Pstarophobia!

[Shiny Side Up]

Is it just me or do any other instructors out there have troubles getting people to write the PSTAR test? For some reason people seem to have an irrational fear about doing it, both new students and ones looking to get recurrent. I know some students who've even quit because of it and others who give up trying to get recurrent because they're afraid of it. What's the issue?

Even better there are two groups of people I've noticed who universally do better on the test: Girls and people over 60. Both of these groups you usually say you need to do this test, study this stuff, presto, test done! Come to think of it, the kids who want to solo on their birthday also do it well - So there you are, girls, children and the elderly can do it, you can too!

[moocow]

Rage quit over PSTAR?! I'm sorry but the PSTAR is just a mini written test, and if any individual can't face up to it, they shouldn't even be a pilot. While I don't believe instructors should be spoon feeding students the answers to PSTAR, they should point to proper study material and answer questions. For recurrenting pilots, how hard is it to go online and read the AIM over a few weekends?

[iflyforpie]

Failed my first one. Took a month off of flying and took me another month to finally solo.

Yup, if Pstarohpobia was a condition I'd definitely be diagnosed with it. I made flying a career so I would never have to write it again... now all my tests are corrected to 100%.

[moocow]

I guess my previous comments may be overly harsh but I been through a 5 year university program and still doing night school so taking written exams aren't that hard. I was more nervous of the flight test.

[Beefitarian]

This one.
11.10 The ground idle blast danger area extends back from the tail of a medium size jet aeroplane for at least

(1) 200 feet.
(2) 450 feet.
(3) 600 feet.
(4) 750 feet.

And


8.09 Any pilot who has had a local anesthetic for extensive dental procedures should not act as a flight crew member during the next

(1) 12 hrs.
(2) 24 hrs.
(3) 36 hrs.
(4) 48 hrs.

For recurrenting pilots, how hard is it to go online and read the AIM over a few weekends?

Too.

[ant_321]

All the answers can be found online in several places. Just saying.

[ctmorawetz]

I've had students recently that have been freaking out over the PSTAR. At first it sounds daunting, that you MUST get 90% or more on the exam. I try to explain to them that there's lots of resources to help you study, we give you the questions beforehand. When they look back on it after completing their licences and more, they usually say it's the easier test they did.

[Shiny Side Up]

This one.
11.10 The ground idle blast danger area extends back from the tail of a medium size jet aeroplane for at least

And


8.09 Any pilot who has had a local anesthetic for extensive dental procedures should not act as a flight crew member during the next

See AIR 1.7 and AIR 3.13 respectively for your answers.

Somethings that may help people get over their fears of it. IFP was brave to help out in admitting that he at one time had failed it. Lots of people fail the PSTAR, some just and some abyssmally (worst mark I ever saw was a 38%). Either way, put yourself together and take another stab at it. There's no penalty really for failing. Check out:

400.04

(2) A person who fails the Student Pilot Permit or Private Pilot Licence for Foreign and Military Applicants, Aviation Regulations (PSTAR) examination is eligible to rewrite the examination at any time after the person has received notice of the failure and has reviewed their weak knowledge areas.

You can take another stab at it right away! Missed by one wrong answer? Sit with your instructor, review and go again.

Second of all, people do realise that this thing is only fifty questions multiple choice right? While one would like everyone to be knowedgeable about everything on the test, the reality is everyone will be weak on a couple of items. You still have a 25% chance of making your best guess, and if you know how they make questions for multiple choice you can usually easily boil it down to a 50/50 chance. For example on Beef's first question if one remembers the diagram in the aim you know that there are three airplane diagrams (business jet, medium jet and jumbo) easy to remember that there are three right? To trip you up, TC will usually use answers as their red herrings that are the answer if they asked a similar question but changed one parameter - the test writers aren't too creative. So its likely they used the answers for jumbo and business as part of their wrong answers for this question. If one removes the high end and the low end answer, you're left with a 50/50 guess. Multiple choice made easy! On the second question, One must remember that TC never does anything by halves - they don't have half days for any of these requirements when it comes to medical stuff - the only odd ball is the 8 hours and alchohol. By process of elimination that again leaves us with only two possible answers, another 50/50 guess.

So if you do have a few weak areas, take a stab at it anyhow, you'll probably learn something in the process. No one cares if you got 100% its pass/fail. Get it done!

[iflyforpie]

The funny thing is, I was never afraid of any other tests (I did 10 TC administered tests for my AME M1/M2 plus PPL, IFR, CPL, and Instructor Rating exams) and never failed any of them (most above 80% and quite a few above 90%). Flight tests and rides scare the bejesus out of me too, but I've never failed any of those either.

I think with the PSTAR was I was pushed into it a bit fast (less than a month after starting while working full-time swing shift) and I only wound up failing it by one question. The guy who corrected it was kind of a dick too and that put me off of flying.

[Beefitarian]

I didn't know they were using three different sized jets for that question. I also thought you should wait longer after getting extensive dental work.

[Shiny Side Up]

I didn't know they were using three different sized jets for that question. I also thought you should wait longer after getting extensive dental work.

I'll admit that I remember the answer to the question largely because I remember the diagram in the AIM (and the previously identical one in the AIP). As per the second answer the key words are "local anesthetic", the answer is different if they referred to a general anesthetic. The "extensive dental work" is largely irrelevant to the answer. Technically if you had extensive dental work with no use of an anethetic, you could go flying immediately afterwards. In legal speak, TC doesn't consider extreme pain to be debilitating to a pilot - but drugs are.

[Beefitarian]

I was just looking at them again and one question asks about "idle" blast of a jumbo and another "take off" blast of a medium. I should go stare at that diagram a bunch of times myself.

[Beefitarian]

Do a lot of people taxi 172s behind running jets? I'm pretty skittish about something like that myself.

[Shiny Side Up]

In all honesty the PSTAR is a test to make sure you've had a peek inside the AIM. Common sense (and watching Mythbusters) should give you a good idea to stay out from behind big airplanes. My main point previously was that one doesn't need to memorize word for word the text in the AIM if one has at least spent a bit of time in it, and has a bit of knowledge on how multiple choice tests work, you got a pretty good chance of getting through the test. Nothing really to fear.

[Beefitarian]

There's 5 questions on Jet blast and they all require you to know the numbers. I agree it's nothing to be afraid of but you need to know some numbers. My problem is not reading the AIM often and discussing it with others due to not flying regularly enough as well as not caring anymore how often a person under 40 has to get a medical etc. I took a bunch of study material camping last month and it's still in the trailer.

Same as the PPL questions about the minister. I'm apathetic about things like that. I was thinking about just taking Groundschool again but the nearly three hours of flight time I could buy with the cost has deterred me.

[gaamin]

Edit

[Trematode]

I'm suprised nobody has mentioned Robyn's Flying Start's PSTAR guide

Is it somehow frowned upon that the questions are actually published? The guide has detailed explainations for each answer as well. No need for a new student to soak up the AIM in its entirety in order to distill the relevant PSTAR bits that early into their training. To me the PSTAR has never really been a written exam in the same sense as the others; it's more of a document that's signed off on to say that you've read and understand the rules of the air.

The rules are black and white -- you either know them or you don't, and a nuanced understanding of theory is not required -- so it's not a big deal that the answers have been spoon-fed to you by a guide like this. A couple hours of study and you should have no problem.

Save the AIM and CARs for the REAL exams.

[ragequit]

.

[Shiny Side Up]

There's 5 questions on Jet blast and they all require you to know the numbers. I agree it's nothing to be afraid of but you need to know some numbers.

You missed the point Beef. You don't need to know numbers if you know how they design the questions. Knowing how they design the test helps as well - while there may be 5 (there are technically six possible questions they can create based upon the diagram) questions based upon the subject in the pool of questions they use, you won't get more than one question on any particular subject. The point is that its worthwhile to have some insight on how the test is designed to function which can aid you in passing it without using the actual knowledge of the material itself. I should note that all of TC's tests are this way, usually you can determine a 50/50 shot at the correct answer, and lots of the time deduce the correct answer by just examining the red herring incorrect answers.

[iflyforpie]

I'm not trying to be a dick to anyone who failed it, but with the entire test bank and answers being available online, it's really just a matter of memorization, not reasoning or understanding.

To be fair, I got my first computer several months after I completed my last aviation rating.