Even for a trained IFR pilot the scan is pretty much AI, AI, AI, AI...
I guess you’ve never done UPs where the wings are level, but many other crazy things are occurring? High vertical speeds? High rates of yaw? LOW ROTOR RPM?? 😳
in a helicopter, and particularly at low forward speeds. Attitude is far from all you need to watch.
in a fixed wing, AIRSPEED (largely attitude!) is what keeps you alive. In a helicopter, airspeed (largely attitude!) is mostly irrelevant. It’s RRPM that keeps you alive! Never ever forget that!
Selective Radial Scan is the only mantra that will keep you alive when you have no visual reference! That’s why so many VFR pilots die within 3 minutes of entering cloud. Selective radial scan is extremely vulnerable to lack of sufficient recent practice!!