C J Campbell wrote:
This comes very close to the category of a non-critical emergency,
defined
as an emergency where, no matter what you do, you are going to die.

That's a hell of a defeatist attitude, and demonstrably wrong since
people HAVE survived exactly this situation.

I would hate to have to rely on a handheld GPS in such an emergency,
though
of course it would be welcome as better than nothing.

Actually, it is DRAMATICALLY better than nothing. It is more accurate,
more precise, and more reliable than any NDB and most VOR's. It can
effectively be used to shoot an overlay of any published NDB, VOR, or
VOR-DME approach to published minima. Being self-contained with its
own batteries, it is independent of the failure modes of the aircraft
(including the electrical bus) and thus is superior as a navigation
backup to anything installed in any certified single or light twin.

The ability to shoot an overlay using a handheld GPS should be part of
the repertoire of any instrument pilot. If you don't know how, ask
your instructor to show you. If he can't, he's not much of an
instructor.

Newer single engine aircraft with glass cockpits have backup
instruments and
some sort of backup electrical system, even if it is only certified
for 30
minutes.

That's because they lack vacuum, and thus in such aircraft electrical
failure also means gyro failure. I find that pretty scary. Vacuum may
suck, but at least it's a totally independent system. There are ways
of making electric backup systems truly independent and failsafe, but
none are available for certified single engine airplanes.

They also have terrain displays so that you have at least a small
chance of descending out of the clouds without killing yourself.

Terrain displays are available on the newer high-end handheld GPS
units.

Beyond that, I
would say that you are taking a serious risk if you insist on flying
a
single engine piston airplane in actual IMC beyond, say, punching
through a
thin layer.

That must be why self-flown business flights, which do this routinely,
are so much more dangerous than personal flights, which rarely do this.
Oh, wait...

Michael