Jerrie Mock: ‘The Flying Housewife’

The Spirit of Columbus hanging in the Udvar-Hazy Center. Pi.1415926535/CC BY 3.0

“It is understood that the mentioned normal route shall be adhered to, and that all local laws and regulations shall be observed, no arms or ammunitions shall be carried, and that no undesirable passengers aboard other than yourself.” That was a letter to Geraldine “Jerrie” L. Mock from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington. The letter was informing her that she would be allowed to touch down in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia during her scheduled flight around the world.

Mock (1925–2014) had taken an interest in aeronautics at a young age when she took her first plane ride. Before her 12th birthday, all the rage surrounded Amelia Earhart and her 1937 attempt to fly around-the-world, an attempt that ended in tragedy. In 1943, she attended Ohio State University to study aeronautical engineering, one of the few women at the time to do so. She would drop out of college to marry Russell Mock in 1945, though her love for aeronautics remained. Twelve years and three children later, the Ohio housewife decided to earn her pilot’s license.

A 1964 press photo of Mrs. Jerrie Mock, who flew solo  around the world. Public Domain

The Great Challenge

Mock and her husband often flew around the Midwest, but her overarching goal was to see parts of the world she had never seen before, and to fly herself to those places. After more than 700 hours of flight experience, her husband suggested she go ahead and make that flight to see the world. Mock began mapping her flight with the help of a friend from the Air Force. The preparation for such an undertaking was extensive. She and her husband visited Washington numerous times to secure visas to the numerous countries that were part of her scheduled landings. Russell secured a 1953 Cessna 180 Skywagon for Mock’s flight, a plane Mock christened “Spirit of Columbus.”

The plane was reconfigured for the multi-week, 23,000-mile adventure. Seats were removed to make room for more gas tanks. Dual directional finders, short-range radios, and a long-range high-frequency radio were added to the plane. Mock then notified the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) that she would be attempting the record-setting flight. The NAA informed her that another woman, Joan Merriam Smith, would soon be attempting the same flight.

As spring approached in 1964, there was no time to lose. In fact, Mock changed her April 1 departure date to March 19 after hearing of Smith’s plan to start her flight in mid-March. Even after altering her flightplan, Smith left two days before Mock.

Pilot Joan Merriam Smith beside the plane she flew solo around the world. Los Angeles/CC by 4.0

Overcoming the Obstacles

Before a large crowd, her supportive family, and a number of sponsors, Mock began her flight from Columbus, Ohio. Her plan was to return in approximately four weeks’ time to the same location. During the first leg of her flight, she ran into issues with her radio. She could not make contact and felt that she was practically “disconnected.” It was indeed a troubling issue.

“Now what should I do? Go home? Land at Richmond?” she recalled in her book “Three Eight Charlie.” “I thought of the crowd back in Columbus. I thought of the sponsors who had risked their money on a flying housewife. Those people believed in me. How could I let them down?”

She continued. Her experience and knowledge of flying would pave her way forward. She first landed in Bermuda in the face of hurricane winds at 75 knots (86 miles per hour). She was stranded there for a week, but her radio issue was finally resolved.

She combatted icing over the Atlantic and sandstorms over Africa, and soared over India and over an ongoing military conflict in Vietnam. Her four legs over the Pacific Ocean would be the most trying, landing in Guam from Manila (1,597 miles), then to Wake Island (1,501 miles), then to Honolulu (2,300 miles), and from Honolulu to Oakland (2,409 miles) over the course of five days.

An Awarded Housewife

After several much shorter legs that angled down into Arizona then Texas, Mock flew north, and on April 17, she landed back in Columbus. Despite starting two days later than Smith, Mock completed her flight around the world first. She had flown 23,103 miles in a span of 29 days, 11 hours, and 59 minutes.

Weeks after the flight on May 4, the self-described “Flying Housewife” met with President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Rose Garden of the White House, where she was presented with the Federal Aviation Agency’s Decoration for Exceptional Service. Her moniker of “The Flying Housewife” would stick for the rest of her life.

A 1964 press photo of President Johnson awarding  pilot Jerrie Mock with a gold medal. Public Domain

Mock was enshrined into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2022.

The following is Mock’s flight path (created by the John Glenn Columbus International Airport):

• March 19, 1964: Columbus, Ohio (CMH) - Hamilton, Bermuda (1,141.63 miles)
• March 26, 1964: Hamilton, Bermuda - Santa Maria, Azores (2,264.62 miles)
• March 28, 1964: Santa Maria, Azores - Casablanca, Morocco (1,015.02 miles)
• March 30, 1964: Casablanca, Morocco - Bone, Algeria (902.70 miles)
• March 31, 1964: Bone, Algeria - Tripoli, Libya (418.13 miles)
• April 1-2, 1964: Tripoli, Libya - Inshas, Egypt - Cairo, Egypt (1090.21 miles)
• April 3, 1964: Cairo, Egypt - Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (1,173.37 miles)
• April 4, 1964: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia - Karachi, Pakistan (1,063.33 miles)
• April 5, 1964: Karachi, Pakistan - Delhi, India (655.54 miles)
• April 6, 1964: Delhi, India - Kolkata, West Bengal, India (817.37 miles)
• April 7, 1964: Kolkata, West Bengal, India - Bangkok, Thailand (999.56 miles)
• April 8, 1964: Bangkok, Thailand - Manila, Philippines (1365.79 miles)
• April 11, 1964: Manila, Philippines - Guam (1597.7 miles)
• April 12, 1964: Guam - Wake Island (1501.33 miles)
• April 13-14, 1964: Wake Island - Honolulu, Hawaii (2300.45 miles)
• April 15, 1964: Honolulu, Hawaii - Oakland, California (2409.60 miles)
• April 16, 1964: Oakland, California - Tuscon, Arizona (747 miles)
• April 17, 1964: Tuscon, Arizona - El Paso, Texas - Bowling Green, Kentucky - Columbus, Ohio (CMH) (approximately 1,700 miles)

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