TBAS Information

[Hopefulflyer389]

Email and called. Now waiting for a response. PCSM score did become available and it was a 95. Will go to a 97 if hour situation is figured out. 

[mb1685]

Your PCSM score is a 95 without any flight time being factored in? That's even possible with PCSM 2.0?!

EDIT: I'm dumb, I didn't read your original post very well. I'm guessing you have a bunch of PIC time from solo flying towards your PPL and from flying after acquiring your PPL and that time is being counted, and the currently not counted dual instruction time is a relatively small chunk of your overall time.

Edited March 1, 2017 by mb1685

[Hopefulflyer389]

On 2/28/2017 at 10:17 PM, mb1685 said:

Your PCSM score is a 95 without any flight time being factored in? That's even possible with PCSM 2.0?!

EDIT: I'm dumb, I didn't read your original post very well. I'm guessing you have a bunch of PIC time from solo flying towards your PPL and from flying after acquiring your PPL and that time is being counted, and the currently not counted dual instruction time is a relatively small chunk of your overall time.

They originally used PIC time of 165 hours and that's how I got the 95 PCSM.

[Hopefulflyer389]

I'm giving an update in regards to the flight time used for the TBAS:

I emailed AFPC.PCSM@us.af.mil and asked the question about flight hours. They responded rather quickly with " You are allowed to count PIC and Instructional hours." They noticed the error of only PIC time being used and adjusted my flight time from 165 to my 203 total time. My PCSM was bumped from a 95 to a 97. 

Keep this in mind for you past or future TBAS test takers and verify that the correct flight time is being used.

[rti35]

I think the AFOQT Pilot composite is a bigger part of the PCSM algorithm than it's given credit for (ie in comparison to flight hours). When I re-took my AFOQT my Pilot score went from a 93 to a 96. In that process my PCSM jumped 2 points from 76 to 78. Flight hours/TBAS didn't change. Simple math would show that 3 additional points on the Pilot composite equated to 2 PCSM points but I doubt that scale is linear. For reference another 9 flying hours would put me in the 21+ hours bracket and bump my PCSM to an 82. So for dudes in the 80s on the Pilot composite it might be worth it to retake if you think you can score in the high 90s. Would definitely seem like a cheaper alternative to getting more hours if time/money are tight. 

[tar_heel]

I'm supposed to take the TBAS for the first time tomorrow & am doing a little studying ahead of time. I've gone through the flash cards that I found linked from this forum (https://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=_36014) and am having an issue with the map ones farther down the page.

I understand all of the cards with the red arrow on the heading, but looking at the mini map versions I am coming up with the answer opposite what is called the correct answer. For instance in card 33 (the first of the mini map cards, also attached to the post) it appears to me that the UAV is traveling north (the blue arrow is my own addition). I'm interpreting the yellow cone shown on the map as the field of view, meaning the UAV is traveling north, so I would identify "A" as the North parking lot. However, the flashcard answer says "C." Am I interpreting the direction of travel incorrectly? I get the non-map questions correct, but miss all of the map questions with the opposite lot from what the cards say is the answer.

I would really appreciate it if someone can shed light on this. All of the sudden not feeling good about the test. Thank you!

[Edw26]

17 hours ago, tar_heel said:

I'm supposed to take the TBAS for the first time tomorrow & am doing a little studying ahead of time. I've gone through the flash cards that I found linked from this forum (https://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=_36014) and am having an issue with the map ones farther down the page.

I understand all of the cards with the red arrow on the heading, but looking at the mini map versions I am coming up with the answer opposite what is called the correct answer. For instance in card 33 (the first of the mini map cards, also attached to the post) it appears to me that the UAV is traveling north (the blue arrow is my own addition). I'm interpreting the yellow cone shown on the map as the field of view, meaning the UAV is traveling north, so I would identify "A" as the North parking lot. However, the flashcard answer says "C." Am I interpreting the direction of travel incorrectly? I get the non-map questions correct, but miss all of the map questions with the opposite lot from what the cards say is the answer.

I would really appreciate it if someone can shed light on this. All of the sudden not feeling good about the test. Thank you!

 

I noticed the same while studying today and if you just look at the red dot as the direction of travel you'll get them right. I also think it's more intuitive for the wide part of the yellow cone to be the direction of travel but that's not the case here.

[jspace17]

22 hours ago, tar_heel said:

I'm supposed to take the TBAS for the first time tomorrow & am doing a little studying ahead of time. I've gone through the flash cards that I found linked from this forum (https://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=_36014) and am having an issue with the map ones farther down the page.

I understand all of the cards with the red arrow on the heading, but looking at the mini map versions I am coming up with the answer opposite what is called the correct answer. For instance in card 33 (the first of the mini map cards, also attached to the post) it appears to me that the UAV is traveling north (the blue arrow is my own addition). I'm interpreting the yellow cone shown on the map as the field of view, meaning the UAV is traveling north, so I would identify "A" as the North parking lot. However, the flashcard answer says "C." Am I interpreting the direction of travel incorrectly? I get the non-map questions correct, but miss all of the map questions with the opposite lot from what the cards say is the answer.

I would really appreciate it if someone can shed light on this. All of the sudden not feeling good about the test. Thank you!

The dot is the "target" and the yellow arrow is your travel direction. This means that the red dot is a building and the test may say something like "Identify the north parking lot." From the picture, the building is to the south of you, so the north parking lot would be "C" as it is the closest. I hope this helps.

[tar_heel]

Thanks for the clarification. I decided to push the test because I wasn't feeling great yesterday/today. Will go back and hit this studying a little more. Especially if that's similar to what I'll see...will need to recalibrate my brain a bit.

[BlayneWPilot]

Just got off the phone with my recruiter and he said they just updated the TBAS and that the test is a little different now, but that the administrator would not elaborate any more about that. There is nothing on the PCSM website about any changes to the TBAS. Does anyone have any info about what might have been changed?

[tar_heel]

On 4/6/2017 at 9:45 AM, BlayneWPilot said:

Just got off the phone with my recruiter and he said they just updated the TBAS and that the test is a little different now, but that the administrator would not elaborate any more about that. There is nothing on the PCSM website about any changes to the TBAS. Does anyone have any info about what might have been changed?

Took my TBAS last week, and it matched up with what the PCSM website says.

https://access.afpc.af.mil/pcsmdmz/TBASInfo.html

[BlayneWPilot]

On 4/7/2017 at 4:16 PM, tar_heel said:

Took my TBAS last week, and it matched up with what the PCSM website says.

https://access.afpc.af.mil/pcsmdmz/TBASInfo.html

Thanks for the confirmation, tar_heel. Couldn't imagine them updating the test but not the website. Hope you scored well.

[John3806]

On 3/2/2017 at 9:40 PM, rti35 said:

I think the AFOQT Pilot composite is a bigger part of the PCSM algorithm than it's given credit for (ie in comparison to flight hours). When I re-took my AFOQT my Pilot score went from a 93 to a 96. In that process my PCSM jumped 2 points from 76 to 78. Flight hours/TBAS didn't change. Simple math would show that 3 additional points on the Pilot composite equated to 2 PCSM points but I doubt that scale is linear. For reference another 9 flying hours would put me in the 21+ hours bracket and bump my PCSM to an 82. So for dudes in the 80s on the Pilot composite it might be worth it to retake if you think you can score in the high 90s. Would definitely seem like a cheaper alternative to getting more hours if time/money are tight. 

I retook my AFOQT and my pilot score went from an 81 to 98 and my PCSM score jumped from a 65 with 21 hours of flight time to a 77 with 21 hours of flight time. So 17 additional points on the pilot composite equated to 12 PCSM points which is very close to your 3:2 ratio. My max PCSM score with 201+ hours is 96 so I'm thinking that retaking the TBAS would have little benefit. Thoughts? 

[jspace17]

24 minutes ago, John3806 said:

I retook my AFOQT and my pilot score went from an 81 to 98 and my PCSM score jumped from a 65 with 21 hours of flight time to a 77 with 21 hours of flight time. So 17 additional points on the pilot composite equated to 12 PCSM points which is very close to your 3:2 ratio. My max PCSM score with 201+ hours is 96 so I'm thinking that retaking the TBAS would have little benefit. Thoughts? 

Pretty good, I don't think you need to retake it. I'd focus on getting more flight time and your PPL if possible. You don't need to get 201 hours but you're not too far from having a 80+ score so I think you're on the right track

[mb1685]

31 minutes ago, John3806 said:

I retook my AFOQT and my pilot score went from an 81 to 98 and my PCSM score jumped from a 65 with 21 hours of flight time to a 77 with 21 hours of flight time. So 17 additional points on the pilot composite equated to 12 PCSM points which is very close to your 3:2 ratio. My max PCSM score with 201+ hours is 96 so I'm thinking that retaking the TBAS would have little benefit. Thoughts? 

Flight time is always best if you can afford it. If you can't afford it, you can probably squeeze a couple more points out of the TBAS. I also have 21 hours and a lower Pilot score than you (92) and my PCSM is an 80, so I'd speculate that there's still a little bit more headroom for you on the TBAS grading. My 201+ hour bracket is only one point higher though.

[John3806]

5 minutes ago, mb1685 said:

Flight time is always best if you can afford it. If you can't afford it, you can probably squeeze a couple more points out of the TBAS. I also have 21 hours and a lower Pilot score than you (92) and my PCSM is an 80, so I'd speculate that there's still a little bit more headroom for you on the TBAS grading. My 201+ hour bracket is only one point higher though.

Good stuff, I will definitely consider it. Thanks! 

[rti35]

1 hour ago, John3806 said:

I retook my AFOQT and my pilot score went from an 81 to 98 and my PCSM score jumped from a 65 with 21 hours of flight time to a 77 with 21 hours of flight time. So 17 additional points on the pilot composite equated to 12 PCSM points which is very close to your 3:2 ratio. My max PCSM score with 201+ hours is 96 so I'm thinking that retaking the TBAS would have little benefit. Thoughts? 

You could definitely squeeze a few more points out of the PCSM if you retook the TBAS. Are you looking to apply AD or Guard/Reserve?

[John3806]

12 minutes ago, rti35 said:

You could definitely squeeze a few more points out of the PCSM if you retook the TBAS. Are you looking to apply AD or Guard/Reserve?

Guard 

[rti35]

1 minute ago, John3806 said:

Guard 

If you're confident you can do better the second time around 100% retake it. One of the newer Pilots at a guard F-16 unit I recently interviewed at said he had a 94 PCSM when he was selected, just to give you a reference point

[John3806]

3 minutes ago, rti35 said:

If you're confident you can do better the second time around 100% retake it. One of the newer Pilots at a guard F-16 unit I recently interviewed at said he had a 94 PCSM when he was selected, just to give you a reference point

Appreciate the input. With my current PCSM (77) at 21 hours, and my max PCSM of 96 if I had 201+ hours, the most I could raise my PCSM to given my hours would be like 79 or 80, right? Just want to make sure I'm thinking about this correctly. 

[rti35]

21 minutes ago, John3806 said:

Appreciate the input. With my current PCSM (77) at 21 hours, and my max PCSM of 96 if I had 201+ hours, the most I could raise my PCSM to given my hours would be like 79 or 80, right? Just want to make sure I'm thinking about this correctly. 

I've seen low to mid 80's and as high as 85 with that flight time bracket and a similar AFOQT score

[Heavywanabe]

19 minutes ago, John3806 said:

Appreciate the input. With my current PCSM (77) at 21 hours, and my max PCSM of 96 if I had 201+ hours, the most I could raise my PCSM to given my hours would be like 79 or 80, right? Just want to make sure I'm thinking about this correctly. 

I'm not sure it works that way. The better you do on the TBAS the less your flight hours effect your PCSM. For instance if you blow it out of the water and get a PCSM of 90, 100 more flight hours might only increase it a point or two. Its a super dooper special  formula they use. 

If you are positive you can do better than by all means give it a shot, but just remember you can only take it twice and you always run the risk of lowering your score.

I would defiantly focus on finishing your PPL though, they say you don't have to have it finished but everyone that i've seen get hired (including myself) at least had a PPL and the majority had advanced ratings. I think its more important than some people might think.

  

[tk1313]

Personal opinion: If your 201+ column is in the high 80's and above, and everything else is solid, you should be good to go. I wouldn't retake with a 96 PCSM in the 201+ column quite yet. Keep visiting and applying, and ask for feedback. If the feedback is consistently "your PCSM is too low"... then consider retaking the TBAS.
 

Edited May 26, 2017 by tk1313

[John3806]

On 5/26/2017 at 1:21 PM, Heavywanabe said:

I'm not sure it works that way. The better you do on the TBAS the less your flight hours effect your PCSM. For instance if you blow it out of the water and get a PCSM of 90, 100 more flight hours might only increase it a point or two. Its a super dooper special  formula they use. 

If you are positive you can do better than by all means give it a shot, but just remember you can only take it twice and you always run the risk of lowering your score.

I would defiantly focus on finishing your PPL though, they say you don't have to have it finished but everyone that i've seen get hired (including myself) at least had a PPL and the majority had advanced ratings. I think its more important than some people might think.

  

So after weighing my options, I ended up retaking the TBAS on Saturday and raised my PCSM from 77 to 83 while my flight hours bracket of 21-40 did not change.  My max PCSM at 201+ hours would be 98. You were right Heavy, the scale is definitely not linear. I appreciate your advice. 

[John3806]

On 5/26/2017 at 3:43 PM, tk1313 said:

Personal opinion: If your 201+ column is in the high 80's and above, and everything else is solid, you should be good to go. I wouldn't retake with a 96 PCSM in the 201+ column quite yet. Keep visiting and applying, and ask for feedback. If the feedback is consistently "your PCSM is too low"... then consider retaking the TBAS.
 

I ended up retaking the TBAS on Saturday and raising my PCSM from 77 to 83 and my 201+ column from 96 to 98. The main reason I decided to retake was to present and "all in" approach to the board. I'm 27 so I want to make sure I turn over every stone as I only have a couple years left to apply. I appreciate your advice TK1313.