A little off subject perhaps but, my aircraft is equipped with a 3 axis A/P. When I first bought it and was doing ‘differences’ training, my instructor covered the use of the A/P. As I am not IR rated, he told me “If you inadvertently enter IMC turn this thing on, use it to do a 180, and get back to clear air”.
I just read an article about inadvertent entry into IMC. It said they tested 10 none IMC rated pilots suddenly entering IMC conditions. The average time to loss of control was 170 seconds! None lasted longer than 8 minutes. They advised to always properly trim the aircraft so it will fly S & L ‘hands off’, if you do inadvertently enter IMC, let go of the control column, and if you have an A/P engage it and use it to get back to clear air. If you don’t have an A/P use the rudder only to turn the aircraft. The article also stated 40% of fatal accidents involved loss of situational awareness as the prime reason, or a contributing reason to the accident.
Seems to me it’s a piece of equipment that, properly managed, can save your life as well make it easier on those long flights.
Regards,
W.B.