Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock (born November 22, 1925 in Newark, Ohio

Newark, Ohio

In addition, the remains of a road leading south from the Octagon have been documented and explored. It was first surveyed in the 19th century, when its walls were more apparent. Called the Great Hopewell Road, it may extend to the Hopewell complex at Chillicothe, Ohio...

) was the first woman to fly

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

 solo around the world

Circumnavigation

Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...

. The trip ended April 17, 1964 and took 29 days, 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles. She was subsequently awarded the Louis Blériot medal the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...

.

The United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 named a street in honor of her at Rickenbacker AFB (presently Rickenbacker International Airport

Rickenbacker International Airport

Rickenbacker International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located 10 miles south of the central business district of Columbus, near the village of Lockbourne in extreme southern Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The southern end of the airport extends into northern Pickaway...

) in Lockbourne, Ohio

Lockbourne, Ohio

Lockbourne is a village in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 280 at the 2000 census. Lockbourne is nearby Rickenbacker International Airport, and had provided its original name of Lockbourne Air Force Base.-Geography:...

 (near Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

).

Jerrie now resides in Quincy, Florida

Quincy, Florida

Quincy is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,982 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,975...

 and a plaque bearing her accomplishments can be found in the Tallahassee Regional Airport's

Tallahassee Regional Airport

Tallahassee Regional Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Tallahassee, a city in Leon County, Florida, United States.- History :...

 Aviation Wall of Fame.

She is a member of Phi Mu

Phi Mu

Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...

 Fraternity and the mother of three children.

Early life

Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock was born November 22, 1925 in a suburban neighborhood of Newark, OH. She was the oldest of 3 sisters, but during her childhood she found more in common with the boys. Her interest for flying was sparked when she was 12 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 (Ohio) in 1940 and went on to attend Ohio University majoring in engineering.

Official World Aviation Records Set or Taken 1964-1969

(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 500KM, 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

Significant “Firsts”

• First woman to fly solo around the world
• 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 in Recognition of Accomplishments in Aviation

Metals, Plaques, Trophies:

• Federal Aviation Agency Gold Metal for Exceptional Service
• Ohio Governor’s Award
• Louis Bleriot Silver Metal(World-Wide award of Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)
• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Special 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 Metal, Pittsburgh OX-5 Club
• 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

External links

• Jerrie's Cessna 180 at the Smithsonian
• http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/mock.html
• The Three-Eight Charlie Screenplay project