RE: Turbulence, I read somewhere that the plane is build to handle something like 7x the amount of turbulence that has ever been recorded in flight.

As far as overcoming the fear of it, I just make a game out of it by holding up my drink and seeing if I can make it all the way through the turbulence without spilling a drop (I make sure it's as full as possible at the start . . . it's fun!)

Also, hypnosis really helps fear of flying / turbulence. There are mp3's you can listen to that are real relaxing and make flying a lot smoother. My favorites are at Downloads For Change. Better audio quality than most.

Hope that helps, and happy flying! See you up there.