I had a similar experience. I used to get somewhat anxious about flying because I'd had a bad experience in a Cessna 152 when I was a teenager. I overcame tha

I had a similar experience. I used to get somewhat anxious about flying because I'd had a bad experience in a Cessna 152 when I was a teenager. I overcame that in my late 20s by playing a lot of MS Flight Simulator, and then actually going out and getting my pilot's license. My first demo flight in a real plane, the flight instructor told me to do the takeoff. My hand was literally shaking as I advanced the throttle (this was in a Piper Cherokee). I don't think I even got us to full power, but it was enough for us to take off. Then we just buzzed around the Santa Cruz mountains (in the Silicon Valley) and I was pretty hooked after that. I don't even get fazed by big jolts on turbulence any more.