First woman pilot's solo global flightIn 1964, Geraldine (“Jerrie”) Mock landed in Columbus, Ohio, becoming the first woman to complete a solo airplane flight around the world. She was a Columbus housewife with less than 800 hours logged in 7-1/2 years of flying experience, and had received her instrument rating less than a month before taking off from Columbus, on 19 Mar 1964, in a single-engine Cessna Model 180 aircraft on her 23,206-mile solo air voyage. The trip lasted 29-1/2 days with 21 stopovers. The insignia on the aircraft was “Spirit of Columbus,” but it was nick-named “Three-Eight Charlie.” She was born in Newark, Ohio, and had studied Aeronautical Engineering at Ohio State University. Though not without some problems, the ultimate success of her solo flight also reflects the reliability of small aircraft of the era.« |
