I had a real no-kidding gyro failure a few weeks ago. It was mostly VMC, but
my student was under the hood. She was off her heading by more than 90
degrees within a few seconds, the gyro having precessed that much before she
noticed it. Once she started using the compass, though, she was able to
follow the localizer very well. She also covered the failed instruments,
just as I had taught her. I was so proud...

Anyway, I think that an accurate compass might just be real handy someday.
The attitude of "just a backup" concerns me. It sounds like this pilot
thinks things never go wrong.