Narrative:

I was going to fly right seat with an instrument rated friend/student down and I was going to fly it back. We were in a well equipped C205 with a thorough annual completed a few weeks ago.arrived early; ceilings lowering quickly as lines of widely spread thunderstorms crawled through the area. We had xm and storm scope on board; so we'd have updated information; even though I did a thorough weather brief; and figured we'd be in front of the line as long as we were airborne early. Preflight; load up; call several times for clearance; and finally get through. Release time 20 minutes later then hoped for -- ok. Startup; taxi down; run-up; everything good -- hmmmmm -- xm still shows; 'waiting for data.'we launched and within a minute are in IMC; and despite winds in the 20s; it's not too rough. Still; the left seater isn't doing a very good job keeping wings level. I point to the attitude indicator; we roll through level and then head the other way. Such is learning -- I'll only interfere if bank exceeds 15 or so. I try calling center -- nothing. Try again. We're at 3;500; were cleared to 5;000; but should have contact by now. Approach? Nothing. Tower? Nothing.lots of bright lights on the storm scope; we need to deviate soon. The closest strike is within 25 miles. Try again. I reach for the landing lights; switch them on then off. Ammeter needle goes back to center slowly. We're in a 30 degree bank. 'Let's turn on the autopilot while I figure out this communication problem...''ok...' relief; wings level.fiddle with radios; try different frequencies -- nothing. Not a peep; very strange. I look at the attitude indicator -- 30 degree bank! I switched off the autopilot; grabbed the yoke; tried to figure out why the autopilot is freaking out; didn't correct the bank; and then heard the voice in my head -- 'fly the airplane! Oh yeah...wings level; descent arrested; now where are we? I switch off the transponder; secondary communications; and all lights. Panel 430 is still working; so is handheld. 'Set up direct nearest airport in the handheld.' my now co-pilot complies. I dial in the localizer approach into a nearby airport. We have no radio reception; but the overlay will provide enough guidance to get us down under this cloud. Terrain nearby reaches 3;000 -- I'm at 3;500. I climbed to 4;000; then fly direct to the IAF. The little airplane shows up on the magenta line. We're on battery power only and the hand held has the same approach setup. I do the full procedure turn; descending to the approach altitude we were established; but not on any needle -- no signal. All we have is the GPS 'guidance.' so be it. We break out at 2;100 MSL -- a few hundred feet above minimums. Thank you lord for [that] sight; I fly a left downwind; 'you want to land it?' 'no; you take it.' I land a bit fast and long but smoothly in the gusty 20+ knot wind. I let him taxi back because I had enough. Once stopped; I hopped out and called ATC to cancel.' yeah; we were wondering what happened...'lessons learned? Make sure you can hear some transmissions before taking off into IMC. Sure; we were on a quiet little field early in the morning; but other ATIS would have been broadcast at that time (even if ours was out of service). The autopilot cannot be relied on to reduce pilot load when there are system problems. A handheld GPS device with independent battery and approaches is a lifesaver. Practice emergencies. They don't happen when you expect them; and are more likely when you don't expect it. The time to panic is after you're on the ground; pushing the airplane back in. This stuff is for keeps.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Two inexperienced instrument rated pilots aboard a C205 encounter almost more than they can handle when they lose electrical power while in IMC and not in contact with ATC.

Narrative: I was going to fly right seat with an instrument rated friend/student down and I was going to fly it back. We were in a well equipped C205 with a thorough annual completed a few weeks ago.Arrived early; ceilings lowering quickly as lines of widely spread thunderstorms crawled through the area. We had XM and Storm Scope on board; so we'd have updated information; even though I did a thorough weather brief; and figured we'd be in front of the line as long as we were airborne early. Preflight; load up; call several times for Clearance; and finally get through. Release time 20 minutes later then hoped for -- OK. Startup; taxi down; run-up; everything good -- hmmmmm -- XM still shows; 'Waiting for data.'We launched and within a minute are in IMC; and despite winds in the 20s; it's not too rough. Still; the left seater isn't doing a very good job keeping wings level. I point to the attitude indicator; we roll through level and then head the other way. Such is learning -- I'll only interfere if bank exceeds 15 or so. I try calling Center -- nothing. Try again. We're at 3;500; were cleared to 5;000; but should have contact by now. Approach? Nothing. Tower? Nothing.Lots of bright lights on the Storm Scope; we need to deviate soon. The closest strike is within 25 miles. Try again. I reach for the landing lights; switch them on then off. Ammeter needle goes back to center slowly. We're in a 30 degree bank. 'Let's turn on the autopilot while I figure out this communication problem...''OK...' relief; wings level.Fiddle with radios; try different frequencies -- nothing. Not a peep; very strange. I look at the attitude indicator -- 30 degree bank! I switched off the autopilot; grabbed the yoke; tried to figure out why the autopilot is freaking out; didn't correct the bank; and then heard the voice in my head -- 'FLY THE AIRPLANE! Oh yeah...wings level; descent arrested; now where are we? I switch off the transponder; secondary communications; and all lights. Panel 430 is still working; so is handheld. 'Set up Direct nearest airport in the handheld.' My now co-pilot complies. I dial in the localizer approach into a nearby airport. We have no radio reception; but the overlay will provide enough guidance to get us down under this cloud. Terrain nearby reaches 3;000 -- I'm at 3;500. I climbed to 4;000; then fly direct to the IAF. The little airplane shows up on the magenta line. We're on battery power only and the hand held has the same approach setup. I do the full procedure turn; descending to the approach altitude we were established; but not on any needle -- no signal. All we have is the GPS 'guidance.' So be it. We break out at 2;100 MSL -- a few hundred feet above minimums. Thank you Lord for [that] sight; I fly a left downwind; 'You want to land it?' 'No; you take it.' I land a bit fast and long but smoothly in the gusty 20+ knot wind. I let him taxi back because I had enough. Once stopped; I hopped out and called ATC to cancel.' Yeah; we were wondering what happened...'Lessons learned? Make sure you can hear some transmissions before taking off into IMC. Sure; we were on a quiet little field early in the morning; but other ATIS would have been broadcast at that time (even if ours was out of service). The autopilot cannot be relied on to reduce pilot load when there are system problems. A handheld GPS device with independent battery and approaches is a lifesaver. Practice emergencies. They don't happen when you expect them; and are more likely when you don't expect it. The time to panic is after you're on the ground; pushing the airplane back in. This stuff is for keeps.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.