Әлемді жеке ұшқан алғашқы әйел - Жерри Мок

American aviation pioneer

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock (November 22, 1925 – September 30, 2014) was an American pilot and the first woman to fly solo around the world. She flew a single engine Cessna 180 (registered N1538C) christened the Spirit of Columbus and nicknamed "Charlie." The trip began March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio. It took 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes, The flight was part of a "race" that developed between Jerrie Mock and Joan Merriam Smith who had flown from a field near San Francisco, CA on March 17, 1964; Smith's departure date and flight path was the same as the aviator Amelia Earhart's last flight. Although they were not in direct competition with each other, media coverage soon began tracking the progress of each pilot, fascinated with who would complete the journey first. Mock was the first to finish. The story of this race is told in a book written by Taylor Phillips entitled, Queen of the Clouds; Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock's Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World (2023). Jerrie Mock 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. While that book is now out of print, a 50th anniversary edition was later published including maps, weather charts and photos.

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock was born on November 22, 1925, in Newark, Ohio to Timothy and Blanche (Wright) Fredritz. 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. At OSU, she became a member of Phi Mu. She left her studies at OSU to wed her husband, Russell Mock in 1945.

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. The plane previously was in storage, but with the opening of the Udvar Hazy Center, is now back on display. 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 International Airport's Aviation Wall of Fame in Tallahassee, Florida. In 2022, Mock was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.

Mock died in her home in Quincy, Florida with her daughter at her side on September 30, 2014. Thanks to the help of a volunteer pilot, she took her final flight in a Cessna 180 as her ashes were returned to the clouds.