Rosstafari
Likes tacos
Yesterday I took my AT-SAT out in Houston. Having gone through the barrage of aptitude tests in high school and having friends in college who've gone through the MCATs, LSATs, and others, I was surprised and sometimes frustrated by how little information there was available to prepare for the first test all new controllers need to take. Granted, it's not anywhere near as challenging as the aforementioned examples or the tests that come later, but it's the first step in a long process. Were it not for the Jetcareers forums and the study guide (Air Traffic Control Career Prep by Patrick Mattson, referred to hereafter as the Green Book), I would have had much to work with at all. Even still, both had their own issues -- the former is subject to a lot of speculation mixed in with fact, and the latter runs into a fair amount of typos, incorrect sample test questions, and poorly written software.
Anyway, with the goal in mind of helping those who will go after me, I thought it'd be wise to take down as many thoughts as I could during the breaks in my own AT-SAT, when it'd be easiest to remember details that I would have wanted to know about beforehand. Eventually I'll probably draw this and all of the other information I can gather together into a FAQ, but for the meantime, I thought I would post this up here.
So, without further introduction, here are my reflections and advice on the AT-SAT. I believe everything here is reasonably accurate, but I'm welcome to any suggestions on how to improve this or corrections on places that I've erred. Keep in mind that this is still just one person's opinions; your mileage may vary (and don't come knocking down my door if I was wrong somewhere and you felt like it resulted in you getting a bad score -- it was probably all of those planes you crashed in the Scenarios anyway).
EDIT: I've added in parts at the end of each sections to compare the test with the Green Book, since it's about the only resource out there for preparation. In pretty much every case, I don't pay attention to the stuff on the book's CD, since nearly all of the programs are broken and none are very well-made. The sample questions in the book are helpful, although they sometimes do not include a correct or unambiguous answer. Two sections, Scan and Scenarios, are compared with Jeremy Justice's online games, which are both helpful.
===
INTRO - Prologue, arriving, etc.
===
The AT-SATs for my application, PUBNAT3, were scheduled from Aug. 13-15 in different cities across the country. Living in the Austin area, I was scheduled to take mine in Houston; I know of others who took theirs in Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Seattle, to name a few. The AT-SAT is contracted out to Robinson Aviation, a company that also controls towers at many smaller airports across the country. You receive the initial invitation to take the AT-SAT on ASAP's main page some time after the application closes (about 2 months for me, others have waited far longer), upon which you call a number you are sent and sign up to take the test during one of the three days given.
You're told to show up at 7:45 in the morning, to wear comfortable clothes, and to bring two forms of ID, one with a photo. That's about it. I elected to go with jeans and t-shirt and was probably the least-dressed up person there; most people went business-casual. Keep in mind that Robinson has nothing to do with the interview process, so there's no need to impress here -- if you feel more comfortable dressing in a more business-like manner, go for it. I know that often worked for me during tests in college.
I arrived at about 7:35 at a Residence Inn. The test was set up in a small conference room, where 16 computers were set up -- monitors, mice and headphones hooked into laptops. Two people from Robinson were acting as proctors. They took my social security number and IDs, ran one through a scanner to have a copy of it, and asked me to pick one of several key rings that were laying face down on the table (no keys attached). The number on the other side was my computer. I suppose this is to ensure that nobody could complain that they were given a "bad" one. Both were friendly, and we made small talk for a few minutes before I went out to wait in the hall.
Out of twenty people scheduled to take the test that day, only six showed up, including myself. I have no idea what happened to the others. We waited a bit past the 8:00 start time to see if anyone would show up late, and around 8:10 we filed in and sat at our computers. One of the proctors read a short statement from the FAA explaining that the test was done all on computers, to not try to Ctrl-Alt-Del our way into Windows, that the proctors could not help in any way other than to check if the equipment is malfunctioning, and that we would receive our results in 5-7 business days. Nearly all of the test would be done with the mouse or the number pad. All answers given were final, so once you selected one and hit the "Next" button, you were locked in -- if you wanted to skip a question on the tests where you were allowed to do so, you had to just leave it blank (if time is left at the end, the computer will return to skipped questions). Wrong answers don't count against you, so always take a guess rather than leaving something blank. We were told that we had 8 hours to take the test in total, including two 15-minute and one 45-minute break. If we left the room, the proctors had to record what time we left and what time we returned. And with that, we were told that we could start -- the official start time was 8:16 A.M., and we needed to finish by 4:16 P.M.
===
SECTION 1 - Dials
===
The first section of the test is Dials, which is one of the easiest parts. It begins with a brief explanation and practice round (each section lets you practice a few questions beforehand, by the way), which take about three minutes to go through. Once it begins, you are shown a screen with six (I think) dials simulating instruments in an aircraft: Altimeter, Voltmeter, VSI (Vertical Speed Indicator), Airspeed Indicator, Heading, and Fuel Ratio (a band with marks from 0.00 to 0.10). One dial also included two smaller indicators showing Fuel and Oil capacity. While all are based upon actual aircraft instruments, you do not need to be familiar with reading instruments to figure them out -- they are easy to understand and the questions aren't trying to trip you up.
There are 25 questions and 26 minutes given to answer them, which far more time than you'll need. Questions are one per panel and will be along the lines of "What is the current altitude?" or "What is the current heading?" Easy stuff.
Tips: Make sure that you count the hash marks correctly; not all instruments are marked in the same increments. Be aware of what the magnitudes are as well (thousands, hundreds, etc.). Remember that on the VSI, the top half is ascending and the bottom is descending. Also pay attention to positive and negative charges on the voltmeter.
Compared to the Green Book: The Green Book does not include the smaller sub-dials (Fuel and Oil Capacity), but is otherwise pretty similar. The questions included the book are about the same.
===
SECTION 2 - Applied Math
===
Applied Math immediately follows the Dials section and is more of a challenge. As with the other sections, it begins with directions and a few sample questions. Make sure to read the instructions carefully! Take the full amount of time given during the sample questions if you feel that you don't understand anything; it's the only part of the test where wrong answers won't count against you, so you're free to purposely answer wrong to see the computer's explanation if you'd like.
Once you get started, Applied Math is 25 questions. You're given 25 minutes to answer them. While I was able to finish with three minutes to spare, I've heard from others at Jetcareers who ran out of time with a couple of questions unanswered. Because the questions are more difficult here, this is a section where you'll want to take advantage of skipping the difficult ones to come back to later. Just leave the question unanswered and hit Next, they'll pop up again at the end.
Equations here are all math that you're supposed to be able to do in your head. You're not allowed to use anything to write with, so if you find it easier to keep track of numbers on your hands, do it -- don't worry about others seeing, they're all busy with their own tests. Generally, answers will round off to numbers ending in 5's or 0's for simplicity's sake, but that's not the case in a few of the harder ones.
Questions generally will ask you to determine things like how far an aircraft has traveled after a certain time given a listed speed, what altitude it will be at given a certain descent rate after so long, and so on. No conversions are necessary; all problems are given in knots and nautical miles. Occasionally extra information will be given which you won't use: for example, a question asking you to determine the speed of descent of a plane will tell you how far it is has travelled, which is irrelevant to your answer.
The only equation you need to remember is D = S * T , that is, Distance equals Speed times Time. So, in practice, if the question asks how far a plane traveling 250 knots has gone in two and a half hours, you'll be multiplying 250 by 2.5 to get the answer, which is 625 miles.
Tips: The instructions will explain the difference between true airspeed (what the plane's airspeed indicator -- its speedometer -- reads) and ground airspeed (true airspeed along with the effect of a headwind or tailwind). For example, a plane with a true airspeed of 250 knots flying into a headwind of 50 knots will have a ground airspeed of 225 knots. If a question does not specify what type of speed is being used, ALWAYS use ground airspeed. The third example demonstrates this. Pay attention!
As mentioned earlier, skip the more difficult questions if you're spending very long on them. With 25 minutes, that's one minute per question -- if the easier ones are taking you more than 30 seconds, that may put you in a crunch with the harder ones, so don't spend too long double and triple-checking your answers.
Finally, if you're having a hard time with a question, especially one that isn't easy to divide or multiply in your head due to numbers that don't round well, take advantage of the process of elimination. For example, if an aircraft is traveling at 385 knots for 1 hour 15 minutes and you're asked to find how far it has traveled, try rounding up to 400. Any option given that is equal to or exceeds -that- distance (500 miles) is incorrect and can be eliminated. Elimination will help narrow down your choices.
Compared to the Green Book: Questions here were noticeably easier than those given in the book, which turned out to be good preparation for this part. If you're like me and haven't had to do much mental math lately, I would strongly suggest taking advantage of the book's sample questions (and possible even the CD - gasp) to freshen your mind up a little.
===
SECTION 3 - Scan
===
Scan was the first of the three "games" given in the AT-SAT. After the instructions, you're given a long seven-minute practice period, which is enough to be comfortable with how things work.
In Scan, you're presented with a radar screen that will show a number of airplane contacts (anywhere from 3 to 8 at any given time). They will fly slowly at various speeds across the screen, usually staying visible for about 5-7 seconds. Each contact will have two numbers. On the top is an identification, which is a number followed by two letters. On the bottom are three numbers, ranging from 100 to 900 in increments of ten, which represent an altitude (if I remember correctly; whatever it represents is irrelevant to what you'll be doing).
At the bottom of the screen is a range of numbers listed; for example, 140-360. Any contact outside of this range needs to be eliminated from the scope by typing in the identification number (no letter) into the 10-key number pad on the side of the keyboard. Be sure that the Number Lock is turned on! In this example, 140 and 360 are inside the range. Once you enter a number, the corresponding contact will turn red and disappear after a few moments. If you mistakenly enter the wrong number, use the Delete key (-not- Backspace) to correct it; entering a false contact will count against you. Keep in mind that it's one keystroke per number -- as obvious at the sounds, in the practice section I kept forgetting to delete both numbers.
Every so once in a while -- from around 30 to 60 seconds -- the range at the bottom will change without warning. This is the only real challenge to the test, so you'll need to keep an eye on the range. The actual test lasts 15 minutes and rarely feels very stressful; the only difficult moments are when a range changes and the computer tosses on a few extra contacts at the same time. These pass pretty quickly, so keep cool and you'll do fine.
Tips: Don't spend too long focusing on individual contacts. Move your eyes around the screen in a pattern -- making a circle, scanning left to right, or whatever works for you, so long as you're keeping your eyes moving to watch for new contacts. It may help to repeat the range to yourself in your head.
I found it helpful to look down briefly at the range after every contact. That way I was aware of whether it had changed and could react more quickly. Think of it in the same way that you'll look down at your speed briefly in your car while driving -- little glances. ...or at least that's how I drive.
If you're not familiar with using a 10-key pad, practice a little bit beforehand. Because the numbers are lined up different than a phone -- with 1-3 on the bottom and 7-9 on top -- it's easy to mess up if you're not used to it.
Compared to Jeremy Justice's version: The online version of Scan is pretty good practice. The changes to the range on the AT-SAT are more infrequent and there are typically less contacts on the screen, so if you're comfortable with doing it online, you'll do well here.
Compared to the Green Book: The Green Book version of Scan is pretty much broken, even with the update. Don't bother using it. Really.
===
SECTION 4 - Angles
===
The Angles section is the last before your first break. Here the question will take one of two formats: in the first, you will be given one angle with four choices of how many degrees the angle forms, in the second, you will be given a number and four angle pictures to choose from.
This section is fairly easy. You may find it helpful to count from the 45, 90, and 180 degree markers -- remember, 180 degrees is a straight line, 90 is a right angle, and 45 is half of 90. Angles has 30 questions to solve in 10 minutes. Despite the short time, it's not hard to do.
Take the break. Really. Take it. You'll be glad you did when you start the next section, and getting some fresh air well help clear your head.
Tips: Not much to say here. If you're disoriented by an angle that's off-centered a bit, tilting your head may help. At least it'll make you look funny to the other people in the room.
Compared to the Green Book: The book's practice questions are helpful to familiarize yourself with this section, but the choices offered are often too close -- you may be given a question with a choice of either 50 degrees or 60 degrees, for example, which is somewhat unreasonable. Also, at least one question did not provide a correct choice.
(continued next post)
Anyway, with the goal in mind of helping those who will go after me, I thought it'd be wise to take down as many thoughts as I could during the breaks in my own AT-SAT, when it'd be easiest to remember details that I would have wanted to know about beforehand. Eventually I'll probably draw this and all of the other information I can gather together into a FAQ, but for the meantime, I thought I would post this up here.
So, without further introduction, here are my reflections and advice on the AT-SAT. I believe everything here is reasonably accurate, but I'm welcome to any suggestions on how to improve this or corrections on places that I've erred. Keep in mind that this is still just one person's opinions; your mileage may vary (and don't come knocking down my door if I was wrong somewhere and you felt like it resulted in you getting a bad score -- it was probably all of those planes you crashed in the Scenarios anyway).
EDIT: I've added in parts at the end of each sections to compare the test with the Green Book, since it's about the only resource out there for preparation. In pretty much every case, I don't pay attention to the stuff on the book's CD, since nearly all of the programs are broken and none are very well-made. The sample questions in the book are helpful, although they sometimes do not include a correct or unambiguous answer. Two sections, Scan and Scenarios, are compared with Jeremy Justice's online games, which are both helpful.
===
INTRO - Prologue, arriving, etc.
===
The AT-SATs for my application, PUBNAT3, were scheduled from Aug. 13-15 in different cities across the country. Living in the Austin area, I was scheduled to take mine in Houston; I know of others who took theirs in Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Seattle, to name a few. The AT-SAT is contracted out to Robinson Aviation, a company that also controls towers at many smaller airports across the country. You receive the initial invitation to take the AT-SAT on ASAP's main page some time after the application closes (about 2 months for me, others have waited far longer), upon which you call a number you are sent and sign up to take the test during one of the three days given.
You're told to show up at 7:45 in the morning, to wear comfortable clothes, and to bring two forms of ID, one with a photo. That's about it. I elected to go with jeans and t-shirt and was probably the least-dressed up person there; most people went business-casual. Keep in mind that Robinson has nothing to do with the interview process, so there's no need to impress here -- if you feel more comfortable dressing in a more business-like manner, go for it. I know that often worked for me during tests in college.
I arrived at about 7:35 at a Residence Inn. The test was set up in a small conference room, where 16 computers were set up -- monitors, mice and headphones hooked into laptops. Two people from Robinson were acting as proctors. They took my social security number and IDs, ran one through a scanner to have a copy of it, and asked me to pick one of several key rings that were laying face down on the table (no keys attached). The number on the other side was my computer. I suppose this is to ensure that nobody could complain that they were given a "bad" one. Both were friendly, and we made small talk for a few minutes before I went out to wait in the hall.
Out of twenty people scheduled to take the test that day, only six showed up, including myself. I have no idea what happened to the others. We waited a bit past the 8:00 start time to see if anyone would show up late, and around 8:10 we filed in and sat at our computers. One of the proctors read a short statement from the FAA explaining that the test was done all on computers, to not try to Ctrl-Alt-Del our way into Windows, that the proctors could not help in any way other than to check if the equipment is malfunctioning, and that we would receive our results in 5-7 business days. Nearly all of the test would be done with the mouse or the number pad. All answers given were final, so once you selected one and hit the "Next" button, you were locked in -- if you wanted to skip a question on the tests where you were allowed to do so, you had to just leave it blank (if time is left at the end, the computer will return to skipped questions). Wrong answers don't count against you, so always take a guess rather than leaving something blank. We were told that we had 8 hours to take the test in total, including two 15-minute and one 45-minute break. If we left the room, the proctors had to record what time we left and what time we returned. And with that, we were told that we could start -- the official start time was 8:16 A.M., and we needed to finish by 4:16 P.M.
===
SECTION 1 - Dials
===
The first section of the test is Dials, which is one of the easiest parts. It begins with a brief explanation and practice round (each section lets you practice a few questions beforehand, by the way), which take about three minutes to go through. Once it begins, you are shown a screen with six (I think) dials simulating instruments in an aircraft: Altimeter, Voltmeter, VSI (Vertical Speed Indicator), Airspeed Indicator, Heading, and Fuel Ratio (a band with marks from 0.00 to 0.10). One dial also included two smaller indicators showing Fuel and Oil capacity. While all are based upon actual aircraft instruments, you do not need to be familiar with reading instruments to figure them out -- they are easy to understand and the questions aren't trying to trip you up.
There are 25 questions and 26 minutes given to answer them, which far more time than you'll need. Questions are one per panel and will be along the lines of "What is the current altitude?" or "What is the current heading?" Easy stuff.
Tips: Make sure that you count the hash marks correctly; not all instruments are marked in the same increments. Be aware of what the magnitudes are as well (thousands, hundreds, etc.). Remember that on the VSI, the top half is ascending and the bottom is descending. Also pay attention to positive and negative charges on the voltmeter.
Compared to the Green Book: The Green Book does not include the smaller sub-dials (Fuel and Oil Capacity), but is otherwise pretty similar. The questions included the book are about the same.
===
SECTION 2 - Applied Math
===
Applied Math immediately follows the Dials section and is more of a challenge. As with the other sections, it begins with directions and a few sample questions. Make sure to read the instructions carefully! Take the full amount of time given during the sample questions if you feel that you don't understand anything; it's the only part of the test where wrong answers won't count against you, so you're free to purposely answer wrong to see the computer's explanation if you'd like.
Once you get started, Applied Math is 25 questions. You're given 25 minutes to answer them. While I was able to finish with three minutes to spare, I've heard from others at Jetcareers who ran out of time with a couple of questions unanswered. Because the questions are more difficult here, this is a section where you'll want to take advantage of skipping the difficult ones to come back to later. Just leave the question unanswered and hit Next, they'll pop up again at the end.
Equations here are all math that you're supposed to be able to do in your head. You're not allowed to use anything to write with, so if you find it easier to keep track of numbers on your hands, do it -- don't worry about others seeing, they're all busy with their own tests. Generally, answers will round off to numbers ending in 5's or 0's for simplicity's sake, but that's not the case in a few of the harder ones.
Questions generally will ask you to determine things like how far an aircraft has traveled after a certain time given a listed speed, what altitude it will be at given a certain descent rate after so long, and so on. No conversions are necessary; all problems are given in knots and nautical miles. Occasionally extra information will be given which you won't use: for example, a question asking you to determine the speed of descent of a plane will tell you how far it is has travelled, which is irrelevant to your answer.
The only equation you need to remember is D = S * T , that is, Distance equals Speed times Time. So, in practice, if the question asks how far a plane traveling 250 knots has gone in two and a half hours, you'll be multiplying 250 by 2.5 to get the answer, which is 625 miles.
Tips: The instructions will explain the difference between true airspeed (what the plane's airspeed indicator -- its speedometer -- reads) and ground airspeed (true airspeed along with the effect of a headwind or tailwind). For example, a plane with a true airspeed of 250 knots flying into a headwind of 50 knots will have a ground airspeed of 225 knots. If a question does not specify what type of speed is being used, ALWAYS use ground airspeed. The third example demonstrates this. Pay attention!
As mentioned earlier, skip the more difficult questions if you're spending very long on them. With 25 minutes, that's one minute per question -- if the easier ones are taking you more than 30 seconds, that may put you in a crunch with the harder ones, so don't spend too long double and triple-checking your answers.
Finally, if you're having a hard time with a question, especially one that isn't easy to divide or multiply in your head due to numbers that don't round well, take advantage of the process of elimination. For example, if an aircraft is traveling at 385 knots for 1 hour 15 minutes and you're asked to find how far it has traveled, try rounding up to 400. Any option given that is equal to or exceeds -that- distance (500 miles) is incorrect and can be eliminated. Elimination will help narrow down your choices.
Compared to the Green Book: Questions here were noticeably easier than those given in the book, which turned out to be good preparation for this part. If you're like me and haven't had to do much mental math lately, I would strongly suggest taking advantage of the book's sample questions (and possible even the CD - gasp) to freshen your mind up a little.
===
SECTION 3 - Scan
===
Scan was the first of the three "games" given in the AT-SAT. After the instructions, you're given a long seven-minute practice period, which is enough to be comfortable with how things work.
In Scan, you're presented with a radar screen that will show a number of airplane contacts (anywhere from 3 to 8 at any given time). They will fly slowly at various speeds across the screen, usually staying visible for about 5-7 seconds. Each contact will have two numbers. On the top is an identification, which is a number followed by two letters. On the bottom are three numbers, ranging from 100 to 900 in increments of ten, which represent an altitude (if I remember correctly; whatever it represents is irrelevant to what you'll be doing).
At the bottom of the screen is a range of numbers listed; for example, 140-360. Any contact outside of this range needs to be eliminated from the scope by typing in the identification number (no letter) into the 10-key number pad on the side of the keyboard. Be sure that the Number Lock is turned on! In this example, 140 and 360 are inside the range. Once you enter a number, the corresponding contact will turn red and disappear after a few moments. If you mistakenly enter the wrong number, use the Delete key (-not- Backspace) to correct it; entering a false contact will count against you. Keep in mind that it's one keystroke per number -- as obvious at the sounds, in the practice section I kept forgetting to delete both numbers.
Every so once in a while -- from around 30 to 60 seconds -- the range at the bottom will change without warning. This is the only real challenge to the test, so you'll need to keep an eye on the range. The actual test lasts 15 minutes and rarely feels very stressful; the only difficult moments are when a range changes and the computer tosses on a few extra contacts at the same time. These pass pretty quickly, so keep cool and you'll do fine.
Tips: Don't spend too long focusing on individual contacts. Move your eyes around the screen in a pattern -- making a circle, scanning left to right, or whatever works for you, so long as you're keeping your eyes moving to watch for new contacts. It may help to repeat the range to yourself in your head.
I found it helpful to look down briefly at the range after every contact. That way I was aware of whether it had changed and could react more quickly. Think of it in the same way that you'll look down at your speed briefly in your car while driving -- little glances. ...or at least that's how I drive.
If you're not familiar with using a 10-key pad, practice a little bit beforehand. Because the numbers are lined up different than a phone -- with 1-3 on the bottom and 7-9 on top -- it's easy to mess up if you're not used to it.
Compared to Jeremy Justice's version: The online version of Scan is pretty good practice. The changes to the range on the AT-SAT are more infrequent and there are typically less contacts on the screen, so if you're comfortable with doing it online, you'll do well here.
Compared to the Green Book: The Green Book version of Scan is pretty much broken, even with the update. Don't bother using it. Really.
===
SECTION 4 - Angles
===
The Angles section is the last before your first break. Here the question will take one of two formats: in the first, you will be given one angle with four choices of how many degrees the angle forms, in the second, you will be given a number and four angle pictures to choose from.
This section is fairly easy. You may find it helpful to count from the 45, 90, and 180 degree markers -- remember, 180 degrees is a straight line, 90 is a right angle, and 45 is half of 90. Angles has 30 questions to solve in 10 minutes. Despite the short time, it's not hard to do.
Take the break. Really. Take it. You'll be glad you did when you start the next section, and getting some fresh air well help clear your head.
Tips: Not much to say here. If you're disoriented by an angle that's off-centered a bit, tilting your head may help. At least it'll make you look funny to the other people in the room.
Compared to the Green Book: The book's practice questions are helpful to familiarize yourself with this section, but the choices offered are often too close -- you may be given a question with a choice of either 50 degrees or 60 degrees, for example, which is somewhat unreasonable. Also, at least one question did not provide a correct choice.
(continued next post)