I know the NPAS thing has changed operational areas somewhat but PAS pilots used to know our own areas like the back of our hands and the local weather conditions. If your ops are VFR and you are professional and experienced enough to avoid IIMC and know how to exit safely, then the IR requirement would surely be a waste of time and money. Even flying IFR/IMC regularly on offshore ops the 6 monthly IFR sim check was never easy.