FAA License Holders
 

A question for you FAA license holders. When applying to get a type rating on your FAA license for an aircraft over 12,500lbs. Can your initial check ride be done in a approved simulator or does the check ride have to be done in the actual aircraft?

FAA License Holders
 

In my experience the check ride can be done in an approved sim and does not need to be done on the aircraft. There were some changes that came through with the FAA in 2014 - just check on this subject however I do not think this was one of the affected areas!

Yes, you can definitely do the check in an approved sim. The whole FAA initial TR course for the Aw139 including the check is performed on the level D FFS.

You can become a captain in an S92 without ever being in one. The entire training, through the type rating, can be done in the sim. It's the same for most airliners and many helicopters. But it depends entirely on the aircraft model, and whether there is an approved sim for it.

AW139 is marginally more difficult than the S92, because once you see the actual aircraft, you still have to figure out how to operate the door to get in the cockpit, where in the S92 you walk up the aisle just like the sim.