4 Ways The ACS Affects The Oral And Practical Test For Aircraft Mechanics! MUST WATCH Before TEST

 In this video, I’m going to discuss the four ways. The airman certification standards are affecting the oral and practical test for aircraft mechanics. If you are testing to become an aircraft mechanic, you need to watch this video to understand how the test will be given. Many people are on the fence about whether or not it is better than the old system. I will leave that decision up to you. Leave a comment below on your thoughts. 

[@dennypollard8004]

As a DME myself oral questions on the practical are not all open book. Notice 8900.666 prohibits open book for oral questions. However, guidance in the ACS standard does allow (open book) some of the oral questions come from manufacture service manuals or data those oral questions you would have to use that service data to answer the question. DMEs are waiting of AFS-640 to provide clear guidance on so called open books oral questions. As an example, my local FSDO says “NO” to open book questions that I have in writing. Other FSDO and provided their DMEs with guidance to allow open books.

[@brycebuildsit]

That's good to know the DME here has been allowing all of the oral questions administered during the projects to be open book

[@laurenjohnston8416]

Taking my airframe and general o&p's in late August! This is so helpful, as it's been difficult to find any accurate information on how the oral questions/practical's are changing (other than the FAA website - which mostly just goes over the new test format). Good to hear that Jeppesen is still a good study resource! Definitely going to start utilizing the ASA prepware as a study resource.

[@marcogarcia627]

How did it go ?

[@SeymooreButts-un8dz]

UPDATE??

[@wulffenstein7249]

I take my Airframe and General next Saturday thank you for the video!

[@joelwitchey8548]

how’d u do?

[@mikej5959]

I just dont geet why the written arent enough. Why are orals a thing. I heard its more about speaking than answering questions. These tests are so strange and way outside the norms of testing for a license / certificate of any trade or academia. No skin off my nose as ive already got mine but ive always hated how A&P training and testing is done.

[@brycebuildsit]

I don't disagree. The testing process is the same for the pilot side of the house. The FAA does wierd things

[@michaelrascon1604]

I appreciate the video! I literally just finished my last written exam which was Powerplant a couple days ago and now I’m about to start studying for my O&Ps!

[@keirisanchez8490]

Hey what did you use for your generals

[@michaelrascon1604]

I used Prepware for all my written exams

[@keirisanchez8490]

@@michaelrascon1604 You think that’s good enough for me to pass ?

[@michaelrascon1604]

Personally I feel like it was helpful. You need to really study and understand the material because some of the questions are reworded on the test. I took a month per section.

[@keirisanchez8490]

@@michaelrascon1604 You mean like a month for generals in a month for power plant is that what you mean

[@Checkered_Demon00]

also fellow classmate of mine just took his today and he said it followed Prepware almost word for word for the test he had..

[@armedstudent1150]

For O&Ps or for the written?

[@dae-dae7199]

just took my General/Airframe O&P 09/25 and you are 100% right about everything in this video

[@mmaviator22]

What about your writtens, were they under pts or acs? I took all my writtens just before the change over and someone told me that I may have to retake them under acs which would be some BS.

[@dae-dae7199]

@@mmaviator22 mine were under pts i didn’t have to retake them

[@mmaviator22]

@dae-dae7199 good to hear. I was 1 of those who got screwed as I graduated in mid July and had passed all of my writtens under pts and got screwed by the July 21st deadline so I've had to wait to take my o&ps. Schedule gen/airframe on the 1st and have been struggling with what to study bc kc the code differences and not finding any info on the potable water/waste in any of the 8083s be it the old or the new - B series. So I've just been studying the old jeppesen and Asa questions in the guides and hoping for the best.

[@mmaviator22]

I like the PTS oral way of testing alot better. Because youd know what subject you were on and in your head you could you know count and feel confident. Like ok I got 2 questions right, next question, boom right and then you feel good and confident because you passed another section and the further you moved on the more confident you felt, but now its like you have no idea where youre at or how well youre doing, or atleast it makes it more confusing in the the sense that its all over the place.

[@brycebuildsit]

It is all over, but I think it's easier because you just have to get a 70 overall, and the 2 addional questions for each practical are open book.

[@mmaviator22]

@brycebuildsit agreed, I got screwed because I graduated in mid July from AIM and took my o&p and passed Gen, and airframe section 1, and got all the way to the end and only had 3 subjects left and on nav/comm he kinda screwed unintentionally because he asked what type of radios are used in aircraft? I looked puzzled because we've never talked about a type of radio. To me the way he worded it, makes me think of a type being like a CB, or a HAM radio. So then he moved on and asked how to test an elt? And I listed every step, step by step and he's like I need more. I said well you listen for 3 sweeps on the radio, 1st 5 mins of the hour etc and he said yes and what type of radio is that? So essentially the same question so I literally I have no idea. But I realized after the fact the Asa and jeppensen and even the text book do not mention a "type" of radio. They ask what "FREQ RANGE" do aircraft radios use. He never said the words frequency or range, had he and I instantly would've gotten both correct. So long story short I had to retest just the AF section 2 but he never got back to me in time so now I got screwed and have to redo everything. All the orals and practicals I had passed for gen/af I have to redo because of the change over to acs which really was upsetting. But what can you do but keep trucking. BTW you're videos have always helped even while I was in school so keep em coming!

[@elijahx2784]

I was gonna take the powerplant O&P with just the jeppesen orals memorized, i think i will take your advice on studying asa too haha. A buddy of mine said he got some odd ball questions during his practical oral questions and failed one

[@Txrep817]

Studying for my Powerplant & General O&Ps rn , thank you for the info

[@brycebuildsit]

Good luck

[@JetHeartland]

I took my powerplant o&p few months back under old testing, failed powerplant Oral section so have to retake that. Scored 70 on my powerplant written. I'm trying to study, retake is scheduled for couple weeks from now

[@Havanafly]

Good info. Getting ready for my General Written as I type this..

[@KillaNova4801]

Im leaving a comment for the channel.

[@brycebuildsit]

It's highly appreciated 🙏

[@bigchungus1848]

I’m more worried about the oral portion than the practical for some odd reason 😂

[@FloorItDuh]

Just remember it's all about technique and to use both hands.

[@bigchungus1848]

@@FloorItDuh8/16/23 Passed and got my airframe!! Now on to powerplant!!

[@modelaircraft6576]

Is not that bad is passable

[@mercenaryspeed2075]

Thank you for taking the time In making these videos I’m very excited for my future in aviation.

[@brycebuildsit]

Make sure you watch my latest video and leave a comment on it for the giveaway I'm doing

[@mikesmith7249]

My biggest issue with students, I feel they heavily focus on memorizing banks of questions and answers as opposed to seeking an understanding of the material.

[@brycebuildsit]

I would agree, and I think that's why the FAA made the changes. They are trying to focus more on compatincy.

[@lane5477]

True, but some questions asked would be near impossible to answer or rather up to luck if study material wasn’t given.

[@brycebuildsit]

Very true, I don't think it's fair for them to ask a off the wall left field question like "what's the function of the spirving bearing on a lunar wane shaft in a dinglehop engine" (that's just some gibberish but you get the point) How is anyone supposed to answer that if it's not taught in school and there is no question to study for it.

[@mikesmith7249]

@@brycebuildsit Hopefully DME's arent asking questions like that about very specific systems and very specific engines, they should be far broader in nature to demonstrate an understanding of a concept or system. That said, I have seen DME's ask very specific questions about specific engines but provide tech data to find those answers and the point is are the students abl le to navigate and comprehend tech data. I dont find this to be unreasonable.

[@mikej5959]

Have you seen the way the average school teaches this shit. It is terribly done. The FAA needs to overhaul testing and schooling/curriculum. Ive had teachers who try and teach it so they actually will be a good mechanic and their students have a high failure rate if they dont memorize questions. Ive seen teachers teach to the tests and they have high pass rates but they really dont know anything. Of the two I think I want the latter as a student as that what gets me the certificate but in the end it defeats the rigorous standards of the 147 school . I got through on memorizing. Thats not as easy anymore from what im hearing as I want to be a teacher myself in this so I pay attention but its still all terribly done. One thing FAA does well with 147 schools teach you the vagueness and bureaucracy of the career to come.

[@egthree]

took my generals on 9/1 sadly I got 73% took me 3 tries and was really hard but definitely will keep on going

[@brycebuildsit]

Good luck and congratulations on 1 test down.

[@egthree]

@@brycebuildsit Thank you Bryce I’ll keep you inform as I go down the road I’m currently in Airframe 3 Hydruallics tough subject atm

[@brandongonzalez4921]

I got a 73% and it took me three attempts too. Taking P next month. We just gotta keep going

[@jovanivida]

Thanks for the info

[@jasonmyers8438]

THANK YOU MANNNNNN

[@brycebuildsit]

Thank you for watching

[@cypress2050]

Would the 2024 general/airframe/powerplant test guides by the ASA Test Prep Board be a good option for studying the oral and practicals?

[@brycebuildsit]

Yes. Pretty much all the test preps are updated at this point

[@lovelyladycarter3687]

I took my general guys😊 I made 85% I'm gonna take my airframe then off to my O&Ps❤️🤟🏽👏🥂

[@brycebuildsit]

Congratulations, one down

[@moiyapeikekayaya1799]

What did you study thanks

[@Uhhhhh-b1l]

So study everything from the jeppeson book ? I took the general exam and was wondering what to prepare myself best for the o&p for that exam.

[@alyemanyyemen7177]

I need help on how to pass my airframe oral.

[@brycebuildsit]

Join the discord link on my channel page

[@Checkered_Demon00]

I take my general tomorrow 8/10

[@keirisanchez8490]

How did it go

[@Jxnnmms]

Let us know!!!

[@bigchungus1848]

Update?

[@brandonmaynard8313]

What's changed for written? I've been studying this book forever!

[@brycebuildsit]

Many of the questions are re-worded or flipped. I.e. the answer is now the question. That's why I tell people still study prepware but make sure you understand the question and not just memorize all the answers

[@cspyoung58]

Got my o’s and p’s next week. Nervous as hell about my orals 😞😞

[@jeremur-4771]

Bro I got mine in like 2 weeks, are you just studying your codes? Or everything

[@brycebuildsit]

Good luck let us know how it goes.

[@brycebuildsit]

Good luck to you as well.

[@jeremur-4771]

@@brycebuildsit thanks! I commented earlier on another video.. I pretty much don’t know what I’m supposed to study..if I study all the material or only the material I got wrong on my written exams..can you clarify that for me? 😅

[@cspyoung58]

@@jeremur-4771 my DME gave me an audio file to listen and follow along with. Has a bunch of questions that could potentially be on the o’s and p’s. Also gather all your written and look up the acs codes of the questions you got wrong. Study those subjects and it should help.

[@mrbobandmrbird]

unfortunately I am in That awkward Group That Tested on The old system and now have to do PowerPlant on The new system did Airfare about A year ago now so should be Interesting lol

[@brycebuildsit]

I'll be honest the written is a bit tougher, but the O&P is much easier.

[@wildhunter8323]

Okay so I'm confused. I just took my Airframe written and pass, and now getting ready for my GEN/AIR O&P. I've been using a study guide O&P and my codes that I have gotten wrong on my exams. At my school only 2 out of 50 students that have pass there written have taken there O&P with the new ACS I'm about to be the 3 out of 50 for night classes. I've been told from instructors to do this and now students that taken the O&P are saying that they studied the codes and now Groundschool/prepware. I'm a little lost and don't know what to study and I've asked AIM, but they kind of pushed me into the wolf den after my Airframe written.

[@brycebuildsit]

We have students getting a mix of perpware, jepison, and questions out of the 8083. My advice is to focus on those codes but also look at the Jepison Oral study guide and the prepware. The good news is that the 2 oral questions for each practical will be open book. There was initially a lot of worry when the ACS came out, but now that it's been a year, I would say the O&P is much easier than it was under the PTS.

[@wildhunter8323]

When you said "prepware" are you talking about the prepware we use to study the written or the ASA O&P study guide?@@brycebuildsit

[@vincentmckinnon9152]

I am retaking my generals oral section, it’s the only part I failed during my Generals and Airframe O/P. Are my new questions going to be exactly what I missed? Or just from the same Code? Or will it be based on everything I missed on my written all over again? Thanks

[@brycebuildsit]

It's supposed to be based on the codes. That said, I know a DME who has retested a few people and said, "For the most part, he gave them the same questions." I would still study everything based on the codes though.

[@CopyPasteBackSpace]

If you fail the orals do you the same questions you got wrong in the retest?

[@brycebuildsit]

Yes, plus everything you haven't been asked yet

[@JeremyMounts-sq1gj]

i have so much trouble studying. my DME told me not to look at my oral and practical jeppeson books instead to look at my study codes i got on paper and these study codes are not clear at all. idk if i’m studying the right thing or not and i don’t get good answers from my old instructors they don’t really know. i feel so lost and i really want to pass my o&p😞.

[@brycebuildsit]

I hear you, so give yourself the best chance. Study Jepison and ASA, also the codes correlate to knowledge items ok the ACS wich can be referenced to the 8083 textbooks

[@JeremyMounts-sq1gj]

⁠@@brycebuildsitthanks man! i’ve gone through my jeppesens o&p portion i’m feeling pretty good on it. going to look at the asa books online too now. also i love your content keep up the good work 🤙🏻

[@moiyapeikekayaya1799]

I have a question which books for jeppesen are good to study written thanks

[@brycebuildsit]

Sorry for my late reply, I feel asa or prepware is better for the writtens, and Jepison is better for the O&P

[@lindalee5034]

What is best to study for the written?

[@brycebuildsit]

Prepware is still good. Some people say Dauntless test prep is a little better, but I don't have personal experience with it.

[@lindalee5034]

Thank you! I have my A and tested under the old system...a little nervous for the new system!

[@richardyang232]

I’m studying to take my O&P right now, will my oral test be basically on the subject that I missed according the the ACS codes or will I also get questions from all the other subjects that I didn’t miss?

[@brycebuildsit]

You will get questions from everything. There will just be extra focus on what you missed on the written

[@mikej5959]

Anyone know what the PSI writtens are costing these days?

[@brycebuildsit]

Depends on where you test but between 150 and 200 for each

[@mikej5959]

@@brycebuildsit Man PSI Has jacked those up like crazy. They were 65 on my first test. Then they bumped them to 100. Now they are 200? That is crazy. I wrote my senator over this I was so annoyed. Im sure DMEs are jacking their rates up having to deal with PSI. Ive only been certificated for 2 years now.

[@darkhorse0687]

So is that 20-30 questions from just airframe or airframe and general?

[@brycebuildsit]

Just airframe or just general.

[@darkhorse0687]

@brycebuildsit awesome, like 40-60 questions over everything sounds pretty easy. Relatively speaking. I failed my oral in July and had 117 questions.

[@brycebuildsit]

@darkhorse0687 also note there will be 2 more oral questions asked during each practical task

[@darkhorse0687]

@brycebuildsit Yes, our powerplant teacher is our top choice DME, told us to not answer those until we physically looked them up. Since we have access to data during the practical.

[@andrewgomez4302]

If I passed my writtens for the pcs will I get Acs questions for the O&P?

[@brycebuildsit]

Yes, however, if you study both the ASA and Jepison Oral and Practical Study guide, you will do just fine.

[@dox8639]

Thanks for the video, really helpful. I’m taking 3 o&ps late August. I’m studying with Jeppesen Written Guides with oral questions book as my DME suggested it. I’m wondering that Oral questions may not change greatly??

[@bassfitness9306]

Good luck on your O&P’s!! Please whenever you test let us know how your experience went because I also have a test late August and would like to know any feedback!!

[@brycebuildsit]

They have changed a little but the DME I spoke with said they are flipping questions and answers like they did on the written.

[@dox8639]

Thank you Bruce@@brycebuildsit , I'm studying to understand the each material like why, how and what rather than memorizing questions and answers. So actually I'm not sure what kind of questions will be given to me of course though DME I have contacted suggested me to use Jeppsen guides. But, some of the DME's questions are same as written questions so far?

[@dox8639]

Thank you@@bassfitness9306, will share what I have actually on the O&Ps here.

[@brycebuildsit]

I think it still kinda depends on the DME I know the one I called said the guys that studied Jepison did great. Others say the people that study Jepison fail. If I was testing and the DME told me to use any specific study guide that's what I would go with.

[@davidrodriguez3310]

So I could get a 70 in my oral section and 70 on the practical to pass ? Or the 70 is for both the test together

[@brycebuildsit]

70 on oral. 70 on practical, the dme will ask 2 additional oral questions for each practical project but those are open book.

[@davidrodriguez3310]

Thanks

[@pikachuessence9863]

(took the test in July) what happens if you only have the powerplant practical to do? is it going to be under the new acs or the old standard beacuse i pass my oral portion for powerplant and i did some of my practical ( only 4 ) then I failed one practical so i had to schedule this month.

[@brycebuildsit]

That is an excellent question. I unfortunately do not know, I would recommend calling the DME

[@pikachuessence9863]

@@brycebuildsit got it , no problem

[@pikachuessence9863]

Update: talked to dme, and he said its going to be the ACS , nothing going to to change that much accept small oral questions going to be asked for practical.

[@brycebuildsit]

That's kinda what I thought, but I didn't want to steer wrong.

[@pikachuessence9863]

@@brycebuildsit got it , no problem

[@modelaircraft6576]

Will student who pass their written”s before the the change be tested on acs

[@brycebuildsit]

Yes

[@modelaircraft6576]

I started the school with zero knowledge of airplanes/helicopters, I passed both my airframe and general orals. I didn’t pass my airframe practical part, so will I have to re study the airframe orals even tho I passed it on the old system

[@brycebuildsit]

If you passed the oral portion of the O&P you shouldn't have to retest oral. Unless the time limit had expired.

[@modelaircraft6576]

@@brycebuildsit I took my O&P in July, thank you 🙏 so much brother for this information. you really gave me a mental relief

[@brycebuildsit]

I will still advise that you call your DME and find out from them exactly what you'll have to do

[@Yeaa12]

Im nervous already😂😂😂

[@brycebuildsit]

You will be just fine. Good luck

[@Yeaa12]

@@brycebuildsit should i still use the jeppersen book thou for the oral?

[@brycebuildsit]

The DME I spoke to said he had 2 guys test that studied Jepison and they both did good

[@Yeaa12]

@@brycebuildsit cool! I just talked to my friend he told me that DME he went to only used jeppesen😊! Thanks for the info! Some of the oral questions i can understand but theirs some thats just hard to answer on your own word, but like u said last time they don’t really get on to details . 🤞🏻appreciate the respond🫡

[@joesphburnett9366]

Promo-SM

[@grizzly--4607]

@grizzly--4607 0 seconds ago What books are used to study for the ACS codes? I took my oral test for my airframe and he only asked me 5 questions from the jeppessen and the rest were from the ACS codes but I don’t know how to study for those.

[@brycebuildsit]

The acs codes are knowledge items that tie back into the 8083 textbooks and workbooks