More time on instrument flight, or more time on avoidance tactics?
...without pitot heat.
It's (weirdly) the opposite for me: I find the foggles or hood very disconcerting, and what I can still see in my peripheral distracting. Pure IMC (zero viz) helps me concentrate on my scan. I was lucky to have 400+1sm weather on my first IFR flight test in 2003, so I didn't have to wear the stupid thing when I went up with the examiner.
It's also true that when you're in solid IMC continually, it's more likely to be stratoform clouds and smooth air, while when you're in and out of IMC frequently, it's more likely to be cumuloform clouds and bumpy air, making control more of a challenge (lots of exceptions, of course).
I have no experience with using synthetic vision seriously, but I would think you don't want to use your ipad when you are VFR into IMC if it is at all avoidable. Your first source of information should be the plane's instruments or primary flight display. If your attitude indicator is functioning, it becomes your windshield. Looking down at an ipad on your lap is just going to confuse you further since you aren't looking in the direction you are moving. Also, every time you pick your head up to look at something else, you will shake up your ears and induce further disorientation (part of instruments training is learning to turn your head slowly whenever visibility is restricted). If you have the ipad on the yoke or otherwise right in front of you, that's not as bad, but you should still rely on the plane unless you are having problems with airplane instruments (such as no vacuum). If you are using backup AHRS on the ipad with synthetic vision, you'll need to calibrate it either before the flight (which you'd have to remember to do even though you were planning on a VFR flight) or while in flight (added difficulty during an emergency). I am not a fan of the plan, but the ipad is still a valid piece of emergency backup gear if you have a STRATUS 3 or other backup AHRS device.
It's sometimes possible for you to be in solid IMC and the nearby VFR traffic in VMC.
Once you are trained and IFR current, it's worth noting that there's a big difference between fixed gear and retractable planes. Slicks will get into a spiral very fast, while on (most?) fixed-gear planes, the gear acts as a partial speed brake past the yellow arc and makes the plane somewhat spiral-resistant without active pilot input (e.g. pulling up and tightening the spiral, which you might still do if you're disoriented).
it would be interesting to see how things would’ve turned out if AOPA/ASF hadn’t abandoned the results of that study instead of focusing on scare tactics based on the “before” portion. I think the technique taught there is much less perishable, and therefore would do more to reduce loss of control in IMC, than the current method of pretending that you can be an instrument pilot in three easy lessons.
