Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock "First woman to fly solo entirely round-the-world."
Jerrie Mock was the manager of Colombus Airport in Ohio. She had married Russell Mock in 1945
and had three children. In 1962 she complained to her husband of having nothing interesting to occupy
her and expressed her wish to fly somewhere. Almost as a joke, Russell replied, "Why don't you fly
round-the-world?" Jerrie took him at his word, and after studying an atlas, she commenced to plan a
flight round-the-world. With only 500 flying hours at this time, she continued to earn her
Instrument Rating so she could fly in all weather conditions (Instrument Flight Rules-IFR). By the
time she was ready, she had logged 750 hours.
Russell Mock and his friend, Al Baumeister purchased a Cessna-180 and named it the "Spirit of
Columbus." They added two custom ferry fuel tanks inside the cabin and outfitted the cabin with
personal equipment and survival gear. With on-board fuel of 178 gallons, she could fly 25 hours with
a range of 2,400 miles.
On March 19, 1964, Mock departed from Columbus on her history-making solo flight. 29D 11H 59M
later, she arrived back to Columbus on April 17, 1964, after flying 23,103 miles round-the-world.
With this she became the "First woman to fly solo entirely round-the-world."
Jerrie's flight was monitored by the National Aeronautic Association and the Federation
Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) which certified it as a round-the-world speed record for aircraft
weighing less than 3,858 pounds. On May 4, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Jerrie with the
Federal Aviation Administration's Exceptional Service Decoration.
Itinerary:
Departed Columbus, OH 03/19/64
Bermuda
Santa Maria, Azores 03/28/64
Casablanca, Morocco
Boone, Algeria
Tripoli, Lybia 04/01/64
Inshaas, Egypt
Cairo, Egypt
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 04/03/64
Karachi, Pakistan
Delhi, India
Calcutta, India 04/06/64
Bangkok, Thailand
Manila, Philippinnes
Guam 04/11/64
Wake
Honolulu, HI 04/13/64
Oakland, CA
Tucson, AZ
El Paso, TX
Bowling Green, KY
Arrived Columbus, OH 04/17/64
Arrival statement: "I did it to give confidence to the little pilot, who is being left in the
jetstream of the space age."
