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

[NEVFR]

Those questions look good, but I highly, highly recommend the Alex Hastings ASTB prep app for math and physics help. A little Khan Academy if a lesson isn’t clear is also good.

Math seemed to end for me somewhere around basic trig, 9 questions in, so my experience may not be representative of others.

Other than what little I remember from the Cal 1 class I barely got a C in 4 years ago and maybe some knowledge I got through osmosis being around my engineer girlfriend, those lessons and consistent practice testing were my bread and butter for preparing.

Was the math on the app very similar compared to the test?

 

[CarterL]

Hey guys and gals,
I just took the ASTB for the first time yesterday and scored a 53 7/7/6
I’m wanting to apply for SNA

Somewhat disappointed with the 6. Feel like I messed up the emergency procedures portion. I was only given 1 of each scenario- fire, engine, prop. I also never got a practice portion for this section of the test. Is that normal?

Anyways, I’m hoping to apply for the board in June. I’ve graduated with a 3.19 in Operations and Supply Chain Management. My recruiter is fairly new and is telling me that I should probably retake the ASTB if I want to be competitive for a pilot slot. What are your guys’ thoughts? I was under the impression that 7’s were a pretty decent score.

I have no previous flight experience ( unless you count a 1.5 hour discovery flight). No waivers needed aside from potential medical.

 

[fearedengineer]

Hey guys and gals,
I just took the ASTB for the first time yesterday and scored a 53 7/7/6
I’m wanting to apply for SNA

Somewhat disappointed with the 6. Feel like I messed up the emergency procedures portion. I was only given 1 of each scenario- fire, engine, prop. I also never got a practice portion for this section of the test. Is that normal?

Anyways, I’m hoping to apply for the board in June. I’ve graduated with a 3.19 in Operations and Supply Chain Management. My recruiter is fairly new and is telling me that I should probably retake the ASTB if I want to be competitive for a pilot slot. What are your guys’ thoughts? I was under the impression that 7’s were a pretty decent score.

I have no previous flight experience ( unless you count a 1.5 hour discovery flight). No waivers needed aside from potential medical.

I think your scores are fine. If you do get rejected you can always retake it and apply again. Yeah, the emergency doesn't have a practice from my memory. But from what I know about the FOFAR(the 6) section it should've been mostly affected by UAV and Terrain(and maybe math/anit). I think the whole PBM is mostly accounted for by the PFAR.

 

[bryandreis]

I think your scores are fine. If you do get rejected you can always retake it and apply again. Yeah, the emergency doesn't have a practice from my memory. But from what I know about the FOFAR(the 6) section it should've been mostly affected by UAV and Terrain(and maybe math/anit). I think the whole PBM is mostly accounted for by the PFAR.

I took the ASTB yesterday and I also don’t get 1 try to practice the emergency procedures section. I was confused on what to exactly do when the warnings were implemented.

My instructions were:

• E-Knob: Fuel too low
• I-Knob: Power too low
• Clutch: Reset button

Anyone have any tips on how to do really well on the math section?

 

[McNally]

Hello everyone,

I finished my third and final attempt at the ASTB this morning and I am happy to have scored the following: 58 8/8/8.

As a thank you for all of the helpful information I have found on this forum when I started my journey to become an SNA, here is a compiled list of all the study guides, practice tests, simulators and equipment I have used to improve my scores and a few tips on how to effectively use them.

Kyle's Drive
Made by Kyle Swaters, contains study guides and practice tests for the Math Skills Test (MST), Mechanical Comprehension Test (MCT) and Aviation and Nautical Information Test (ANIT) portions of the ASTB.

Gomez's Drive
Made by Ado Gomez, contains study guides and practice tests for the MST, MCT and ANIT portions of the ASTB.

ANIT Flash Cards
415 different flashcards to help study for the ANIT portion of the ASTB.

ASTB Prep App
$25.00 App that can be purchased on the Apple Store to help prepare for the entirety of the ASTB exam, including Performance Based Measures Battery (PBM). I strongly recommend using it to study for the MST and MCT of the ASTB, as well as practicing the Dichotic Listening Test, UAV Simulator and Terrain Identification.

Jantzen and Mike's ASTB Trainer (Modified)
This is a modified version of Jantzen and Mike's throttle and joystick simulator for the ASTB. It includes emergency test scenarios and the Dichotic Listening Test is changed to more accurately emulate the ASTB; it changes which headphone to listen to (i.e. left or right). For a more realistic experience, I used the Logitech G X52 and bound the key controls to them using JoyToKey.

NOTE: The program has the acknowledge ear command key bindings configured opposite of how it actually is on the test. I suggest reconfiguring the key binds so that when an even number is heard, you press the trigger on the joystick (right click the mouse) and when an odd number is heard, you press the button on the throttle (press the letter key "E"). This can also be done using JoyToKey.

TIPS AND TRICKS

For the UAV Simulator Portion of the exam, draw a compass onto a small piece of paper (North, South, East, West) and stick the point of a pen or pencil directly through the center. This video goes into more detail, except he uses his hands to turn the paper compass. Using a pencil or pen to spin the compass in the indicated direction the UAV is moving will improve your response time. Aim to achieve 100% accuracy and an average response time of less than 2 seconds.

Prior to the test date, it may be a good idea to have your ears cleaned to ensure that you can clearly hear the headphone commands for the Dichotic Listening Test (You would be amazed by how much ear wax can build up).

For the emergency scenarios portion of the PBM, make sure to write down the instructions on how to handle each scenario for reference. During my test, it had me handle each emergency scenario in the same order they were listed on the instructions page. It may be a good idea to pre-emptively set the fuel and engine knobs to their respective setting prior to each scenario being displayed so that the warnings can immediately be dismissed.

I hope I was helpful to any aspiring SNAs and SNFOs, please feel free to message me with any questions or comments.

Cheers!

 

[NFHopeful]

Was the math on the app very similar compared to the test?

The math was similar in problem type. Like on the actual test, I found the math topped out around basic trig. Word problems were similar and the degree of convolution all around was about the same: no questions were more needlessly complex on one than the other. A good feature is that the practice tests will explain how to solve the problems you miss, that really helped me cement anything that didn’t make sense.

 

[post-covid-lurker]

I hope this is the right place to ask: I went through the Petersons guide for the OAR and was completely stumped on one question which I've attached. I looked around a bit and can't understand how I'm supposed to read the thimble scale as ".002 / .227"?

Is it that on the thimble scale, we see the scale goes 0-1-2, and the "2" meets the sleeve? I still don't understand why the answer guide mentions ".227" underneath the ".002". Thanks; I really appreciate it. 😊

 

[elariosa95]

I hope this is the right place to ask: I went through the Petersons guide for the OAR and was completely stumped on one question which I've attached. I looked around a bit and can't understand how I'm supposed to read the thimble scale as ".002 / .227"?

Is it that on the thimble scale, we see the scale goes 0-1-2, and the "2" meets the sleeve? I still don't understand why the answer guide mentions ".227" underneath the ".002". Thanks; I really appreciate it. 😊

The thimble numbers are thousandths, the sleeve is tenths.

The sleeve is set to 2.25, thus it is 0.225.

The thimble is at 2, thus it is 0.002.

0.225 + 0.002 = 0.227

Read here for more info:

Page Not Found | LBCC

aws.linnbenton.edu

 

[McNally]

I hope this is the right place to ask: I went through the Petersons guide for the OAR and was completely stumped on one question which I've attached. I looked around a bit and can't understand how I'm supposed to read the thimble scale as ".002 / .227"?

Is it that on the thimble scale, we see the scale goes 0-1-2, and the "2" meets the sleeve? I still don't understand why the answer guide mentions ".227" underneath the ".002". Thanks; I really appreciate it. 😊

The dimensions on the sleeve (the horizontal dimensions) measure by increments of 0.025. The measurement on the sleeve is 0.225. The dimensions on the thimble (vertical dimensions) measure by increments of 0.0010. The measurement on the thimble is 0.0020.

By adding the measurements of the sleeve and thimble together you get: 0.225 + 0.0020 = 0.2270

 

[post-covid-lurker]

Okay. I think overthought it. Thanks y'all.

 

[post-covid-lurker]

One more question. Answer guide stipulates that the circumference of the wheel here is 24", and that you double that number to find the distance between W1 and W2 after a complete revolution.
How do we know that the circumference of the wheel is 24"? I plugged 10" into c=2[pi]r. As far as I can tell, the diameter is 10", meaning circumference should be 2(5") * pi, which should be 31.4? Where did I go wrong? Thanks.

 

[Empire16]

One more question. Answer guide stipulates that the circumference of the wheel here is 24", and that you double that number to find the distance between W1 and W2 after a complete revolution.
How do we know that the circumference of the wheel is 24"? I plugged 10" into c=2[pi]r. As far as I can tell, the diameter is 10", meaning circumference should be 2(5") * pi, which should be 31.4? Where did I go wrong? Thanks.

View attachment 40188

I got a 63 on the oar and did not see anything like this. I don’t think you will get a question like this.

 

[post-covid-lurker]

I got a 63 on the oar and did not see anything like this. I don’t think you will get a question like this.

I mean I appreciate it but I don't want to leave anything to chance.

 

[whollyskill]

One more question. Answer guide stipulates that the circumference of the wheel here is 24", and that you double that number to find the distance between W1 and W2 after a complete revolution.
How do we know that the circumference of the wheel is 24"? I plugged 10" into c=2[pi]r. As far as I can tell, the diameter is 10", meaning circumference should be 2(5") * pi, which should be 31.4? Where did I go wrong? Thanks.

View attachment 40188

So as I have been going through these problems the last couple of days I have noticed that the answer guide has a few incorrect answers, this being one of them. Now I would solve it the same way the guide does. So in this case I would say the circumference is 2pi5 = 10pi = 31.4. So we now know that c = 31.4 so W2 will rise 31.4 and W1 will lower 31.4. I would say thee answer is 62.8, but idk. Just to restate what I said earlier there is quite a few answers in the Peterson book (that's where I assume this is from) that are wrong.

 

[NEVFR]

I got a 63 on the oar and did not see anything like this. I don’t think you will get a question like this.

Can confirm. My mechanical section was mainly theory. By the way, you have a great score, what did you use to study for the mechanical section?