Originally Posted by
FaceBiten
I'm pretty sure you cant legally start any portion of a checkride until all experience requirements have been met, which is why most airlines put the oral off until after the requirements are met in sims for those lacking the multi time. May have been an oversight by the company that let it happen, which could/would invalidate your atp/type if it somehow got investigated and found. I'm no fsdo or APD though so maybe I'm wrong, but I'd be hella careful with that stuff.
The regs allow crediting of full flight simulator (FFS) time for certain aeronautical experience requirements. For example, you may credit up to 25 hours of FFS time to meet the experience requirement of 50 hours of multi engine time, hence the minimum of 25 hours of "real" multi engine time. There are several other areas where you may credit sim or FTD time (I don't have the regs in front of me). Our FSDO allows us to do the oral knowing that an applicant will receive at least 25 hours of FFS time prior to the sim checkride whenever your ATP will be issued.