PLT BECAME DISORIENTED IN IMC WHEN HE TRIED TO PROGRAM HIS GPS AND LOST CTL OF THE ACFT; TUMBLING THE GYROS. WITH THE AID OF ATC; HE DIVERTED TO A SUITABLE ARPT AND LANDED SAFELY.

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ON THE MORNING OF OCT/MON/06; AS PART OF MY WORK; I HAD FLOWN FROM HYS TO TQK. WX AT TQK WAS IMC WITH APPROX 600 FT BROKEN; 1100 FT OVCST; 3-5 MI VISIBILITY. ENRTE AND APCH WERE UNEVENTFUL AND FLOWN WITHOUT AUTOPLT AS ON PREVIOUS FLTS IT HAD NOT BEEN WORKING PROPERLY. A GPS APCH TO RWY 35 WAS FLOWN SUCCESSFULLY. WX FOR THE RETURN FLT WAS RPTED AT TQK AS 600-700 FT BROKEN; 1100 FT OVCST AND 4 MI VISIBILITY. WX AT THE DEST (HYS) WAS RPTED 4000 FT OVCST WITH 10 MI VISIBILITY. ESTIMATED FLT TIME FOR THE TRIP WAS 35 MINS. I DEPARTED TQK ON AN IFR FLT PLAN; CONTACTED ZDV AND WAS HANDED OVER TO ZKC. THE FLT PROCEEDED UNEVENTFULLY IN IMC AT 7000 FT MSL NEBOUND. ZKC ASKED FOR MY PREFERRED APCH AND I REQUESTED THE ILS TO RWY 34 AT HYS. BTWN 30-35 MI OUT THE CTLR BEGAN VECTORING ME TO THE LOC. I HAD LOADED THE APCH INTO THE GPS AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO LOAD 'DIRECT TO' THE FIX WHEN THE ACFT ENTERED AN UNUSUAL ATTITUDE. AS I ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT THE SITUATION I BELIEVE I BECAME MORE AND MORE DISORIENTED. I NOTIFIED CTR THAT I WAS HAVING TROUBLE CTLING THE ACFT. AFTER SOME HARROWING MOMENTS WITH SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ALT; I WAS ABLE TO REGAIN STRAIGHT AND LEVEL FLT. I CONTINUED TO BE DISORIENTED. CTR INDICATED THAT I WAS WBOUND. IT APPEARED THAT MY HSI HAD BECOME UNUSABLE. CTR INDICATED THAT I WAS FLYING IN CIRCLES. CTR THEN PUT A CTLR ONE ON ONE WITH ME. USING ONLY THE MAGNETIC COMPASS FOR NAV THE CTLR GAVE ME VECTORS TO MY ALTERNATE; GREAT BEND (GBD). THE WX ACCORDING TO CTR WAS BETTER AT GBD. WITH THE HELP OF THE CTLR I WAS ABLE TO NAV TO AND LAND SUCCESSFULLY AT GBD. I BELIEVE THAT DISTR WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PROGRAM THE GPS LED TO UNUSUAL ATTITUDES AND LOSS OF CTL OF THE ACFT. SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF THE HSI AND IMC CONDITIONS LED TO FURTHER DISORIENTATION. SINGLE PLT IFR CAN BE DIFFICULT WITH MULTIPLE TASKS TO BE PERFORMED. I FEEL THAT IF I WOULD HAVE HAD A TRUSTWORTHY AUTOPLT AND HAD IT ENGAGED THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN INTO THE SITUATION THAT I DID. IN THE FUTURE I DO NOT PLAN TO FLY SINGLE PLT IFR WITHOUT A FULLY FUNCTIONAL AUTOPLT ON BOARD. I AM EXTREMELY THANKFUL FOR THE GOOD PEOPLE AT ZKC; WHOSE EXPERTISE AND PROFESSIONALISM HELPED ME OUT OF A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION.