Customer Reviews

Military Flight Aptitude Tests (3rd ed)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased a bunch of test prep books for taking the AFOQT.
I bought ...and the Arco Military Flight Aptitude Test book.

Out of all these books, the Arco Military Flight Aptitude Test Book did the best job for preparing me for the AFOQT.
It has ALL the subtests (not just the academic aptitude sections) so you get a very good idea of how the test is run.

I scored a 94 on both the Pilot and Nav sections, and had only 2 weeks to prepare for the AFOQT.
I have ZERO knowledge of Piloting but the book helped with the other sections that help determine the Pilot/Nav composite scores.

This book should be the FIRST on your list of prep books for the AFOQT.

I have taken two tests out of this book, the Army AFAST, and the Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Selection Battery, in real life. Contextually, the book is dead on, however, do not rely on it as your sole source of information. If you are serious about becoming a pilot, READ READ READ. Go out and get books on the aircraft you want to fly (i.e. fixed wing or rotary). This book is good in that it will show you exactly what the formats look like, but it does not do a lot in preparing you for the questions on the test beyond what is in the book.

If you are looking to get high scores on your aptitude tests, practice, read, and absorb everything you can about the tests that are in the book. Find your weaknesses, and focus your attentions on them. I speak from experience. By studying hard for both tests, I was able to achieve above the 99 percentile on both tests. You can do it as well, but not with just one book, not with just any book.

This book is a good start, and as such will allow you to format what you have to do. The text of the book is very easy to read, and is almost word for word what is in the pamphlets the test proctors will give you. Still, I would read it cover to cover. Even if you are just going to do the Army's AFAST, it does not hurt to be proficient in the Air Forces or the Navy/Marine Corps Tests. Everything you learn will always be a help.

As a last aside, it also would not hurt you to go out and take a lesson or two in the type of aircraft you want to fly. If you want to fly jets, go to a local flight school and take an hour or more learning to fly fixed winged aircraft. If you want to fly helicopters, save your money up, then go to a helicopter FOB to get an hour or two under your belt. You will learn more about your spacial awareness than any book could ever teach.

I just took the Navy/Marines ASTB as part of my application for commission in the US Navy, and I used the Arco book as my primary study text. Here's a section-by-section rundown of how I thought the Arco book prepared me. (Please note that these comments apply only to the ASTB practice section in the Arco book.)

(1) Math/Verbal: the Arco's math/verbal practice section is pretty different from the real thing. Arco's math questions are based entirely on arithmetic whereas the ASTB focuses more on actual algebra and geometry questions. Likewise, Arco's verbal questions are not like the real thing. The ASTB has only paragraph comprehension and none of the other stuff that Arco has you practice. Don't expect Arco to prepare you for this section or you'll be pretty disappointed.

(2) Mechanical: Arco's mechanical practice section is identical to the ASVAB's mechanical, and I found it to be somewhat more difficult than the ASTB's mechanical. If you practice the mechanical questions in the Arco book along with a good ASVAB preparation book, then you should have little problem with the mechanical section of the ASTB.

(3) Spatial Apperception: the Arco book is quite oversimplified here. The actual ASTB is more difficult than what Arco leads on. The Arco book should be looked at as nothing more than a nice introduction to these sorts of questions. Actual ASTB questions are more sophisticated and you might be caught off guard.

(4) Biographical: Arco's practice questions are right on.

(5) Aviation/Nautical: Arco's practice is a good introduction, especially for people like myself who had NO KNOWLEDGE in this area prior to studying for the test. But be sure you go to the local library and review introductory books on basic piloting, navigation, and seamanship. Arco alone just won't cut it here.

(6) Aviation Interest: Arco has nothing for this section, but that's not a big deal as this part of the test is designed to see if you truly are motivated in becoming a pilot. No real right or wrong answers here.

So how did I do? My scores were the highest the regional recruiters had ever seen. I needed an overall rating of 35 to pass the test and a score of at least 50 to be considered "competitive." My rating was a 74!

In summary, the Arco book is a good introduction (and nothing more than an intro) for some sections of the ASTB and not so good for others. Be sure you study accordingly.

I purchased this study guide in order to prepare me for the Air Force Officer's Qualifying Test (AFOQT). It gave me everything necessary to ace the test (it also contains a complete AFOQT sample test). When I took the AFOQT I scored a 95 out of a possible 99 on the pilot composite. Trust me get this book if you want a pilot slot. This book also contains valuable information on Army, Navy/Marine Flight Aptitude test.

I reccomend this guide to anyone interested in taking the AFOQT. The sample test given in the book was dead on. Take the sample under timed conditions for optimal results. Even if you don't plan to fly, buy this book. If you do plan to fly, you may need a supplement for the flight terms and plane functions. I cannot stress enough how prepared I was for the test because I practiced with this book. I highly recommend it!

First off, I scored 91st percentile on the Pilot composite, 96th on Navigator, 97th on Quantitative, 98th on Verbal, and 98th on Academic. With that out of the way...

This book and 'Officer Candidate Tests', also by Solomon Wiener, were both quite helpful to me as I prepared for the AFOQT, but really only because of the sample tests. The two books share some of the same questions but 95% of the questions are unique, and I thought that they were rather similar to the actual test with the exception of the Table Reading subtest. Be warned that there are several mistakes in the book, especially the Block Counting subtest where several of the questions don't even have the right number of blocks as a choice, but if you make a point to double check all of the answers you missed, you should be able to figure out whether you or the book are correct.

I strongly recommend that you take the full sample test under timed conditions, it will give you a very good idea how you'll do on the real AFOQT. And when you sit for the test, especially the Block Counting and Table Reading subtests, try to be careful: it's easy to mark the wrong box and not realize it for several more questions, totally messing up that test. That's actually what 'ruined' my pilot score. Ignore the AFOQT answer sheet in the book, the actual test just has one sheet with all the little circles you fill in just like the SAT.

Having taken the sample tests beforehand, if nothing else, made me feel much more relaxed going into the test. If you can do well on the samples, you'll be fine on the real AFOQT. If you're going in for a technical position, I strongly recommend you go through the other book mentioned at the top of this review as well, as it focuses on the 6 subtests that are supposed to really matter for you, and I think the tests in that one were harder than this book. Wouldn't hurt you would-be fly-boys either.

I strongly recommend this book if you are at all nervous about the AFOQT as it will help build some confidence before you take the real thing, but I only give it 4 stars because of the numerous mistakes in the answer section. Just double check all your answers and you'll be fine.

I did fine on the AFOQT with this book. However I believe that a sample SAT book or a strong latin review will help with the two sections that deal with words. The math was pretty basic, similar to the SAT's and the charts and electrical mazes are larger on the test compared to the practice books. I think the best way to study for this test is to lock yourself in a room and play some classical music. The lord of the rings soundtrack worked for me, but anything will do. It is also important that you answer every question for the AFOQT. It hurts your grade more if you leave an answer blank. Just relax and try not to stress out. As for studying, take it a section at a time, and time yourself accordingly. The Person in charge of our test had a loud timer that was distracting, so maybe you will want a loud timer so you can get use to the noise. Honestly, the test was not as hard as I thought. Just eat a light breakfast and concentrate. Good luck!

I decided after being a helicopter crewchief for 8 years that I wanted to attend flight school. My friends that were doing the same recommended this book to me- so I bought it. I already knew much of the material, but it did help me. This book contains tests for all services; I took the AFAST (Army Flight Aptitude Screening Test).
As I recall, the practice test was not exactly what I found when I took the exam (which is good so the test is not COMPLETELY compremised)but it was close enough that I had minimal problems with it. In some cases (the control stick position portion) the real test seemed much simpler than the version in the book.
Each time I come across someone who is interested in going to Army flight school, the first thing I do is recommend this book to them. Not only is it a good tool for practice and it explains the answers to the reader, but it is the only book in existence that I know of that points the reader in the right direction for the exam.
You can't walk in to take the AFAST without knowing something about rotary- winged flight. This book explains a little about retreating blade stall, dynamic rollover, translating tendancy, etc. so if you don't know these things, you can have a basic understanding of what they are. Without a clue of what some of these things are and how they pertain to helos, you won't have a chance when test time comes. Good luck!

I haven't been the best student in college, but I really applied myself in studying for the AFOQT. This book was an excellent study aid and I highly recommend it. Take the practice tests seriously. I did the sample tests (in the front) a couple of times, over the course of a week or so, and then did the actual practice test three times over the course of about two weeks, rigidly timing each section. Go to the deepest section of the library or whatever it takes to not be interrupted and to concentrate. On the test, it will help if you have some flying experience and knowledge, and if you are mechanically inclined. One more thing regarding this book: I found that many of the problems in it seemed slightly harder than on the actual test. I can tell you for sure that the Electrical Mazes and Scale Reading sections are printed out a little larger and are easier to read on the test. My scores on each composite were: PILOT: 98, NAV: 95, A.A.: 87, VERBAL:93, QUANT: 75. Yeah I know- 75...we can't have it all. Good luck.

This book is necessary for anyone who plans to take the AFOQT. Doing the timed practice tests a couple of times through really helps you get a good feel for the pace of the real test. The first time I practiced I ran out of time on nearly every section. I practiced again with the other Arco book (which has harder questions in my opinion) and got a lot faster. Finally, I took the actual AFOQT, finishing almost every section early enough to check many of my answers. I ended up getting a 99 on the Pilot, Navigator, Academic Aptitude, and Verbal sections. Quantitative was a 96. There is no way I could've gotten those scores without using the Arco practice tests.