1. What exactly is involved in this - do you have to take exams? How many hours do you do in the sim?
Exams - yes. Sometimes several. Depends to a slight extent on the course, but a type rating course on even as relatively small (20 ton) aircraft would normally involve about a month's study and training. Normally this would be about 2 weeks in the classroom, 2 weeks in the sim.
2. Would you ever train in the real aircraft? I've heard of Pilots doing it all in the 'sim', but the 'Air Show' a few years ago showed BA pilot trainees doing circuits at Prestwick in the A320.
For small, light types, you can train on the aircraft. However, for anything of any reasonable size at all, you wouldn't dream of doing so. Main reason of course, is expense - a sim is far cheaper to operate than the aircraft, and, naturally, you can simulate all sorts of emergencies (engine fires, hydraulic failures, multiple failures) in the sim that for safety's sake you wouldn't dream of attempting on the aircraft.
3. Do turobprop pilot tain in sims, or is it just jet pilots? Do jet Pilot have to do more hours?
Normally, the more complex the aircraft, the longer the training required. There is a minimum time laid down in the TRTO's (Type Rating Training Organisation's) syllabus for it to be approved by the CAA/JAA. Some candidates may require more. If they require much more, they will start to be expensive, and the airline may consider "chopping" them. And not much difference in the time required between a jet and a turboprop type. If anything, slightly more for turboprop as they're slightly more complex to operate.
4. Do you do the Instrument Rating in the 'sim' or the real a/c?
Provided the sim is approved for all training, you'd do the IR in the sim just as part of the rest of the course, not as a separate sim ride. Once you get to these sorts of levels, an IR is type-specific, and cannot be used in other types.
5. Do you do more 'hand flying' or 'systems management' on the type-rating.
Simple answer is - a mixture. You have to be able to fly the thing with no automatics. But since full systems failures are rare, much of the time is spent learning to operate the aircraft's systems.
6. Can you fly as many airliners as you like? Or only one at a time?
General answer is that you can only be current on one type at a time. However, because of cockpit commonality between different types, in some cases the CAA will allow you to alternate your Line Proficiency Checks and stay current on two types at the same time. Examples are the ATR 42 and 72, the Boeing 757 and 767, and many Airbus types.
Hope this answers your queries!
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Breeding Per Dementia Unto Something Jolly Big, Toodle-pip
[This message has been edited by HugMonster (edited 22 February 2001).]