a Cessna 180 was because she had been told that with its high-set wings and powerful engine “a 180 could take off with anything you could close the door on.”5 As Jerrie made plans to fly around the world, she prayed. She had said, “I gradually felt certain that God wanted me to make the trip and would see that I got home safely.”6 And now her dream was becoming a reality. How could she turn back?
JERRIE STUDIES WEATHER MAPS AND HER LOGBOOK AS SHE PLANS HER ROUTE AROUND THE WORLD WITH HER JEPPESEN FLIGHT COMPUTER IN HAND
Susan Reid collection
Russ came to Jerrie’s side and steered her to their car. She needed to go to the weather bureau and the flight service station in the nearby Port Columbus terminal building to make a final check on the weather conditions and fill out an international flight plan. For official record purposes, there would be observers and timers at each stop to document every takeoff and landing for the NAA, the National Aeronautical Association, and the FAI, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Howard Kenny, the head weather forecaster at Port Columbus, assured her that the weather looked good all the way to Bermuda. Once in the office of the flight service station, Jerrie was instructed to mark down her survival equipment. She completed the form, relieved that no one seemed to notice her trembling hand.
. . .
LUCKY LINDY & LADY LINDY
JERRIE MOCK named her airplane Spirit of Columbus after Charles Lindbergh’s historic airplane, Spirit of St. Louis. Charles Lindbergh, “Lucky Lindy,” became a national hero when he flew the Spirit of St. Louis nonstop from New York to Paris. His historic flight in 1927 took over thirty-three hours. At times he felt like he was asleep with his eyes open! In order to stay awake, he opened the window and let the frigid air cool off his face. When asked why his cat, Patsy, did not accompany him like she usually did, he said, “It’s too dangerous a journey to risk the cat’s life.”7
Amelia Earhart was called “Lady Lindy” by the press due to her uncanny resemblance to Lindbergh. Amelia had once said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity.” She flew over the Atlantic Ocean on June 3, 1928, accompanied by Bill Stultz and Lou “Slim” Gordon. Word spread, and thousands came to greet the first woman to fly over the Atlantic. When Amelia made her around-the-world attempt in 1937, she was accompanied by navigator Fred Noonan. Amelia decided to lighten her load when they were about to begin their long cross-ocean flight to Howland Island. She boxed up and sent home everything she didn’t need for the flight, even her lucky elephant-toe bracelet. “There must not be a spare ounce of weight left,” she said.8 The only exception she made was for the five thousand souvenir stamp covers kept in the nose cargo hold of her plane. She planned to sell the autographed envelopes to help fund her trip around the world. Sadly, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappeared, never to be seen again.
. . .
When all the necessary forms were filled out, Russ hurried Jerrie back to the Cessna, back to the crowds. Jerrie only wished to be alone in her plane, tucked away from the reporters, the microphones, and the endless questions. After all, she had a seven-hour flight ahead of her to the island of Bermuda, and she wanted to get going before her nerves got the best of her.
As soon as Russ opened the car door, the reporters hounded Jerrie with questions. She grew more annoyed with each one. As the cameras clicked, she hurried to the side of her plane and smiled bravely beside Governor James Rhodes of Ohio. Flashbulbs nearly blinded her as more photos were taken with Preston Wolfe, the publisher of the local newspaper. She posed with the wives of astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. An old friend nudged Jerrie and gave her a Bible to take along.
Jerrie’s family gathered around. Her mom fretted. She had never understood Jerrie’s adventuresome spirit, and she had always wished her daughter had an interest in something more down to earth, like knitting. Her sister Susan squeezed past a tall newsman and handed Jerrie a cup of hot coffee, while her sister Barb reminded her to collect stamps at every stop for her collection. Her dad told her to be cautious, and he promised to pray for her safe return. Jerrie’s mother-in-law, Sophie, clasped a St. Christopher medal (the patron saint of safe travels) to Jerrie’s coat and vowed to watch over her family.
Dave Blanton, who had developed the plane’s fuel-tank system, gave her some last minute advice. He showed her how to put rags around the opening when filling up the airplane to keep the gas from leaking into the cockpit. He stressed the need for plenty of rags, fresh rags at every stop.
JERRIE POSES WITH HER MOTHER, BLANCHE WRIGHT FREDRITZ, AND HER FATHER, TIMOTHY FREDRITZ
Reprinted with permission from the Columbus Dispatch
JERRIE’S HISTORIC FLIGHT MAKES FRONT-PAGE HEADLINES IN THE COLUMBUS EVENING DISPATCH
Reprinted with permission from the Columbus Dispatch
After all the preparations were complete, Jerrie removed her coat to let Blanton and Russ place the cumbersome life jacket around her. The well-wishers and reporters seemed to inch closer and closer. Jerrie stood silently, but her insides shook. Blanton buckled the straps of the life jacket while Russ walked around the airplane to make one final inspection. Wearing a large straw hat, Jerrie climbed the high step to the cockpit. She adjusted the two pillows behind her back and the one underneath. Being only five feet tall, she needed the pillows to help her see out the windshield.
When Jerrie was finally nestled in behind the controls in the peaceful cocoon of Charlie, Russ leaned into the cockpit. After giving her a kiss, he reminded her to take plenty of notes so she would have lots of good stories for the newspaper. Jerrie nodded and glanced over at her two sons. They looked worried. Were they afraid that they might never see their mom again? She wished she could get out of her plane and give them one last hug.
JERRIE WITH DAUGHTER, VALERIE, AND HUSBAND, RUSS
Reprinted with permission from the Columbus Dispatch
Her head swirled from all the commotion, making it difficult to concentrate on her checklist. Jerrie reached for the master switch and the starter button on the left side of the panel. The engine rumbled as the propellers sliced through the air. Jerrie trembled with fear, wondering if she should call the whole thing off and rush back to her family. But she knew at this point going back wasn’t really an option. So she went through one last checklist and taxied down to the long runway. Jerrie got on the radio and let the controller know she was ready for takeoff. His voice came across the radio giving her clearance to go.
At 9:31 a.m., Jerrie Mock pointed the nose of her aircraft toward the end of the runway at Port Columbus. Alone in her plane, she took a deep breath, and pushed in the throttle. Charlie barreled down the airstrip. Fire trucks and cameramen were lined up along both sides of the runway as they rolled past. The roar of the powerful engine thrilled Jerrie as the aircraft’s wheels left the ground. The high-set wings of her plane lifted into the air and she trembled with excitement. Finally, after a lifetime of dreaming, she would see the world!
As the plane made its
