SIFT · Aviation knowledge component
Army Aviation Information
Army Aviation Information (AAIT) is the SIFT subtest whose items ask what you know of the terminology and concepts of Army aviation, and you pick the correct answer among five.
- Items
- 40
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Answer options
- 5
- Format
- Fixed
- Unanswered items
- Scored wrong
- Counts toward
- SIFT score
Screens of the trainer
The subtest
Measures
Applicants to Army aviation take the subtest as part of the SIFT.
Format
The subtest has 40 items in 30 minutes. It is fixed, not computer-adaptive: the items do not get harder or easier with your answers.
Each item is a question or an incomplete statement followed by five choices, and you pick the one that answers it or completes it.
Scoring
The SIFT reports one score, from 20 to 80. The subtest has no score of its own.
An unanswered item is scored wrong, so a guess never costs more than a blank.
Item types
One question, five choices
The items center on helicopters: rotor aerodynamics, the flight controls, weight and balance, and the basic maneuvers, and on the Army's aircraft and their missions.
Free practice test
Item 1 of 5
The oscillation of a helicopter fuselage, which hangs from a single rotor mast point much like a weight on a string, is called
Show the answer
Answer: pendular action
The fuselage hangs from one point on the mast, so it swings fore and aft or side to side like a pendulum.
Flapping, coning and the Coriolis effect describe blade motion; translating tendency is a drift.
Item 2 of 5
What is the purpose of adjusting the antitorque pedals in flight?
Show the answer
Answer: To vary tail rotor thrust and control yaw
The pedals vary tail rotor thrust, and that is how the pilot controls yaw.
The collective governs lift, the throttle governs rotor rpm, and blade flapping answers dissymmetry of lift.
Airspeed is not trimmed with the pedals.
Item 3 of 5
A pilot recognizes a forward CG condition when coming to a hover after a vertical takeoff by observing
Show the answer
Answer: a nose-low attitude requiring excessive rearward cyclic
A forward CG puts the nose low at a hover, and holding position takes excessive rearward cyclic.
An aft CG does the opposite: tail low, excessive forward cyclic.
Pedal and rotor rpm say nothing about CG, and no cyclic displacement means a normal CG.
Item 4 of 5
Why is the normal takeoff from the surface generally preferred over a vertical takeoff on a dusty or snow-covered surface?
Show the answer
Answer: It improves visibility and cuts the risk of debris ingestion
A normal takeoff from the surface reaches effective translational lift with the least power.
On dust or snow it gives the best visibility and the least chance of debris in the engine.
It does not replace the power check, is flown to stay out of the height/velocity avoid area, and is not limited to wheeled helicopters.
Item 5 of 5
A brigade must lift a rifle company into a landing zone in a single air assault. Which Army helicopter is the standard airframe for air assault troop movement?
Show the answer
Answer: The UH-60 Black Hawk
The Black Hawk is the Army's utility and assault helicopter, and air assault is the first of its missions.
The Chinook is the heavy-lift aircraft, the Apache an attack helicopter, the Lakota a light utility aircraft flown mostly in the United States, and the Gray Eagle is unmanned.
The Frontline Forge trainer
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An explanation after each answer
Training mode shows the correct answer after each item and explains it. The clock stops while you read, until you press Next, and Previous takes you back to any answered item.
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The real format, ranked
Test mode runs 40 items in 30 minutes, the count and time of the real subtest, then reviews every item. Each score is ranked against other test-takers, and the Statistics page plots the ranking of every attempt.
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590 items on helicopters and the Army fleet
Each session draws 40 of 590 five-choice items written from the FAA Helicopter Flying Handbook and the Army's aircraft pages; two attempts share three items on average. The 590 cover rotor aerodynamics, controls and systems, maneuvers and emergencies, weight, balance and performance, and the Army's aircraft, fixed-wing and drones included.