I remember stories from my father who was a B17 IP before he went to war. Needle, ball and airspeed. All you need to stay upright and fly around a bit until you can get either better conditions or climb out of it. I got my instrument ticket in a Cessna 182 with a guy who was an F111B simulator instructor and he would never have signed me off for a check ride if my partial panel skills were below his standards. That was an expensive rating even in 1982, it took me a long time to make par with him. He was an SOB but the words " Don't fu@k with the raidios.....fly the damn airplane" have helped me out more than once. All the new stuff is great and I think all 135 helicopters should have all the bells and whistles, plus fdr and cvr if flying passengers for hire. That being said, you shouldn't need it to stay alive. Clear and simple, training and currency on basic flying skills might have prevented this whole thing. Now the lawsuits and congressional hearings will be the "solution". We'll see I guess.