Jerrie Mock

Jerrie Mock
Mock on April 17, 1964
Born
Geraldine Lois Fredritz[1]

(1925-11-22)November 22, 1925
Newark, Ohio, U.S.
DiedSeptember 30, 2014(2014-09-30) (aged 88)
Quincy, Florida, U.S.
OccupationAviator
SpouseRussell Mock
ChildrenValerie Armentrout, Gary Mock, Roger Mock

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock (November 22, 1925 – September 30, 2014) was an American pilot and the first woman to fly solo around the world.[2] She flew a single engine Cessna 180 (registered N1538C) christened the Spirit of Columbus and nicknamed "Charlie."[3][4] The trip began March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio.[5] It took 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes,[2] with 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles (36,790 km).[6] The flight was part of a "race" that developed between Jerrie Mock and Joan Merriam Smith who had flown from a field near San Francisco, CA on March 17, 1964; Smith's departure date and flight path was the same as the aviator Amelia Earhart's last flight.[7] Although they were not in direct competition with each other, media coverage soon began tracking the progress of each pilot, fascinated with who would complete the journey first. Mock was the first to finish. The story of this race is told in a book written by Taylor Phillips entitled, Queen of the Clouds; Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock's Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World (2023). Jerrie Mock was subsequently awarded the Louis Blériot medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1965. In 1970 she published the story of her round-the-world flight in the book Three-Eight Charlie.[8] While that book is now out of print, a 50th anniversary edition was later published including maps, weather charts and photos.[8] Three-Eight Charlie is a reference to the call sign, N1538C, of the Cessna 180 Skywagon Mock used to fly around the world.[3] Before her death, Mock, mother of three children, resided in Quincy, Florida; northwest of the state capital, Tallahassee.[9]

  1. ^ Weber, Bruce (October 4, 2014). "Jerrie Mock, First Solo Female Pilot to Circumnavigate the Globe, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Cheng, Lucia (August 12, 2022). "Who Was the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World?". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Narciso, Dean (September 13, 2013). "Trailblazing woman pilot honored in bronze in Newark". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  4. ^ Buchanan, Paul D. (September 15, 2009). American Women's Rights Movement: A Chronology of Events and of Opportunities from 1600 to 2008. Branden Books. pp. 183–. ISBN 978-0-8283-2160-0. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
  5. ^ "Women Aviators". Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  6. ^ Mock, Jerrie (1970) Three-Eight Charlie. Philadelphia, Lippincott. OCLC 97976
  7. ^ "How An Ohio Housewife Flew Around The World, Made History, And Was Then Forgotten". BuzzFeed. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Three-Eight Charlie". Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  9. ^ Durden, Rick (October 1, 2014). "Jerrie Mock Goes West". AVweb. Retrieved October 15, 2014.