COLUMBUS, March 19, 2014—The courageous journey of Jerrie Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world, unfolds again today, her globe-hugging route mapped this time via Facebook and Twitter.
The Columbus Foundation is promoting Ms. Mock’s record-breaking 29-day odyssey by tracking each leg and stop of the treacherous journey across three oceans, equatorial deserts, mountains, and jungles.
The public is welcome to fly along on Twitter (@colsfoundation) and on The Columbus Foundation’s Facebook site. The daily excerpts and images will primarily come from Ms. Mock’s book about her historic trek, “Three-Eight Charlie.”
“Fifty years ago, Jerrie Mock flew into aviation history with equal doses of bravery, knowledge, and determination,” said Douglas F. Kridler, president and CEO of The Columbus Foundation. “She created her own opportunity, and gave women and all Americans encouragement to achieve lofty goals. As a community, we are proud to honor her tenacity and accomplishment.”
The “Spirit of Columbus,” a tiny, single-engine Cessna 180 custom-fitted with giant fuel tanks, lifted off from Port Columbus International Airport on March 19, 1964. Now 88 and retired from flying, Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock, was a 38-year-old mother of three when she embarked on her voyage. One newspaper described her as “a green-eyed Ohio housewife in open-toed shoes.”
She accomplished the record in 29 days with 21 stops, among them the Azores, Libya, Pakistan, and the Philippines. When she landed in Saudi Arabia, she was greeted by a new king, a coup having just taken place. Among her hazardous route was a 1,334-mile Pacific trek with no guidance beacons, and a balky compass.
Ms. Mock took on the perilous project after a brief conversation with her husband. Her 11-year-old plane pulled her along through history at about 150 mph.
Once Ms. Mock’s idea to circumnavigate the world started getting press attention, and just before she took off, a commercial pilot decided to make it a race and two women were up in the air alone chasing the record.
A news wire report filed within minutes of her historic April touchdown quoted her as saying: “I hope … that somewhere here and there, just my doing something that hadn’t been done, will encourage someone else who wants to do something very much, and hasn’t quite had the heart to try it.”
On May 4, 1964, Ms. Mock received the FAA Gold Medal for Exceptional Service from President Lyndon B. Johnson in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. Her plane hangs in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, a companion facility to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Ms. Mock’s flight, President Johnson said, demonstrated “the promise of our system” and showed what women can do when “given the opportunity to fully utilize their talents and energies in meeting the great challenges of our day.”
The flight of Ms. Mock and her plane “Three-Eight Charlie,” a nickname derived from its call sign, set other records. She also became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans alone and the first woman to cross the Pacific in either direction in a single-engine plane. She set an around-the-world speed record for men and women in an aircraft weighing less than 3,800 pounds.
The Columbus Foundation’s social media campaign is set to entice and excite followers and fans about this largely forgotten piece of history. Other community efforts are under way, including Fly38Charlie, a Facebook page created by the publisher of the 50th anniversary edition of “Three-Eight Charlie.” On April 17, a bronze statue of Jerrie Mock holding a globe, created by local artist Renate Burgyan Fackler, will be unveiled at Port Columbus.
The Spirit of Columbus Award
The award recognizes individuals who have exhibited an exemplary community spirit through their accomplishments. Honored as the first Spirit of Columbus Award winner by The Columbus Foundation in 2013, The Foundation salutes Jerrie Mock’s efforts—and continue the tradition of the award in her honor to acknowledge others in our community doing remarkable things.
About The Columbus Foundation
The Columbus Foundation is the trusted philanthropic advisor® to more than 2,000 individuals, families, businesses, and communities that have created unique funds to make a difference in the lives of others through the most effective philanthropy possible. Serving the region for 70 years, The Columbus Foundation is the seventh largest community foundation in the United States. The Foundation’s online giving marketplace, PowerPhilanthropy®, makes it possible for everyone to access valuable information about nonprofit organizations in central Ohio.