Originally Posted by
OK465
The approved flight data package that is used by the simulator manufacturers comes from Airbus. It includes automated tests utilized to periodically check & assure that the simulator is performing consistent with the actual data accumulated from flight testing within the aircraft operating envelope, at any altitude.
Why would company test pilots make a statement like this?
Because the simulator "matches where it touches" - it reproduces the manoeuvres specified by the data provided, and
not necessarily any other manoeuvre. In practice, sims do better than that minimum, because the manoeuvres matched do cover reasonable variety of manoeuvres and across a fair bit of the envelope.
But go far outside the envelope of the specific manoeuvres and you are on your own. I suspect that is what the test pilot statement likely alludes to.