Exactly. It was explained to me that (at least in the case of the Ultra sim), that the FAA had to sign off on the specific procedures and visual representations of the checkride airports. Thus, for our sim, I think there are only a few airports in the database that qualify, and even fewer that qualify for certain approaches (circle to lands). I think our sim has JFK, White Plains, and some airport in Virginia that are "certified". That is why the training days are so much more fun..we get to go to Aspen, Elko, etc..that are much more educational and fun. I'd rather train on stuff that will kill me rather than stuff that I'll never see. I haven't been to JFK in probably five years. But the circle to land at PDK at minimums, or a jammed control leaving BKL over the lake at night has real potential to harm you.
But we gotta check those boxes. Hand flown ILS breakout. TAWS demonstration. TCAS demonstration. Hand-flown ILS. Raw data approach. Holding. RNAV departure. Low vis taxi. Ugh. Same thing each year (twice a year of course).
