That article is great, Mike. Rings a few bells. I used to to get uncomfortable by two different scenarios:
High Altitude.
I'm very afraid of heights, but funnily enough not when I'm flying - or at least that's what I thought then. Turned out I didn't like to fly high for maybe the first 200hrs hours in the new aircraft. It had nothing to do with the altitude per se, just the distance to the ground and the fact that it was just, well, so visible below me in that high wing. This meant I rarely cruised much higher than 5000ft unless the terrain demanded it. But just as quickly as it came, it went away. And I don't know why. Maybe it was a few long cross countries over high terrain that cured it. Today I regularly cruise at 9500-12.500ft with no problems. It's strange how the brain works.
Catastrophic Failure.
This was a big one for a long time on the new (old) aircraft. I just couldn't help to question, especially in heavy turbulence, the integrity of my 60 year old main spar. Sure, they do inspections every year at the annual, but really, chances of them finding a hidden crack or corroded patch is pretty slim - how could I know it hadn't been overstressed or damaged before? Two things helped cure me of this - one was a salvage/breakup of another 520 (that I bought some parts off) where they'd chopped the wings off. I could see how very sturdy and oversized the main spar was. It was a massive I-beam. The second was an Eddy current and dye penetrant main spar inspection on my own aircraft. This gave me the confidence back to fully trust the wing design and as soon as that the anxiety went away.
Last edited by AdamFrisch; 25th April 2013 at 14:49.