OK but the vacuum gyro in said raggedy-ass 172 needs setting against something as part of the checklist (and quite possibly in flight), which today is the magnetic compass.

Yeah, but this is really only applicable to VFR-only airplanes (mostly trainers). I doubt there are many people really traveling in airplanes without any sort of precision nav equipment.

Practically, it doesn't matter which direction the gyro points as long as you are receiving a VOR signal or GPS signal on a VFR flight.

And yeah, a lot in flight. By definition those gyros are gonna be old, and they cost more to overhaul than they're worth so people who are too cheap to go buy an electronic replacement replace used for used off of eBay or the local radio shop's junk shelf. They're not gonna be reliable, at all.

But, for VFR purposes it doesn't matter and for IFR purposes you shouldn't be flying such an airplane with such equipment IFR anyway, so...

Right. And then you'd have to apply a correction (which might change a tiny bit over several hundreds of miles flown, or over the years).

But no need to change anything in the aircraft, as far as I can tell. Just planning and procedures.

Great, C172 counts as "more expensive" option here, training will go on raggedy ass C150 recovered from a crash, be happy if you get turn indicator.

That in the US?

Here in Europe both are needed to be kept to pretty high standards. You can do basically nothing yourself anymore.

No, in Europe.

There's surprising amount of what is actually allowed and what is believed to be allowed often doesn't match :)

Most GA planes in Poland would be VFR only, I bet.

They just said "a lot of". There are a lot of pre-1950 planes out there flying without a 6 pack to be heard of. Good ole stick and rudder flying. No gyro instruments needed... just altimeter, airspeed, tach, fuel, and the horizon.

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