There was a time when I would have flown anything, anywhere, anytime. There was a time when the thought of *not* wanting to fly was simply inconceivable, preposterous! But that time has passed. I know more now, maybe too much...too much about our mortality and the things that can go wrong with our fragile machines.
Like SASless, I too know many more people who've died in horrible aircraft accidents than autos. That's probably because I've associated with aviators all my life so the odds are simply higher. But that may not mean anything; we all drive cars, don't we?
I don't get consciously nervous when flying, but I certainly am more aware of the risks. It's hard not to- I mean, I know all of the dumb mistakes I've made in the past while accepting that I am absolutely capable of making every one of them again.
All emotional/psychological stuff aside (conscious and sub-) and statistics be damned, at this stage I'm just more "less enthusiastic" about jumping in the plane and blasting off than I used to be. Now I don't fly a helicopter unless I have to. If someone else/younger is available to take the flight, I let them especially if it's an Ops Check or test flight. Scared? Nah. More cautious? Yeah. I'm a firm believer that God will call me when He's ready. But neither will He prevent me from doing that which speeds up our meeting. (I had a bad fall not long ago in which I *should* have died but didn't even get hurt. Luck? "Not my time?" Providence? Beats me. But I do not assume for one second that I could throw myself off that ledge a second time and land with no injury.)
Let the young invincibles blast off into the wild-blue with no fear. Us old guys know pain on a first name basis and aren't real crazy about experiencing it again. The aggravating part is that we know we'll have to sooner or later.