bagmaker wrote:
pardon my newbie ignorance, but -why not check a compass? If not turning
and still flying, decending safely shouldnt be out of the question.

Compass is almost useless for instrument flying. It will just roll
left to right and back again with serious delays in most cases. If you
can maintain a 1 or 2 minute calm turn than it could help you to find
the desired path but won't tell you if you are turning or not.
Turn and bank indicator, vario, speed indicator, sound. You have to
use all of them simultaneously to keep the glider in the required
position. It's frustrating task... There is huge difference between a
turn with 90 or 110 km/h (VNE?).

/jancsika