Jerrie Mock

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Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock
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Jerrie Mock in 1964
Born (1925-11-22)November 22, 1925
Newark, Ohio
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Quincy, Florida
Occupation aviator, writer
Spouse(s) Russell Mock
Children Valerie Armentrout, Gary Mock, Roger Mock

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock (November 22, 1925 – September 30, 2014) was the first woman to fly solo around the world, which she did in 1964. She flew a single engine Cessna 180 (registered N1538C) christened the "Spirit of Columbus" and nicknamed "Charlie." [1][2] The trip began March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio,[3] and took 29 days, 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles (36,790 km).[4] She 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.[5] While that book is now out of print, a 50th anniversary edition was later published including maps, weather charts and photos.[5] Three-Eight Charlie is a reference to the call sign, N1538C, of the Cessna 180 Skywagon Mock used to fly around the world.[1] Before her death, Mock, mother of three children, resided in Quincy, Florida; northwest of the state capital, Tallahassee.[6]

Early life

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock was born November 22, 1925 in Newark, Ohio.[7] During her childhood, she found that she had more in common with the boys. Her interest for flying was sparked when she was 7 years old when she and her father had the opportunity to fly in the cockpit of a Ford Trimotor airplane. In high school, she took an engineering course of which she was the only girl and decided flying was her passion. She graduated from Newark High School in 1943 and went on to attend Ohio State University.[7] She would leave her studies at OSU behind to wed her husband, Russell Mock in 1945.[8]

Accomplishments and recognition

File:Spirit of Columbus in Udvar-Hazy Center, February 2015.JPG
Jerrie Mock's Spirit of Columbus, a Cessna 180

Official world aviation records: 1964–69

(Sanctioned and accepted by the National Aeronautic Association and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)

1964

  • Speed around the world, Class C1-c
  • Speed around the world, Feminine

1965

  • Speed over a closed course of 500 km, Class C1-b

1966

  • Distance in a straight line, Feminine

1968

  • Distance in a closed course, Class C1-c
  • Distance in a closed course, Feminine
  • Speed over a recognized course

1969

  • Speed over a recognized course

First woman to

  • First woman to fly solo around the world
  • First woman to fly around the world in a single engine plane
  • First woman to fly U.S. – Africa via North Atlantic
  • First woman to fly the Pacific single-engine
  • First woman to fly the Pacific West to East
  • First woman to fly both the Atlantic and Pacific
  • First woman to fly the Pacific both directions

Awards and honors

  • Federal Aviation Agency Gold Medal for Exceptional Service
  • Ohio Governor’s Award
  • Louis Bleriot Silver Medal(World-Wide award of Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)
  • American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Distinguished Service Award
  • Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Award of the Year
  • Experimental Aircraft Association Special Award
  • Ohio Aviation Trades Association Sparky Award
  • Amelia Earhart Memorial Award, 1964
  • Aero Classic Aviation Progress Award, 1965
  • National Aviation Trades Association Pilot-of-the-Year Award, 1964
  • Glenn Hammond Curtiss Silver Medal, Pittsburgh OX-5 Club[9]
  • Milestones in Manned Flight Trophy, Trans World Airlines
  • Wadsworth, Ohio, Aero Club Special Award
  • Kansas 99’s Special Recognition Medallion
  • Special Award of Bexley Civic Association
  • Women’s Aero Association of Wichita Award
  • Award of Appreciation, Licking County (Ohio) Historical Society
  • Columbus Transportation Club Special Award
  • Sports Woman of the Year, Columbus Citizen-Journal, 1969
  • Citation of Wichita, Kansas, Chamber of Commerce
  • September 14, 2013 was declared Jerrie Mock Day by an official proclamation from Newark, Ohio mayor Jeff Hall.[10]

Legacy

A life-size bronze sculpture of Mock, sculpted by Renate Burgyan Fackler, was unveiled in the courtyard of The Works museum in Newark, Ohio on September 14, 2013.[1][10] Mock's younger sister, Susan Reid, modeled for the statue while wearing Mock's knit skirt, sweater, and leather shoes that she had worn on her round-the world flight.[1] According to Wendy Hollinger, the publisher who reissued Mock's book about her flight, Mock did not especially like skirts, but "was in a skirt because she thought it would be socially acceptable, especially in the Middle East." [1]

Mock’s Cessna 180 which she flew around the world, “The Spirit of Columbus,” hangs in the Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia.[1] The Columbus chapter of Women in Aviation, International chose the chapter name Spirit of Columbus because of the name of Mock’s aircraft.[10]

The United States Air Force named a street in honor of Mock at Rickenbacker AFB (presently Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base and Rickenbacker International Airport) in Lockbourne, Ohio (near Columbus).

A plaque bearing Mock's accomplishments can be found in the Tallahassee Regional Airport's Aviation Wall of Fame in Tallahassee, Florida.

Death

Mock was found dead in her home in Quincy, Florida by a relative on September 30, 2014.[11]

See also

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Mock, Jerrie: Three-Eight Charlie, First Edition, 1970. OCLC 97976, ASIN B007T093MK (paperback), ASIN B002KTC39K (hardcover)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • WCOT presentation with Jerrie Mock.

External links

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