chopstic Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I am pursuing a career in the army as a helicopter pilot. I did very well on the asvab and am now preparing for the AFAST test. I have read quite a few study guides for it, but lack in the general helicopter knowledge area. Do any of you have recommendations where i can read up and study for this section of the test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konig Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Go do an intro flight in a helicopter. That helped me actually make it all relevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLHooker Posted June 26, 2008 Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 ARCO makes a study guide for that test, and it can be found at your local decent sized bookstore... And if money isn't an issue, I would suggest (absolutely not required)... taking a Ground school class or getting your private pilot. Speaking from my own experiences, it helped me alot having prior experience when I went through Rucker. Good luck, CHAD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schro31185 Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 I got a test prep book yesterday and was wondering if anyone else has used the Barrons AFAST test prep, or herad of others who have. They did not have an Arco book for the AFAST but they did have one for the ASVAB, which I got. I seem to have a problem though, I took a practice test before reading anything else in the book, just to kind of gauge my general understanding. I didn't do good enough to pass the test, but thats what I expected. My problem was with the cyclic orientation section, where it shows you three pictures in sequence (pilots view) and you have to determine which position the cyclic was in for these events. I missed over half of these, and then when I looked at the correct answers, they still did not make sense. Do the pictures in this book accurately represent what is on the actual test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helo_Rookie Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 If you've got a study guide, I'd focus hard on that... I took an intro ride with a civilian school prior to taking my AFAST but in working up until test day I made it a point to take 2 or 3 practice exams a day and time yourself, thats whats most important. Initially I had trouble with complex movements and cyclic orientation but you'll develop a rhythm and understanding which will help you on the actual exam- the intro flight does help but those run about $100.00 on average... just apply yourself, MAKE time each day to study, make your own flash cards if you like and it'll all make sense GUARENTEED. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fighter13 Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 I am pursuing a career in the army as a helicopter pilot. I did very well on the asvab and am now preparing for the AFAST test. I have read quite a few study guides for it, but lack in the general helicopter knowledge area. Do any of you have recommendations where i can read up and study for this section of the test? In my opinion, there are 3 good books to read to study for this section of the AFAST, depending on how much you want to know. I recommend all of them but if you only want fast, general info, I have ranked them below according to what I think is easiest to most complicated to read/comprehend. The only discrepancies I noticed is that the AFAST sometimes asks questions about different color lights, landing illumination, radio transmission, etc. that the books do not explain. 1. Rotorcraft Flying Handbook - US DOT FAA-H-8083-21: If you want quick relevant general knowledge, this book is great because it covers the basics of everything in a paragraph or two for each section. There are 22 sections with 2 to 12 pgs per section - many diagrams and pictures on every page. 2. Learning to Fly Helicopters by Randall Padfield: Great easy to read resource and explains as if he is an instructor instructing you. Written pretty well with multiple diagrams/pictures to facilitate visual comprehension and even humorous at times. Covers everything in depth within the 339 pgs and appendices. 3. Priciples of Helicopter Flight - 2nd Edition by W.J. Wagtendonk: The most complex out of the three - goes into more detail about the actual physics of flying, more in depth in regards to various aerodynamic aspects, a lot more detail about slingloads, etc. The book is 298pgs including 4 appendices. For the test, the helicopter knowledge section is reltively small compared to other sections. The biggest I think are the Mechanical comprehension, complex movements and instrument comprehension. The mechanical comprehension section is hard to study for, but if you did well on the ASVAB, you should be fine. For the complex movements, definitely study the directional symbols for movement beforehand because they will most likely be the same on the test and it will save you a lot of time if you don't have to keep looking up. Instrument comprehension is easy but the pictures sometimes make it difficult to view which direction the diagram represents the plane to be going - if you get a feel for what "the best or most reasonable answer" is during the practice tests, it will be the same on the test. Besides the reading, I also recommend the completing the practice tests in the back of the Arco study-guide under timed conditions... A higher score on the AFAST will put you in a higher ranking/rating for a seat. Since seats are most of the time limited, I recommend reading all 3 books, studying the Arco guide and taking the practice tests. It took me about 2 months to do all of this but if you are limited by time constraints, I'd say read the FAA manual, study Arco and take practice tests...you can get all this done in a week or two.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWannaFly Posted August 10, 2008 Report Share Posted August 10, 2008 Keep in mind that the test is pass/fail. I would definitely recommend studying but I would focus mainly on what is in those study guides. Focus on timing yourself. The speed of the test is the hardest part. If you really want to study more long term, I would recommend pretty much any book that describes helicopter aerodynamics. Unfortunately, the only place I know of to find what the different color lights mean at an airfield (other than talking to pilots) is to buy and skim the FAR/AIM (mostly the AIM) (Federal Aviation Regulations/Airman's Information Manual). Keep in mind though that I haven't flown for about 4 years and this is just from what I remember. There are probably other references, but again...the study guides and a stop watch are going to be your best bet. Blake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tparrotte Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 Do not get the Barron's book, I can't even tell you how many errors our in the book, it is unbelievable. The arco book is much better and is free online. My advice is take a bunch of practice tests, and time yourself just like it was the real deal. If not you will be unpleasantly surprised by the pace you need to go in some sections. A section i found surprisingly different then the practice tests was instrument comprehension. The practice tests make them seems much easier, but on the actual test you they will give you very similar airplane pictures with small changes in the degree of dive or bank. No practice book made you choose between different degrees of bank, so I would look hard at that as well. Get a really good base knowledge of helicopters as well. Partly because you need to know it, but mostly because not only do they check to see if you know the information they make the wording very tricky, unlikely the arco and barons book which have very straight forward answers. That is some of my advice, I just took the test a few days ago, and was surprised at how different the practice was compared to the real deal. Let me know if you want any more suggestions, Im sure other people have better advice, I just happen to take it a few days ago so its all fresh, and still pissing me off. ** Also I see this is an old post but its close to the top and this info might be work while to someone else. ** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tparrotte Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/down...itaryFlight.pdf Thats the link for the free ARCO book if anyone is interested. I haven't seen it posted on here before, but here it is just in case. I found it though a military website, so its legal, even though you can go out and buy the same book for 20$ in a store you can legally get it here for free. Don't know how that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTACK!! Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 If you haven't already taken the AFAST, read this website. www.helicopterpage.comThis really helped me out on helicopter knowledge. Of course study the ARCO AFAST Study Guide. But make sure you read as much as possible on this page. You will not regret it. MAC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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