2 October 2014
Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world, has passed away aged 88. Dubbed ‘the flying housewife’ by many, Mock flew a single-engine Cessna 180 (N1538C) christened the ‘Spirit of Columbus’ and nicknamed ‘Charlie’. She began her flight on March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in the same place, the flight taking 29 days, 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles.
Mock’s flight was anything but straightforward, she encountered plenty of setbacks from radio and brake problems to running into bad weather. She landed by mistake at an Egyptian military base, causing some tense moments with armed soldiers before base officials directed her to the international airport. Mock also had to act quickly when she noticed a burning wire while flying over a desert in the Middle East; she switched it off, cooled it down and landed safely.
Following her successful flight, Mock was honoured at the White House by US President Lyndon B. Johnson and appeared on national television. Mock explained, “Nobody was going to tell me I couldn’t do it because I was a woman.”
Mock told in interviews of how she was inspired as a child by Amelia Earhart, as well as her first flight when she was seven years old in a Ford Trimotor aeroplane. She studied engineering at high school, the only girl in her class, and went on to attend Ohio State University in 1943 to study Aeronautical Engineering. However, she ended her studies in 1945 to marry her husband, Russell. The couple had three children.
“Her legacy of dedication, perseverance and belief in (herself) will forever inspire a community and a nation,” Elaine Roberts, president of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, said in a statement.
