Sadly, more and more pilots are afraid to fly VFR in 50+ km visibility without an artificial horizon, let alone airspeed indicator.
Sorry to say, but you are right. I flew with a new CPL recently who not only queried the lack of an artificial horizon (in a tube and fabric basic microlight) but couldn't set an attitude without a VSI. Oh, and his stall recovery was interesting, to say the least. Full power, no pitch change, and forgot about his feet so he got a good brisk roll and yaw against the engine. Ho hum. Maybe we should enforce basic training in a glider, followed by J3.