SIFT INFORMATION

11BFlyer · February 14, 2013

Good luck B2G4WOFT! and congrats Jarhead..... I went to go take it yesterday, was given 12 hours notice so studied and stressed over it but decided I would be ok and looking forward to getting it done. So drove 2 hours the next morning to take it only to get on base and find the test center had no power due to a big storm we just got here in the Northeast.... taking it on tuesday now so atleast i will have a few more days to study!

Blue2Green4WOFT · February 14, 2013

Got back and went to the gym, finally got some free time to hop on here and report back to you guys!! I feel like I could have done much better then I did today on the SIFT but I cut a 63 so not to bad I suppose since 40 is the baseline. If anyone has questions let me know!

Helipilot PTK · February 15, 2013

Would you mind giving us your "take" on the test. A basic overview of sections and types of questions. What was the hardest/easiest section for you etc? If you took the AFAST comparing it to that would be great! And a 63 isn't bad at all, it will be interesting to see what the average score ends up being. Congrats on the great score!

Blue2Green4WOFT · February 15, 2013

I will say this right off the bat first section simple drawings they are not hard but you need to hurry!! I didnt have a sense of urgency at first and ended up only completing 75/100 other wise I may have done a little better on my final score. I did take the AFAST got a 130 and there were a few small details.

If you have reviewed the petersons guide for the different aviation battery test, in my opinion the hidden figures were much harder in the guide then what were on the sift.

The spatial apperception was basicaly the same only difference from the guide and the AFAST being that there are slight banks and hard banks and alot more of the views were coming into land and out to sea at varying angles like a 45 degree approach instead of straight in and out.

Math was simple and straight forward other then algebra style crap for me I havent done it in like 10 years.

Aviation knowledge most of the questions were covered in the afast guide, some terms were on the sift you would find in a basic Helo flight book, and there were a few airframe questions as Jarhead mentioned.

Reading Comp- I used the practice exam from petersons guide and did well on them, on the sift some of them didnt seem to make sense and my brain started to fry from all the reading lol so im not sure how well i did in this section.

Mechanical Comp- Same deal used the guide to practice and felt good Id say 3/4 of the Sift questions were related to the AFAST guide and the ones I didnt know were some Off the wall diagrams of things I have never seen before.

Hope this helps guys good luck to everyone!!

jag32 · February 15, 2013

Great information. Can you guys please elaborate on the math section specifically- i.e. what types of algebra problems are on there? Just basic equations? What types of word problems were on there?

Hopefully i'll be taking the SIFT on Feb 20th.

Thanks

Blue2Green4WOFT · February 15, 2013

the algebra was pretty basic im just really rusty it would ask you to simplify a fraction with equations on top and bottom that you need to use FOIL and factor out exponents and what not...the word problems were basic stuff like X amount of people are wearing blue and X amount are wearing red what is the probability of seeing a person wearing red. Or if someone needs to travel 20 miles in 15 min how fast would they need to travel in MPH. hope that helps some

I3uller · February 15, 2013

the algebra was pretty basic im just really rusty it would ask you to simplify a fraction with equations on top and bottom that you need to use FOIL and factor out exponents and what not...the word problems were basic stuff like X amount of people are wearing blue and X amount are wearing blue what is the probability of seeing one in red. Or if someone needs to travel 20 miles in 15 min how fast would they need to travel in MPH. hope that helps some

Great info Blue2Green thank you! Looking forward to getting this test over with.

Blue2Green4WOFT · February 15, 2013

haha yea i had a little bit of anxiety but after the first section I was in the zone, like I said just make sure that first section be ready to go as fast as possible to try and complete all 100

Blue2Green4WOFT · February 15, 2013

So is anyone else scheduled to take the SIFT in the near future?? Graphite I remember you posting earlier in this post you were taking it soon any results yet?

jag32 · February 16, 2013

the algebra was pretty basic im just really rusty it would ask you to simplify a fraction with equations on top and bottom that you need to use FOIL and factor out exponents and what not...the word problems were basic stuff like X amount of people are wearing blue and X amount are wearing red what is the probability of seeing a person wearing red. Or if someone needs to travel 20 miles in 15 min how fast would they need to travel in MPH. hope that helps some

That's great it is such basic math.... the math on the AFOQT kicked my ass. It wasn't pretty.

Besides probability, FOIL, and fractions, what other types of math problems are on the SIFT?

Thanks

jag32 · February 16, 2013

So is anyone else scheduled to take the SIFT in the near future?? Graphite I remember you posting earlier in this post you were taking it soon any results yet?

I'm supposed to be taking it on February 20th.

Lindsey · February 16, 2013

Can anyone also provide some specifics on the mechanical section? Was it sort of like the ASVAB (a la "is this a class 2 lever") or more physics-based (predict what will happen to this object)?

Blue2Green4WOFT · February 16, 2013

I would say it was mostly physics and forces kind of questions IE ball is thrown over an arc at which point the ball moving slowest, beginning of the arc, top of the arc or end of the arc. Alot of similiar questions to the Afast guide such as how much weight can be lifted with this pulley system and stuff like at what position will the cam open the valve and things of that sort.

Blue2Green4WOFT · February 16, 2013

Jag the only other thing I can remember is problems where you had you calculate some percentages and there was a word problem involving logarithm exponents where it was like 2.56 X 10 to the 7th power minus 2.05 X 10 to 6th power...hope this helps some other then that I cant think of any other style problems

USAR153D · February 18, 2013

So my progress just took another big hit, I found out I cant apply for the AD board because I am a interservice transfer and I have less then 12 months on my contract unless I get an extension. That will more then likely not happen due to the fact my CoC doesnt like the fact I dont wanna stay Navy and hasnt helped me much thus far, I did origionally apply for the DD368 over a year out but was denied.

I feel you. First applied for a conditional release from the USMCR in 2009 with an end of mandatory drilling requirement of 2011. They gave me the run around for those last 2 years until I dropped to the IRR and then they didn't give a crap and approved it on the first shot within, no kidding, about a week.

Lindsey · February 19, 2013

With the SIFT being fully computerized, does it allow you to review previous answers for the same section, or to skip a question and come back to it later? If so, does this also apply towards the math & mechanical sections, which are of varying lengths and difficulties?

Lindsey · February 19, 2013

Also, for each section, is it presented in a way that you scroll down through the questions to answer them, or are they presented one at a time and you have to click "next" to get to the next one? I'd imagine it would make the first few sections particularly difficult if you could only see one question at a time.

EDIT:

Were there any airplane/fixed-wing questions in the Aviation section, or exclusively rotary-wing?

I.am.Specialized · February 19, 2013

On the reading and aviation section you have a number bank on the side. You can click, highlight, and move around to questions easily. This does not apply to math and mechanical. Those are "next and no return" questions.

Lindsey · February 19, 2013

On the reading and aviation section you have a number bank on the side. You can click, highlight, and move around to questions easily. This does not apply to math and mechanical. Those are "next and no return" questions.

Is it the same for the hidden figures/simple drawings section (number bank on the side instead of scrolling)?

I.am.Specialized · February 19, 2013

Negative those are one shot per question

Lindsey · February 19, 2013

Negative those are one shot per question

Thanks a bunch. Probably over-analyzing but I don't care -- the best thing I can do is show up more prepared than anyone else . Any fixed-wing questions on the aviation section?

I.am.Specialized · February 19, 2013

There are questions that apply to any aviation application you may find yourself in but on the whole, no.

tydaddy · February 19, 2013

In the same vain, anyone looking at your AFAST/SIFT score will likely be looking at your resume as well and will realize you have significant prior flight experience. I wouldn't count the SIFT not having biographical history as them not caring about your past flight experience.

I gotta be honest...from all of the CWO's I've spoken to, and at both of my boards, they all said that prior flight experience, while nice, doesn't factor into their decision making process...