That study was the one that came up with the "178 seconds to die" number.
But note:
- the researchers chose the Bonanza C35 as representative of the most complex single likely to be encountered by non-professional pilots
- the subjects were chosen so they had minimum or no time in the Bonanza, and no solo time - and most were low hour
- the subjects had no instrument time, actual or in a simulator
- the aircraft was loaded to its max aft CG and max gross
- the AH, DG and VS were covered, leaving only T&B, altimeter, ASI and compass
- etc ...
So the 178 seconds refers to novice pilots in an unfamiliar complex aircraft with full aft CG on a limited panel and their first time on instruments.
Like poonpossum, I think it's counterproductive to scare the bejesus out of our VFR pilots - if they do get into cloud, they need to be thinking as clearly and rationally as possible (not always easy in what is fundamentally a very scary situation - and totally different to being under the hood with an instructor next to you).
And particularly the 178 seconds, which really doesn't stand up to any sort of scrutiny.