able to get that without this thread. Score helped me get selected for OCC 245. I've attached a file on all the notes I took from reading FAA Manual, and a diagram that helped me out for the emergency procedures and dichotic listening parts. Let me know if you have any questions on anything ASTB related. Here is the email ->

"Good talking to you the other day. I started studying on June 25, took the test on July 28 I scored a 67 9/9/9. I am not naturally gifted at academics, I knew nothing about aviation or mechanics beforehand, and I only studied for a little over a month. So, if I can get a score like that, anybody can. I did, however, study for the ASTB every free second that I got during those days, while also making sure to not burn myself out. I’m going to put down as much information as possible below, going section by section on the test. I could not have gotten anywhere near the score I got without the resources below.

OAR
Alright, so this score is based on the math, reading, and mechanical part of the test. It is scored on the 20 to 80 scale. It basically means that if you scored a 50, then you scored exactly average. If you scored a 67, then you are 1.7 ( because (67-50) ➗10 = 1.7) standard deviations above the mean. And if you scored a 30, then you are 2 ( because (30-50) ➗10 = -2) standard deviations below the mean.

First up, MATH.

• Know your rules of exponents, logs, PEMDAS, interior and exterior angles of polygons depending on their number of sides, basic matrix addition and multiplication rules, how to find the area of polygons, and how to find the area of 3-d objects like spheres and cubes, and just basic algebra. Know that distance = rate multiplied by time. Know percentages like how to find 40% of 800.
• If you have any old SAT or ACT practice textbooks lying around, bury them up and practice with the math sections of the practice tests in them.
• Focus on what you’re not good at. If you find that you are confused on how to simplify a logarithmic formula, watch more YouTube videos (Organic Chemistry Tutor and Khan Academy are awesome) on logs, and do more practice problems. You can find aso many practice problems online.

Second, READING

• Not a lot to say here. The stuff you read in this section will be very boring Navy stuff. Do your best to focus. I never felt confident about any of the answers that I put down. I just eliminated the choices that I knew were wrong, and I went from there. Make sure that you are not eating up too much of the clock dwelling on just one question.

Third, MECHANICAL

• Lots of basic mechanical/physics principles. Know Newton’s three laws of motion. Simple machines. Mechanical advantage. How altitude affects volume. How density affects volume. How to find current, resistance, and voltage in parallel circuits and series circuits. Know basic physics principles like Pascal’s Principle and Bernoulli’s Principle.
• Again, the YouTube channels Organic Chemistry Tutor and Khan Academy are great for this section.
• Use ChatGPT for this section to generate extra practice problems. Go on ChatGPT, and ask it something like, “Give me 20 questions that I could see on the mechanical section of the ASTB.” It will give you good questions, but sometimes the answers it gives back will be wrong, so make sure to verify just by googling it.
• I have a stack of flashcards that I made specific to the mechanical part of this test. When I get back home in a few days, I will make them into a quizlet and send them to your email.

ANIT

• The link below is a flashcard deck with 415 flash cards. I memorized each one, and I am very happy that I did. A great deal of the questions that you see on this section will line up with the stuff you studied from this flashcard deck. https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-4718163
• I also read over the bulk of the FAA Pilot Manual, and made notes on most of the chapters. (I’ll copy and paste my notes below.) This manual took a while for me to read over, and while I am happy that I reviewed it, looking back, I feel like my time could have been better allocated elsewhere. In my opinion, most of the ANIT section of the ASTB is pretty basic aeronautical knowledge that you can find on study guides online, and the information in this manual is more specific. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak
• The ANIT section extends beyond aeronautical knowledge as it also includes naval history. To prepare for this, I read The U.S. Navy: A Concise History by Craig L. Symonds. It was a good read. I left a copy of this book at the office if you want to pick it up. Know basic stuff like who John Paul Jones and Chester W. Nimitz were.

UAV

• This is the part of the test with the compass and the arrow. Where it asks you something like, “If you are flying West, which parking lot is NorthEast?” I thought that this was impossible the first time I tried it. Eventually though, after lots of practice, I could answer a set all correct at less than a second each.
• Again, I practiced this a lot. To do so, I downloaded the ASTB PREP app. It was 20 dollars, but it was the best 20 dollars I ever spent. Go to the UAV Simulator test section, turn on “Reduced Animation”, set it to “Hard”, and increase the number of questions to 42. I made it a game by setting new personal records for myself. It was usually the first thing that I did in the morning, and the last thing that I did at night. Keep in mind that the animation on the ASTB PREP UAV simulator will look different from what is on the actual ASTB. I will attach a photo to this file of what you can expect.
• On YouTube, look up “New ASTB Spatial Appreciation Trick''. It will explain how to use a cut out of a compass to figure out the problems. This is not the method that I used. However, I know that this trick works for a lot of people.

Terrain Association

• This section was not a part of the ASTB when I took it back in July. I know that the ASTB PREP app also has a practice section for it though, and from what I’ve read it is very helpful.

Stick and Throttle

• Use this link -> https://jantzenx.github.io/ASTB/
• jantzenx online flight simulator was a Godsend. I was awful at first, but I got pretty decent by the end with practicing at least 30 minutes a day. The difficulty level that you will see on the ASTB is about a couple notches down from the hardest difficulty setting on jantzenx, so I would recommend setting it at that on the website if you want it to be the most accurate.
• I just used my mouse and keyboard to practice for this, which was very helpful. I also bought a Logitech X52 Flight Control System off Amazon just so I could experiment with an actual throttle and stick. I connected the throttle and stick to the computer by using the app Joystick Mapper. I have a Mac, but if you use Windows, then there should be better software. I’ve heard of AntiMicro for Windows. I left the stick and throttle at the office, and I am assuming that they are still there. While I would recommend practicing at least a bit with a stick and throttle, I don’t think that it is absolutely necessary toward getting a good score. A mouse and keyboard can work just as well. The bulk of my practice was with just a mouse and keyboard.

Dichotic Listening

• There is also a setting on jantzenx to practice the Dichotic Listening portion. I would recommend using it. I thought that the actual Dichotic Listening section on the ASTB was a bit more fast-paced than what is on jantzenx, but I still appreciated the practice.
• Big tip: when it tells you to do something like “listen for numbers in your left ear,” lean your head in the left direction. My head was at a 90 degree angle for the entirety of this section, and it helped a lot. Same goes for if it tells you to listen for numbers in your right ear, obviously.

Emergency Procedures

• Use scratch paper to write down emergency procedures before section.
• I’ve heard that this link is an updated jantzenx flight sim that also includes an emergency procedures section -> https://jomo1-1.github.io/ASTB-remade/

MORE RESOURCES

• ASTB PREP - I already talked about it, but just to reiterate, I highly recommend downloading it. This app also has sections on Math and Mechanical, and they are helpful. I have noticed that some of the answers that it gives for math and mechanical are wrong, so be careful. Also, it might give you some calculus problems (sin, cos, tan, derivatives), but don’t worry, there are no calc problems on the ASTB, and I have never heard of anyone encountering any calc.
• Barron’s Military Flight Aptitude Tests - Ordered this off amazon. This textbook was big to read over. I got a lot of good information off of it. It helped give me a good picture of the kind of questions that I would see on the ASTB, specifically on the math, mechanical, and ANIT sections. Highly recommend it.
• Email that OSO sent you - Our OSO should have emailed you some ASTB study materials. If they did not, let me know, and I will forward you what they sent me. These are also very valuable, and I recommend that you look over them.
• AirWarriors - This website is so awesome. It is like reddit, but specifically catered for naval aviators. Look at the thread “1,001 questions about the ASTB”. That thread is where people give study tips, give study material, and share their scores and how they got them. This thread told me everything that I needed to know on how to study for the ASTB. Was the best thing that I found. When you are on this thread, try to find the drives Gomez Drive and Kyle’s Drive. Those drives have extra study information, and extra practice tests. https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...st-your-scores-ask-your-questions-here.28348/
• This Reddit Post - I just really like this Reddit post. It has a bunch of good information, good tips. A lot of the resources and tips that I’ve put down here are described better in this post.
  https://www.reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/comments/615x0g

MORE TIPS

• Just relax. Try to have fun with the study process. But also be a bit serious about it. You want to become a pilot, so the information that you learn is applicable to what you are going to learn eventually, so it should be at least a bit interesting. Just do your best. You don’t need to get an 80 9/9/9 to get selected. People have gotten selected with the minimums before. There are a lot of other parts of an application that the selection committee considers beyond ASTB such as PFT, GPA, volunteer service, LOR, etc.
  • Minimum for marines from what I’ve read is 45 4/6/6, but they don’t really care about FOFAR anymore because marines aren’t taking in flight officers anymore at the moment.
  • 45 4/6/6 = oar aqr/pfar/fofar
• Bring some sort of snack and water with you to the test. The test takes a few hours, and you will get hungry. Also, ask for a lot of scratch paper before the test. Our OSO will give you a pile. The scratch paper will be good for everything, especially for using the compass trick on the UAV portion if that is the method that you decide to go with. Also, during the Emergency Procedures portion of the test, write down the information that they give you before starting that section just so you don’t forget it.
• For the NATFI section of the test (the one where it asks you 100 questions about your personality), just use it as a study break to just relax before getting back into the second section of the test.
• Do push-ups between sections to work off stress.
• Use the bathroom during your bathroom break.
• Again, tilt your head in the direction of the ear it tells you to listen to during the dichotic listening section.
• Get to the testing center a bit early. You don’t want to feel rushed, and stressed out going into the test.
• Try to coordinate with OSO to take the test on what will be a relatively chill day at the office. You don’t want it to be on the same day that they are scheduled to have the carpets deep cleaned.
• Final tip: LOOK AT THE RESOURCES I LISTED. They will pay dividends. Feel free to look for other study resources online, but I highly recommend the ones I put above."

 

[TwoScoops]

Future Warriors,

This is directed at those of you who have used the ASTB Prep App or are considering purchasing it. I'm considering integrating something to prepare you guys for the dichotic listening test within the app. Is this something that you guys would like to see? If so, I will need someone to describe the portion to me in detail to design the best way to integrate it into the app. What are your thoughts?

Two Scoops,

 

[Asapla]

For the math section, were there a lot of word problems?

 

[Asapla]

Math section ended early, what does that usually mean?

 

[Mil3s]

Math section ended early, what does that usually mean?

If you mean that it ended before you could finish a question then that means you ran out of time as each section has a certain amount of time and there usually is a timer on the screen for you to see.

 

[Asapla]

If you mean that it ended before you could finish a question then that means you ran out of time as each section has a certain amount of time and there usually is a timer on the screen for you to see.

I had about 25 minutes left to go

 

[Mil3s]

I had about 25 minutes left to go

Uh that doesn’t sound to good then ngl. Did you just finish all of your questions or were you still going? also are you talking about a practice test or did you just take the actual test and get your score

 

[Asapla]

Uh that doesn’t sound to good then ngl. Did you just finish all of your questions or were you still going? also are you talking about a practice test or did you just take the actual test and get your score

I took the actual test for the first time, the math was going good at first, then it started to become difficult with problems like a=cb, b=A+C, find C and questions like that. I felt confident with majority of my answers, I'd say there were about 20ish questions i did. I was averaging 70-80 on the math practice tests via the app.

 

[Mil3s]

I took the actual test for the first time, the math was going good at first, then it started to become difficult with problems like a=cb, b=A+C, find C and questions like that. I felt confident with majority of my answers, I'd say there were about 20ish questions i did. I was averaging 70-80 on the math practice tests via the app.

Well I would say look at your oar score firstly. Then if you feel confident then I’m sure you did great on it. The math questions should get harder and harder as you get more right, that is why I was a little concerned when you said you had like 25 mins left because that is a good amount of time left especially for some of the harder math questions in which I know the majority of people would need to work the problem out on paper and factor and all that extra time consuming stuff

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I had about 25 minutes left to go

The test is adaptive, if it realized you had reached a point where you weren't getting any better it will end that section.

 

[ktraum]

Hey all. I've been writing up an email the past couple hours for someone who is about to take the ASTB. Thought that I should just share the email on here in case anybody is interested. I got a 67 9/9/9 on the ASTB back in July, and I would not have been able to get that without this thread.

100% agree with everything discussed in this post. Posting here to stress that Dinosaurologist outlines one of many great strategies for success on the ASTB, and on a personal note I know that this works because it sounds very similar to what I did to prepare.

This thread took me from 54 5/4/6 first try to 70 9/9/9 second try. Thank you AW!