I started flying too late to desensitize myself to the experience. My first flight, at age 25, traumatized me pretty badly. I didn't know what to expect and every sound, every jostle, terrified me. I developed a dread of flying.

Here's what worked for me: Keith Godfrey's Scared of Flying website. Keith is a retired commercial pilot who's taken the time to put together an ebook (which I bought) and an entire CD set (also available as a podcast download). There's tons of great information and even a forum where people who are even more freaked out than you post about their terrors and other post-phobics try to calm them down.

After reading the ebook, I was able to handle my first trans-Atlantic flight (Paris, Dec. 2005) and my first transcontinental flight (Pacific Northwest, April 2006). If you're afraid to fly, I highly recommend the website.