Yes, testing. The road for most of you will most likely take you to the AFOQT and TBAS tests next. All USAF officers must take the AFOQT. This is the test the helps determine the best occupation for you in the Air Force. All flight candidates must take the TBAS test. Officer candidates do NOT have to take the ASVAB, so, anyone who tells you otherwise, is dead wrong.
The results of these two tests, combined with any previous flying experience you may have, will give you a Pilot Candidate Selection Method (PCSM) score. This PCSM score helps units determine how successful you would be as a pilot.
A competitive score on the PCSM is a 90 or higher. Let me repeat that, if you want to have a good chance of being a pilot, you need at least a 90 PCSM. Active Duty candidates, this will help the USAF determine whether or not you get a flight slot. Reservists and guardsmen, this will factor into the unit’s decision. Keep in mind that many units only have one flight slot to give to a handful of applicants, so a competitive PCSM score is paramount.
Amazon and Barnes and Noble have plenty of resources that will help you prepare for the AFOQT (this is different from the AFQT, which is the USAF enlisted test). Buy a test prep book and study, study, study. Become familiar with each section and then take timed tests. Here are the sections and sample questions:
GLOVE is to HAND, as SHOE is to _____
If five shirts and four ties cost $173 and each tie is $12, what is the cost of a shirt?
Solve for Z: 3Z - 5 + 2Z = 25 - 5Z
- Instrument Comprehension
(This section requires you to know how to read an aircraft attitude indicator and heading indicator/compass. It will show you an attitude and heading indicator. The four answers will be pictures of airplanes facing different directions at different pitch and bank attitudes. You will pick which ones matches the instruments.)
(This section shows you a stack of different shaped blocks, but only three sides of the structure. Each block is numbered, and you will have to determine how many other blocks a certain one touches. This requires you to visualize what the other side looks like.)
(This section show you a table and you have to deduce information from it.)
The angle formed by the chord of an airfoil or wing and direction of relative wind is known as _________
The reaction between sodium, metal, and water can be classified as _____
(This section shows you an oddly shaped block. The four answer options are also oddly shaped blocks. You have to determine which block is a rotated version of the original.)
(This section shows you a mosaic, and you have to find shapes within it.)
Each section is weighted differently for each career path. Some sections are not that important to pilots. The pilot score depends heavily on the math, arithmetic, instrument, aviation, and table reading knowledge. The best way to prep for the aviation section, honestly, is to attend a Private Pilot ground school session at a local flight school. It will give you most of the knowledge covered in that part of the test, and may even help prep you for the academics part of UPT.
The TBAS test is an entirely different beast. This test, designed to test a pilot’s coordination and orientation, is incredibly outdated. The TBAS is comprised of two sections, the compass orientation bit, then the coordination part.
For the compass part, you will see a compass. You will also get an image of four boxes. Using the compass, you must determine which box would be to whatever direction indicated in the question.
The correct answer to this question would be “C.” The compass indicates you are heading south (so think of south as being the top of the page; that is the direction you are heading). If the top of the page is south, identify the north parking lot.
This section is timed, so don’t spend too much time trying to figure it out. Flashcards can be found here http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/cardshow.php?title=_36014. These are the flashcards I used for my test, and I felt adequately prepared.
The second part of the TBAS can be very frustrating. On a blue screen, you will see a red dot. Your job is to use the joystick and hold your yellow crosshairs over the red dot. The dot will move, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. Sometimes, it may jump across the screen. It sounds easy, until you realize most of the equipment was probably built in the 1980s and hasn’t received much maintenance. On my test, the joystick was stuck, and the crosshairs would always drift to the left. I finished my TBAS test feeling like I failed. It seemed like the crosshairs spent more time off-target than on, but I still nailed a really high PCSM score. So, it must not be weighted too heavily into your final score.
Whatever you do, study your tail off for this test. I said it before, but I’ll say it again because it’s very important. Reservists: you will be competing with several other pilots for one flight slot. If you score poorly on the AFOQT and you end up with a trash PCSM score, you can pack it up and look for something else to do. I do not know how they handle retests, but I’m sure a retest does not look good to a unit about to spend millions on flight training.
Remember, if you truly want to be a pilot in the Air Force, this test is your future. Take it seriously, and you will do fine.
