I cannot believe that the Sim ride was so long for a non type rated person. I did mine back in Oct with a EZY TRE at Coalville (EMA).
I got airborne, flew about for a couple of minutes to get a bit of a feel, then some GH, climb, turns, changes of speed and configuration, then climbing/decending turns combined with IAS changes. We then did a procedural ILS to go arround. Then a 'no drills' engine failure. At that point I got the flight director back (all raw data until then) for a procedural ILS to land.
It was pretty demanding but not impossible even for someone like me who had never sat in a Boeing before. They want people to pass but a decent standard of basic flying skill is essential.
Regarding the B737 procedures trainer at Marchwood used by ATP Academy, I cannot believe that it could be used to assess any kind of handling skill. It was'nt that great as a proc trainer. It was designed to train in basic procedures and in automatic flight, never handling.
Hopefully EZY is not loosing good guys through bad assessing. We need good people.
Generally, sounds like I agree with Stabtrim!
[ 11 August 2001: Message edited by: Mr Moustache ]