Back-course on an HSI

[dmspilot]

No, I was arguing that one of them has to be wrong. I made no arguments about which was wrong.

And then you argued that it's not wrong and there was no reason to contact the FAA about the mistake because "it's acceptable to reference a diagram that's not shown."

 

[MauleSkinner]

"it's acceptable to reference a diagram that's not shown."

No, that was your argument. You’re the one that said the previous edition’s diagram should be used.

 

[dmspilot]

No, that was your argument. You’re the one that said the previous edition’s diagram should be used.

So if that were true, then when you wrote "it's acceptable to reference a diagram that's not shown" you were agreeing with me then.

 

[MauleSkinner]

So if that were true, then when you wrote "it's acceptable to reference a diagram that's not shown" you were agreeing with me then.

I was accepting your assessment of the situation, but close enough.

 

[luvflyin]

What's funny about all this is that it all revolves around what I'm coming to realize is a FAA testing system that is just hilariously bad at times. I have lost count of the times I have run across questions/answers that are just plain wrong (this is actually one of the LESS confusing/wrong ones - the feather colors/shading issue). Over and over the explanation of a question is something like (to paraphrase) "so, the ACTUAL answer to this question is X, but the FAA testing computers grade Y as correct. So you should just memorize answer X as the correct answer and forget about the real world answer."

It's beyond infuriating and at times just hilarious. And a significant source of stress as I'm prepping.

Something tells me you are going to do just fine. I’d try not to stress over it

 

[CerroTorre]

Something tells me you are going to do just fine. I’d try not to stress over it

=) Thanks for that. The IR can feel a little overwhelming at times.

 

[dtuuri]

I have lost count of the times I have run across questions/answers that are just plain wrong... "so, the ACTUAL answer to this question is X, but the FAA testing computers grade Y as correct. So you should just memorize answer X as the correct answer and forget about the real world answer."

If memorizing answers is your bag then, yeah, it can be frustrating. If you read as widely as the FAA intends and can retain 70% of what you read you'll be smarter than somebody with a perfect score who memorized the answers, IMO.

When a question is proven and reported incorrect, like this one, I believe the FAA flags the question so it can't count against you. That said, there are some questions where answers are lifted out of context from the reference material. Nothing is perfect. Including commercial test prep opinions. My advice is don't try 100%, but do become familiar with all the FAA cited references and how they apply to your future IFR operations. Take enough practice tests to develop confidence and analyze why you missed the wrong answers. Don't stress over achieving a perfect score.