Aviation officers, what advice do you have for doing well on the SIFT exam?

Grab a commercial off the shelf study guide. Prices vary and you can read reviews online. The SIFT is not “hard”, but will catch you off guard if you are unprepared. I administer SIFTs for our state and only saw one guy bomb it. He shifted gears, studied for 6 months (the required duration before retest) and came back and did pretty well with a score in the mid 60’s. Be thorough. FAA Rotorcraft Hanbook is a good reference for the Aviation knowledge section. I would advise being familiar with how a helicopter flies. The first few subsections are pure aptitude, but you can improve your performance if you know what to expect. Knock the dust off your math comprehension. Don’t need a calculator, but if you haven’t divided or multiplied fractions or done basic geometry or algebra in a while, it can be rough. Mechanical comp is practically the same as the ASVAB. “I pull this rope, pulley B moves...”

Min passing score is a 40. If you pass the first time (even with a 40) you’ll never take the test again. If you fail it, you can retest in 6 months. Your first score will have no impact on your second score. If you fail a second time, you won’t be flying for the Army. Most candidates say the study guides are harder than the exam. Better to be over prepared than under prepared. Good Luck!

I read the FAA helicopter manual front to back. Found a PDF on google. General understanding!