I myself have trouble with the saliva problem, so I can't answer that.

For the second question, I think my first long LD was my third(a WILD)(first 2 were DILD). It was about maybe 7 minutes. Which is my longest so far. But I'm always far from calm while LD'ing. Always super exciting for me to realize I'm dreaming.

Edit: Oh yeah, in the WILD I tried to fly but failed. Still fun though.