Actually, I learned IFR procedure by flying with my CFII for many, many hours “under the hood.” And he’d place circular rubber covers (they had suction cups on them… I think Rubbermaid?) over all the vacuum gauges or all the gyro instruments to simulate systems failure. Then, he’d have me take my hands and feet off the controls, put the airplane into an “unusual attitude” and have me fly out of it.
I guess that’s what you mean by “strict training regimen” eh?
