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| Jerrie Mock obituary | Jerrie Mock obituary |
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| Spirit of Columbus was a high-wing, single-engined 170mph Cessna 180, the kind of aircraft which in the 1960s was – and still is – the staple of private flying clubs around the western world. In 1964 it was already 11 years old and its pilot, Jerrie Mock, appeared to conform to conservative stereotypes of the era, as an affluent, white, middle-class American woman, just over seven stone, and 5ft tall. She even called herself "the flying housewife". She would have preferred to fly in slacks, she said, but thought the public expected her to wear a skirt. She kicked off her high heels once airborne. | |
| But on 19 March that year, Mock set about shattering the stereotypes and establishing herself in aviation history. Just after 9.30 in the morning, she took off from Port Columbus, Ohio, in Spirit of Columbus, known to her as Three Eight Charlie, or just plain Charlie, after her radio call sign 1538 Charlie. Twenty-nine days later, on 17 April, she was back in Columbus, having flown 23,000 miles, made 21 landings, and become the first woman to fly solo around the globe. | But on 19 March that year, Mock set about shattering the stereotypes and establishing herself in aviation history. Just after 9.30 in the morning, she took off from Port Columbus, Ohio, in Spirit of Columbus, known to her as Three Eight Charlie, or just plain Charlie, after her radio call sign 1538 Charlie. Twenty-nine days later, on 17 April, she was back in Columbus, having flown 23,000 miles, made 21 landings, and become the first woman to fly solo around the globe. |
| Until that epic, Jerrie, who has died aged 88, had never flown over water. Her journey had taken her out to the Azores, on to Casablanca in Morocco, and Bône (now Annaba) in Algeria. In Cairo she accidentally landed at a military airfield; in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, her plane was searched to find the man assumed to be the pilot – and she was applauded when the male onlookers realised she was the lone aviator. By 5 April Mock had arrived in New Delhi, and nine days later she was in Hawaii, setting out on the last Pacific leg, on to Oakland, California. On the way, she had encountered dud radios, severe icing-up, defective brakes and a malfunctioning engine. | Until that epic, Jerrie, who has died aged 88, had never flown over water. Her journey had taken her out to the Azores, on to Casablanca in Morocco, and Bône (now Annaba) in Algeria. In Cairo she accidentally landed at a military airfield; in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, her plane was searched to find the man assumed to be the pilot – and she was applauded when the male onlookers realised she was the lone aviator. By 5 April Mock had arrived in New Delhi, and nine days later she was in Hawaii, setting out on the last Pacific leg, on to Oakland, California. On the way, she had encountered dud radios, severe icing-up, defective brakes and a malfunctioning engine. |
| Mock had also outpaced a rival for the record, Joan Merriam Smith, who had set out to circumnavigate the globe in a twin-engined Piper Apache from Oakland, following the route fatally pioneered in 1937 by Amelia Earhart. Both women had drawn inspiration from Earhart, an interwar American heroine and in 1932 the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, who had disappeared over the Pacific in 1937 while attempting a round-the-world flight. | Mock had also outpaced a rival for the record, Joan Merriam Smith, who had set out to circumnavigate the globe in a twin-engined Piper Apache from Oakland, following the route fatally pioneered in 1937 by Amelia Earhart. Both women had drawn inspiration from Earhart, an interwar American heroine and in 1932 the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, who had disappeared over the Pacific in 1937 while attempting a round-the-world flight. |
| Earhart had been a rarity as a female aviator. So, in 1960, were Mock and Smith, two of 12,471 women in the United States then licensed to fly. By the end of the decade, the numbers were close to 30,000, a growth which was part of a generational transformation. The equal pay and civil rights acts affected women in aviation, as did the foundation, 14 months after Mock's flight, of the National Organisation of Women. "I was never going to abide by manmade laws that said women couldn't do something," Mock told Jim Massie of the Columbus Dispatch in 1994. "I guess I was a women's libber before it was popular. I knew one thing: I wanted to see the world." | Earhart had been a rarity as a female aviator. So, in 1960, were Mock and Smith, two of 12,471 women in the United States then licensed to fly. By the end of the decade, the numbers were close to 30,000, a growth which was part of a generational transformation. The equal pay and civil rights acts affected women in aviation, as did the foundation, 14 months after Mock's flight, of the National Organisation of Women. "I was never going to abide by manmade laws that said women couldn't do something," Mock told Jim Massie of the Columbus Dispatch in 1994. "I guess I was a women's libber before it was popular. I knew one thing: I wanted to see the world." |
| Daughter of Blanche (nee Wright) and Timothy Fredritz, she was born in Newark, Ohio, and educated at Newark high school. Having flown for the first time in 1930 with her father, in the cockpit of a Ford Trimotor transport, she was the only girl at her school taking an engineering course, just as she was, in 1943, the only woman enrolled for an aeronautical engineering degree at Ohio State University. Two years later she left to marry Russell Mock, a pilot and sometime advertising executive. | Daughter of Blanche (nee Wright) and Timothy Fredritz, she was born in Newark, Ohio, and educated at Newark high school. Having flown for the first time in 1930 with her father, in the cockpit of a Ford Trimotor transport, she was the only girl at her school taking an engineering course, just as she was, in 1943, the only woman enrolled for an aeronautical engineering degree at Ohio State University. Two years later she left to marry Russell Mock, a pilot and sometime advertising executive. |
| In 1956 she began flying lessons, qualifying in 1958. By 1962 she was meticulously planning her record-breaking journey– which would receive official sanction from the US National Aeronautic Association – and accumulating 750 hours of flying time. Her husband threw himself into fundraising, and preparing the aircraft for the flight. | In 1956 she began flying lessons, qualifying in 1958. By 1962 she was meticulously planning her record-breaking journey– which would receive official sanction from the US National Aeronautic Association – and accumulating 750 hours of flying time. Her husband threw himself into fundraising, and preparing the aircraft for the flight. |
| In Spirit of Columbus, Mock set seven records. She was the first woman to fly solo around the world, the first woman to fly across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the first woman to do so in a single engined-plane, the first woman to fly the Atlantic from the US to Africa, and the first woman to fly the Pacific west to east. She set the female speed record for round-the-world, and established the speed record in a Type C1-c aircraft (that is, one weighing less than 1,626kg). | In Spirit of Columbus, Mock set seven records. She was the first woman to fly solo around the world, the first woman to fly across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the first woman to do so in a single engined-plane, the first woman to fly the Atlantic from the US to Africa, and the first woman to fly the Pacific west to east. She set the female speed record for round-the-world, and established the speed record in a Type C1-c aircraft (that is, one weighing less than 1,626kg). |
| On 4 May 1964, the US president, Lyndon Johnson, presented her with the Federal Aviation Administration's Exceptional Service Decoration, and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale awarded her its Louis Blériot silver medal, making her the first American and first woman so honoured. The Spirit of Columbus was later donated to the US National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, DC, where it remains. | On 4 May 1964, the US president, Lyndon Johnson, presented her with the Federal Aviation Administration's Exceptional Service Decoration, and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale awarded her its Louis Blériot silver medal, making her the first American and first woman so honoured. The Spirit of Columbus was later donated to the US National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, DC, where it remains. |
| More records came later, in a Cessna P106, including eight fastest speed records on recognised courses, including Columbus to San Juan and Oakland to Honolulu. But by the end of the 1960s, flying had become too expensive. Mock wrote Three Eight Charlie (1970) about her round-the-world flight, and later retired to Quincy, Florida. | More records came later, in a Cessna P106, including eight fastest speed records on recognised courses, including Columbus to San Juan and Oakland to Honolulu. But by the end of the 1960s, flying had become too expensive. Mock wrote Three Eight Charlie (1970) about her round-the-world flight, and later retired to Quincy, Florida. |
| Mock's marriage ended in divorce. She was predeceased by two sons, Gary and Roger. She is survived by her daughter, Valerie, 12 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren, and a younger sister, Susan. | Mock's marriage ended in divorce. She was predeceased by two sons, Gary and Roger. She is survived by her daughter, Valerie, 12 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren, and a younger sister, Susan. |
| • Geraldine Lois Fredritz Mock, aviator, born 22 November 1925; died 30 September 2014 | • Geraldine Lois Fredritz Mock, aviator, born 22 November 1925; died 30 September 2014 |