I found Garmin 196's panel page good enough for emergency flying. I
tried it once in IMC (with all my panel working, of course!) and it
seems to work pretty well. The most important instrument I think,
during straight and level or shallow turns, is a good heading
reference. GPS gives you that. (Yes I know it's not exactly heading
but a ground track) 196 also gives a GPS derived turn rate indicator
that looks like a TC. It has a little lag but it doesn't lag any more
than the T&B. Combined with the GPS heading reference it's good enough
to keep the wings level and on an accurate heading.

Flying the 196's panel page is a lot easier than partial panel with a
turn needle and a wet compass, I can at least tell you that! If I ever
lose all my panel I won't sweat shooting an approach with it if that's
the only option I have.

I leave my 196 on the panel page everytime I'm in IMC.

Ron Garret wrote:
Howdy,

I fly a Cirrus SR22, an all-electric plane. It has dual-redundant
power
busses, which makes total electrical failure unlikely, but if it does

happen in IMC it can really ruin your day, so I'm thinking about a
backup plan. Obviously a portable GPS and Comm unit are first on the

priority list, but I'd also like to get a portable AI, since it's
really
hard to keep the wings level with just a GPS. Most of the portable
AIs
seem to be part of a complete EFB solution about which I know very
little, but as long as I'm heading in that direction anyway I thought

I'd ask if anyone had any experience or recommendations in this
direction. I want to optimize for portability first. This is just a

backup plan, so I don't want to shlep around a lot of extra weight
that
I'm likely never going to use. Beyond that I'm curious about two
things: 1) what's the cheapest portable AI solution out there, and
2)
what can I get that's still portable if price is no object. XM
weather?
Portable stormscope? Electronic approach plates? The kitchen sink?
(I
suppose a portable autopilot is too much to ask :-)

Thanks,
rg