The AT-SAT Test
- Thread starter FLATC
- Start date
I was PM'ed with a few questions, so I thought it best to make some details of the test available to anyone.
Here goes:
The test was scheduled for 8, but really started about 8:30. It was a relaxed environment. You will be able to take breaks anytime you want, as long as it is in between sections of the test. Dont forget two forms of ID...important. MOST IMPORTANT THING...READ THE DIRECTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM. They will tell you this many times, and it is important that you dont fly through the instructions. Pay attention and understand them before taking the test as it sets the guidelines.
First section dealt with math problems. Pretty simple. Here are some examples:
1. A plane takes off at 1700zulu. It is climbing at 1000 fpm to a desired altitude of 12000 ft. It is flying at 240 knots (knots and mph will be the same for the test, so dont worry about conversion). How far will the plane have traveled once it reaches its desired altitude?
2. An aircraft is flying at 340 knots with a tailwind of 20 knots. How far would it have traveled in 2 hrs 30 mins?
And similar questions like this. I finished this section in about 15-20 minutes.
The next section is on angles. They will show you a picture of an angle and you have to pick out of multiple chocce which angle is the closest (there is a pretty good gap between the choices so dont sweat too much). Just know what 45, 90, 180, 270, 360, etc look like as written angles.
Another section is one dealing with elimination. Basically, a bunch of dots will be flying around a screen with a data tag. Example: F23 on the top line, and 360 on the bottom. At the bottom of the screen will be data (ex: 280-710) and an entry box. This shows the range you are looking for and a data box to enter the appropriate entry.
Example: A dot (plane) with data tag of D19 on top and 180 on the bottom. The range is 280-650. You would enter "19" in the box and hit enter. This would remove the plane from the screen as its not in range.
There will be anywhere from two to 20 planes on the screen at any given time. You will need to scan the screen and enter the planes that fall outside the range. Keep in mind that the ranges will change so SCAN THAT AS WELL!!! There are two things I recommend to be successful in this portion. First, keep mental (i whispered silently) the range you are dealing with (i.e. 310-730, 310-730, 310-730...). This will def help you keep focused on the right range...especially with all the numbers you are looking at! Second, become familiar with the keypad on a keyboard. I can use it w/out looking at the numbers and this REALLY helped. It allows you to enter numbers w/out losing your scan on the screen. Practice this!
The next section dealt with the letter factory. There has been a few discussions on this the net in regard to this, so look around. It would be pretty lengthy for me to discuss all facets of this section, but some things to keep in mind:
First, keep a tab on what is on the belts (the letters, and their colors. Second, keep track of what boxes you have stacked and what letters are necessary to fill them up. Third, keep track of what belts are the lowest and which are moving fastest. Just a visual scanning/decision making exercise. Its hard to practice for this to be honest.
Next section is an actual ATC simulation. Starts easy and progresses to something more difficult. I found playing with the free demo on www.atcsimulator.com to be helpful. Best practice tool I think you can get to practice for this section.
Next section deals with analogies. These can be a bit tough b/c they are not just HOT:COLD as LOW:HIGH. They also deal with letter arrangement HAMBURGER: RUBBER as MISSLE: SIMULATOR ("rub" in rubber has "bur" in hamburger, just backwards). Also has analogies dealing with consonants and vowel sounds. The instructions explain...just muddle through it the best you can.
The next section deals with visual analogies. The same concept, but show shapes and how they correspond. There are examples of these online as well. I have found them on numerous IQ sites (Mensa and the like).
The last portion is 135 questions dealing with your personality and demeanor. They will ask several questions that repeat themselves with different verbage over the test to determine if you are being honest. An example:
Do you become frustrated or stressed out when making critical decsions?
You find you always are calm and collected when making difficult decisions.
The key is to be honest and consistent in this section.
The test is alloted 8 hours, and I took about 5 of them. I felt pretty good leaving the test, but one can never tell. I will post my score as soon as I recieve it. Good luck!
Here goes:
The test was scheduled for 8, but really started about 8:30. It was a relaxed environment. You will be able to take breaks anytime you want, as long as it is in between sections of the test. Dont forget two forms of ID...important. MOST IMPORTANT THING...READ THE DIRECTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM. They will tell you this many times, and it is important that you dont fly through the instructions. Pay attention and understand them before taking the test as it sets the guidelines.
First section dealt with math problems. Pretty simple. Here are some examples:
1. A plane takes off at 1700zulu. It is climbing at 1000 fpm to a desired altitude of 12000 ft. It is flying at 240 knots (knots and mph will be the same for the test, so dont worry about conversion). How far will the plane have traveled once it reaches its desired altitude?
2. An aircraft is flying at 340 knots with a tailwind of 20 knots. How far would it have traveled in 2 hrs 30 mins?
And similar questions like this. I finished this section in about 15-20 minutes.
The next section is on angles. They will show you a picture of an angle and you have to pick out of multiple chocce which angle is the closest (there is a pretty good gap between the choices so dont sweat too much). Just know what 45, 90, 180, 270, 360, etc look like as written angles.
Another section is one dealing with elimination. Basically, a bunch of dots will be flying around a screen with a data tag. Example: F23 on the top line, and 360 on the bottom. At the bottom of the screen will be data (ex: 280-710) and an entry box. This shows the range you are looking for and a data box to enter the appropriate entry.
Example: A dot (plane) with data tag of D19 on top and 180 on the bottom. The range is 280-650. You would enter "19" in the box and hit enter. This would remove the plane from the screen as its not in range.
There will be anywhere from two to 20 planes on the screen at any given time. You will need to scan the screen and enter the planes that fall outside the range. Keep in mind that the ranges will change so SCAN THAT AS WELL!!! There are two things I recommend to be successful in this portion. First, keep mental (i whispered silently) the range you are dealing with (i.e. 310-730, 310-730, 310-730...). This will def help you keep focused on the right range...especially with all the numbers you are looking at! Second, become familiar with the keypad on a keyboard. I can use it w/out looking at the numbers and this REALLY helped. It allows you to enter numbers w/out losing your scan on the screen. Practice this!
The next section dealt with the letter factory. There has been a few discussions on this the net in regard to this, so look around. It would be pretty lengthy for me to discuss all facets of this section, but some things to keep in mind:
First, keep a tab on what is on the belts (the letters, and their colors. Second, keep track of what boxes you have stacked and what letters are necessary to fill them up. Third, keep track of what belts are the lowest and which are moving fastest. Just a visual scanning/decision making exercise. Its hard to practice for this to be honest.
Next section is an actual ATC simulation. Starts easy and progresses to something more difficult. I found playing with the free demo on www.atcsimulator.com to be helpful. Best practice tool I think you can get to practice for this section.
Next section deals with analogies. These can be a bit tough b/c they are not just HOT:COLD as LOW:HIGH. They also deal with letter arrangement HAMBURGER: RUBBER as MISSLE: SIMULATOR ("rub" in rubber has "bur" in hamburger, just backwards). Also has analogies dealing with consonants and vowel sounds. The instructions explain...just muddle through it the best you can.
The next section deals with visual analogies. The same concept, but show shapes and how they correspond. There are examples of these online as well. I have found them on numerous IQ sites (Mensa and the like).
The last portion is 135 questions dealing with your personality and demeanor. They will ask several questions that repeat themselves with different verbage over the test to determine if you are being honest. An example:
Do you become frustrated or stressed out when making critical decsions?
You find you always are calm and collected when making difficult decisions.
The key is to be honest and consistent in this section.
The test is alloted 8 hours, and I took about 5 of them. I felt pretty good leaving the test, but one can never tell. I will post my score as soon as I recieve it. Good luck!
Flaflaflofly
Well-Known Member
Thank you for your summary. Three questions, I am awful at math and therefore dreading it. How do you solve question 2 regarding the tailwinds? Second, do they tell you when you will find out your score? Third, did you do anything else to study besides the atc simulator?
Thanks!
Thanks!
there are two simulators at http://www.jeremyjustice.com/games/ can you take a look at these and see how close they are to what you actually saw? do you know of anyone who has written one for letter factory?
kcarpentier
New Member
for tailwinds, you'd add the speeds together (ie 340 kts + 20 kts tailwind = 360 kts ground speed)
for headwinds, you'd subtract.
Livestrg05
New Member
Thanks FLATC for the great info. I'm supposed to be taking the test in Daytona too, but my test isn't til the 24th
The math problems arent as bad as you may think. Most of the problems have numbers that are easy to work with and add up well (350, 700, etc). Keep a look out for ground speed and true airspeed. The directions will lay this out for you. Remember, the problems can be worded to trick you (not many though). If they say a plane is traveling at 300 knots..then you assume they mean ground speed, and tailwind/headwind has no effect. If they say true airspeed, then you do factor in the tailwind/headwind. ONLY if they specify TRUE AIRSPEED though. Like was earlier mentioned on this post, the math is simple. If a plane is traveling at 300 knots true airspeed, and has a tailwind of 20 knots, then their groundspeed is 320 knots, and that will be the number you will use in your calulations.
The website Jeremy put together looks EXACTLY as the test does. However, his updates every second, and the test every 7 seconds. The 6 second lapse does make a difference. You can practice with his to get a feel for it...just try to maintain visual awareness.
Good luck everyone!
The website Jeremy put together looks EXACTLY as the test does. However, his updates every second, and the test every 7 seconds. The 6 second lapse does make a difference. You can practice with his to get a feel for it...just try to maintain visual awareness.
Good luck everyone!
Flaflaflofly
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the great info. I have been stressing out about this mostly because of the math, and also because my "Air Traffic Control Career Prep" book got lost in the mail and I was counting on it. I have been using Jeremy Justice's games, and I've also been playing "Brain Age" on Nintendo DS to sharpen my abilities.
Again, thanks a lot. I really appreciate the time you took to help us.
Again, thanks a lot. I really appreciate the time you took to help us.
Flaflaflofly
Well-Known Member
From what I understand there are 30. 5 practice, 25 scored. All multiple guess.
jeremyjustice
New Member
woo hoo!!! recognition!!! i was about 80% done with 'letter factory' then hard drive crashed 
and i couldnt finish or even retrieve it... also if the HD didnt crash i could go back and add the 7 second delay on the atc scenarios game. so sad...
the kicker with letter factory is the series of questions it asks, which i am sure you are all aware. it is comparable to someone asking you how many times you said 'the' in the last fifteen minutes... and then you count the 'the's and the next question is what was the 8th person walking left wearing... to be honest i missed at least 50% of the letter factory questions, but still did decent on the scenario part and made 94 overall on the atsat... with that letter factory is one place i personally could have used improvement...
good luck to those who have not taken it
jeremyjustice from jeremyjustice.com
and i couldnt finish or even retrieve it... also if the HD didnt crash i could go back and add the 7 second delay on the atc scenarios game. so sad... the kicker with letter factory is the series of questions it asks, which i am sure you are all aware. it is comparable to someone asking you how many times you said 'the' in the last fifteen minutes... and then you count the 'the's and the next question is what was the 8th person walking left wearing... to be honest i missed at least 50% of the letter factory questions, but still did decent on the scenario part and made 94 overall on the atsat... with that letter factory is one place i personally could have used improvement...
good luck to those who have not taken it
jeremyjustice from jeremyjustice.com
Hahahah! Aint that the truth! I was HORRIBLE on the questions they asked. I think I must have gotten about 25% of them right...ugh. I dont think there is a good way to study for that...you either can or you cant.
What was the eighth guy on the right wearing? :laff: Sounds about right to me!!!
What was the eighth guy on the right wearing? :laff: Sounds about right to me!!!
jeremyjustice
New Member
and the choices are like:
orange and purple,
purple and purple,
green and purple,
purple and green,
orange and green,
green and purple.
I wonder how controllers would score on the at-sat... that'd be exciting.
what it comes down to is: do not worry about the at-sat. that's the easy part! nobody dies if you screw up on it...
SoonerATC
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
Just took the AT-SAT today in OKC. I'm feeling pretty confident, though I didn't do as well as I expected on the AT Scenario portion. Hopefully I'm just being too hard on myself. I think I did pretty well on the math, angles, and dials though and man did i rock the personality test! :laff: This is going to be a long weekend though. They said 3-5 business days before its loaded to ASAP.
What are other folks feelings on the AT Scenario portion? I think I averaged between 55-70% on each segment. Do you know which sections are weighed the heaviest?
Just took the AT-SAT today in OKC. I'm feeling pretty confident, though I didn't do as well as I expected on the AT Scenario portion. Hopefully I'm just being too hard on myself. I think I did pretty well on the math, angles, and dials though and man did i rock the personality test! :laff: This is going to be a long weekend though. They said 3-5 business days before its loaded to ASAP.
What are other folks feelings on the AT Scenario portion? I think I averaged between 55-70% on each segment. Do you know which sections are weighed the heaviest?
RetiredATLATC
Well-Known Member
Considering that the AT-SAT does not give a good representation of whether you would be a good controller or not....who knows.
Before you flame me, remember that EVERY current CTI/VRA controller has taken the AT-SAT and from what I have seen in the last two years only a small fraction are going to EVENTUALLY check out. A small fraction.
jeremyjustice
New Member
I don't know why I'd wanna flame anyone.
I was agreeing. The AT-SAT is the easy\fun part. Embrace the AT-SAT.
Enjoy the AT-SAT.
BE THE AT-SAT.
jeremyjustice from jeremyjustice.com
ATCGIRL2008
New Member
Hey Guys!Just another question, just to get an average, how fast can you guys scan with the prep cd?? It seems to me that the number "aircraft avoided: incorrectly" is relatively high, no matter how fast you scan. Even if you let the CD run for a split second and close it off, it will sometimes show, for example, 10 correctly avoided and 5 incorrectly avoided, without even have done anything. Did you all notice that, too? Eh.. thought i'd ask!
freqentflyer
Well-Known Member
How long is the scan portion of the test? Also, is there a strategy for that test?