Need help with spatial appreciation

[Scoob]

My work here is done.

 

[DSL1990]

This will really dumb it down for when you take the test:

Your hand=Airplane
Desk=land
above desk=air
where desk ends=water

Look down the length of your hand and make the "image" match what is on the test. Then pull your head back and see how your hand is oriented. You'll look ridiculous doing it, but it works. Helped me get my 8/8/9 on the ASTB.

NozeMan,

that's a really cool idea. question though, what do you do about the submarine or ship in the picture? is that important when you are using your "hand" technique? can you just ignore it? I mean I was going through some of the problems in one of the test books and it seemed there was always a ship or a submarine oriented in some direction in the picture, and i never knew what to do with it.

 

[jt71582]

Ignore it, it's just there to show you the difference between land and water.

 

[DSL1990]

Ignore it, it's just there to show you the difference between land and water.

really? LOL!

 

[NozeMan]

NozeMan,

that's a really cool idea. question though, what do you do about the submarine or ship in the picture? is that important when you are using your "hand" technique? can you just ignore it? I mean I was going through some of the problems in one of the test books and it seemed there was always a ship or a submarine oriented in some direction in the picture, and i never knew what to do with it.

don't overthink the test, I'd ignore them

 

[jt71582]

really? LOL!

Yep. Not kidding. Stop overthinking it.

 

[MasterBates]

Ok people.. This is an APTITUDE test, not a study-and-regurgitate-facts test.

If you find the ASTB "that hard" you probably aren't going to find stuff down the road that much easier.

 

[usmarinemike]

Ok people.. This is an APTITUDE test, not a study-and-regurgitate-facts test.

If you find the ASTB "that hard" you probably aren't going to find stuff down the road that much easier.

My thoughts exactly. I say the same thing in every post I put in threads about people taking the astb. It's more about how your mind works than what it actually works on, but it's not going to keep people form grasping at straws.

 

[Scoob]

I'd lay money that I'm not the only one here who's "test prep" for the ASTB was about 15 years of flight simulators, video games, building flyable models, posters on my bedroom wall, museums, airshows and pretty much living and breathing airplanes and aviation from the age of about 6.

If that's not you, you're behind the power curve. You can get through the program without prior flight training, but it's going to be damn near impossible if you have no background whatsoever.

Spatial apperception is not about memorizing what's in a picture and correlating that to an aircraft attitude. Its about having an innate or developed ability to automatically, without thinking, know exactly what is going on and around that big hunk of metal strapped to your back.

Some people are born with Olympic athletic ability. Others get to the Olympics through shear hard work. If you are now discovering that you weren't born with that spacial apperception (which is just an elementary screening tool for the real deal: spatial awareness), its too late to start learning it now. You may be able to get in the door, but you probably won't find your way to the exit (not the one you want, anyway).

 

[NozeMan]

I'd lay money that I'm not the only one here who's "test prep" for the ASTB was about 15 years of flight simulators, video games, building flyable models, posters on my bedroom wall, museums, airshows and pretty much living and breathing airplanes and aviation from the age of about 6.

If that's not you, you're behind the power curve. You can get through the program without prior flight training, but it's going to be damn near impossible if you have no background whatsoever.

Spatial apperception is not about memorizing what's in a picture and correlating that to an aircraft attitude. Its about having an innate or developed ability to automatically, without thinking, know exactly what is going on and around that big hunk of metal strapped to your back.

Some people are born with Olympic athletic ability. Others get to the Olympics through shear hard work. If you are now discovering that you weren't born with that spacial apperception (which is just an elementary screening tool for the real deal: spatial awareness), its too late to start learning it now. You may be able to get in the door, but you probably won't find your way to the exit (not the one you want, anyway).

Mmmm justification for video games, believe it. Seriously, just playing things like Flight Sim etc build the foundation, not the ARCO book. It does help to see the test examples ahead of time, though.

 

[sbfighter]

Would any of you say that Spatial Apperception is one of things you get or you don't? It seems kind of intuitive to me, although I've never taken the ASTB so I can't be certain.. but from the scenarios you all have described, just using your head?


edit: nevermind, question already answered...

Spatial apperception is not about memorizing what's in a picture and correlating that to an aircraft attitude. Its about having an innate or developed ability to automatically, without thinking, know exactly what is going on and around that big hunk of metal strapped to your back.

 

[SDNalgene]

Alright, ignoring the whole you either have it or you don't argument, however valid. Take a bottle of water, preferably one with a horizontal line on it. That's your wing. The back edge of the water line is the horizon. Move the bottle to match the picture. The bottle is like the stick, so once you have the picture right you can figure out whether you moved the stick left or right and whether you pushed it over or pulled it back. It's probably easier to choose an answer and then move the bottle like it was the stick and check if it matches the picture than to do it the other way around. If you suck so bad that you need to do this all the time you will run out of time anyways and you should look for a new job, but if you get one that confuses you and just want to check yourself that works. No rule against hydrating while taking the test, to my knowledge anyway.

 

[pmasters]

I for one owe my score of 6 (not spectacular but not too shabby) entirely to Microsoft Combat Flight Simulators II and III. I'd say go buy one of those, shoot down Zeros and BF-109s for a and hour or so every day and Spatial Appreciation should be relatively easy.

 

[sbfighter]

I for one owe my score of 6 (not spectacular but not too shabby) entirely to Microsoft Combat Flight Simulators II and III. I'd say go buy one of those, shoot down Zeros and BF-109s for a and hour or so every day and Spatial Appreciation should be relatively easy.

Battlefield 1942

 

[pmasters]

Another good one, and in BF 1942 you generally do end up nose diving towards the ground at some odd angle or another and crashing, which is reminiscent of those Spatial questions.