I took the ADX about 6 months ago, and used Sheppard Air. This was my strategy (96%, so it must'a worked):
- Go through all of the questions, starting with the first section. The questions kinda break down into 4 main categories:
-- 1. Stuff you know. Ignore all of this. (hopefully, there is at least some)
-- 2. Stuff with charts. If you can learn how to run through the chart and find the answer, ignore all of these too. Just run the chart during the exam.
-- 3. Other stuff with charts. Some of the charts are just not possible. Many of them are too grainy to run accurately. Several of them are in focus well enough, but the ability to come out of the other side with a different answer every single time is frustrating. Especially when your answer is less than all of the available answers one time, and then higher than all of the available answers the next time, and smack dab in the middle a third time. Don't spend any effort on these charts - just "mark" them for memorization later.
-- 4. Stuff that you don't know and is just pure rote memorization. "Mark" these for memorization later.
When you get done with each section, you'll have "marked" a lot of questions. Now it's just time to go through them over and over. And over. And over again. Like flash cards. As you knock out the easy ones and they become permanently glued into your brain, "un-mark" them and stop looking at them. Do this with each section. Then, unmark everything and go through ALL of the questions from ALL of the sections in random order. You'll have memorized a good deal by this point, but you'll also have forgotten some things you HAD memorized. That's ok. As you go through everything, just mark the ones you don't know. Now, repeat the "flashcard" process, but for the entire question bank, not just individual sections.
When it comes to memorization, some things I found easier to memorize one way (word association), and some things were easier to memorize a different way. All of the flight-plan questions (how long does it take to get from LAX to PHX.... or how much fuel will you burn from PHL to BDL) CAN be answered by just doing the math, but this can take an hour per question if you're still new. If I remember right, there were about 40 of these questions and I just wrote them all down in order. LAX-PHX at .74mach, .76, .78. Etc. Each route had 3 or 4 different speeds to calculate for. Each one had a different answer (obviously). For the most part, none of the "right" answers were repeated as a wrong answer anywhere else. So, if the right answer was 1:04, there was never another 1:04 in any other question. So, I basically just memorized all of the correct times... :36, 1:04, 1:07, 1:12 are still times that stick with me as right answers. Same thing with the fuel questions: if 6408 total fuel was a right answer (and that is one of them I still remember), then that number doesn't appear anywhere else. So... don't even other with memorizing the associated question: just remember all of the correct times and numbers, and when you see that number in the list of answers, just select it and move on to the next question. (NOTE: there were two different routes where the "right" time was also listed as a "wrong" choice in a different question, so just be aware of those two questions and adjust for them)
I personally think it's easier to "learn" some of the things, so that you don't have to memorize them. Like looking at the instruments and knowing what they're saying. If you can look at the VOR indicator and tell "where" the aircraft is at, that's about 40 questions you no longer have to memorize. Also, the holding pattern entry procedures: once I learned about the "POD Method", I could answer all of the questions without memorization. (
http://www.langleyflyingschool.com/Pages/Holds and Hold Entriesl.html). Learn how to read an instrument approach plate, and know what the different things mean. You're going to get asked a lot of these questions on your oral anyway, so you may as well get to know a good chunk of the "easy to know" ones now, if possible. There are many things that you can "learn" while going through these questions. The more you know, the less you have to rely on memorization.
Several of my classmates (local State University) went into the ADX prep with the idea that they were just going to memorize the entire thing. Several of them failed, and a few came close. To me, 1000 questions (or whatever it is) is just way too frickin many questions to try to memorize. If you are able to get with someone who has private/instrument ground knowledge (preferably an instructor)... or even better yet, TAKE a private ground class and if possible an instrument ground class (if that's not part of your dispatcher class curriculum). That's probably more than most people want to do when they have a time crunch, but if you have the time, this will cover a HUGE chunk of your ADX exam, and you won't have to memorize them. Plus, those two classes are a HUGE part of what your oral exam will cover, and you'll sound more intelligent by knowing this stuff as opposed to sounding like a robot who memorized it.
Thank you for your response.
