6 days after getting my IFR ticket I was on a cross country flight and flew through some unfriendly clouds. I feel that this is the kind of thing you can only learn by experiencing it.

Would you consider this severe?

Thankfully my autopilot (GFC 700) held, although I was totally going through plans in my head.

In the brown - power down. Wings level. Pitch up.

In the blue - power through. Pitch down. Wings level.

I love my Diamond DA40 NG