Personally, I don't think that flying the -8 is that demanding. As you said in your post, and I totally agree, every a/c has its own "gotchas" if you aren't paying attention: pod strikes and tail strikes are 2 biggies. As long as you are thinking about them, you lessen your chance of an incident.
Complacency - it can even happen in the semi-"automated" -8!
