Electronic horizon?

I, once, had to do a real descent thru the clouds after being trapped
on top while wave flying. At the time I had no instrument training and
had to come up with a plan of action on very short notice. I selected a
westerly heading since there would be no turning error on the compass.
I lowered the gear and pulled the dive brakes and flew at a high speed
to maximize descent rate. I reasoned that if the compass isn't changing
you aren't turning. I ended up descending 7000 ft thru the clouds with
the wings perfectly level on exit.

The only thing I would do differently would be to fly at a slower
speed.

I have tried the benign spiral trick with no luck (for those unfamiliar
with this you lower the landing gear, set landing flap position if you
are flapped, and take your hands off the controls).

Also, I read the accident report sited by Stephan and found no possible
connection to the T&B mentioned earlier. The report mentions the
differences between Russian and Western AI, not the pilot confusing a
T&B for an AI. I see no possibility for confusion for a glider pilot
who has this as his only inertial instrument.

Tom