Thanks Pontius, I know what simulators are for. The actual flight conditions and procedures for the drone pilot are surely no different to the simulated flight conditions and procedures, no? There is no physical connection between the operator and aircraft in either environment so surely anything and everything can be simulated.
The lack of simulator time you speak of has no real bearing on my point - that could be adjusted to meet the need.
I'm still no wiser as to why a drone operator/pilot can't learn and train for everything they might encounter in a synthetic enviroment, and so save expensive airframes from falling out of the sky until none are left.
But no matter.