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Great thread.
I am reading in an attempt to overcome my fear of flying.
I rountinely fly a 2 propreller regional plane, a Beechcraft I think, and find it be scary.

Maybe you all can help answer a question from a recent flight?

We were approaching the landing. Maybe about 15 minutes out. Clear skies, no turbulence. Out of nowhere, we make a sudden, sharp dive. The plane makes an alarm like noise when the proprellers start up. Well, it made that noise in the air during the dive. Felt like a five minute dive, but was probably only a few seconds. Rest of the flight was routine.

Any ideas on what it was? I think someone said the pilot told her it was wake or wash from a big jet.

Is there an aviation section I can post this in? Thanks.

The best advice I can give to overcome the fear of flying is to take flight lessons. Understanding what's going on with the airplane can go a long way towards eradicating your fear. Go to your local small airport and ask for a discovery or intro flight and explain that you're a little anxious about flying in general. If the weather's good that day, they'll likely take you up right then and there. If not, they'll probably schedule you for a calm day. Total cost shouldn't be more than $50-75 depending on where you are.

Can't say for certain based upon your description whether the incident you experienced in the Beechcraft was wake turbulence from a big jet, but if that's what the pilot said, it's certainly possible. Most planes carrying passengers follow specific published routes that are controlled by Air Traffic Control, so your plane could have been behind a 747 that flew the exact route a few minutes earlier. Here's an FAA brochure on the subject.

It's unsettling, and I'm not going to say that the pilots of your plane weren't white-knuckled on their controls, but unless you're close to the ground or above/below certain speeds, it's usually recoverable.