Jerrie to be Inducted into
WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame

Amy Laboda of Women in Aviation writes to tell me this:

The Women in Aviation, International Pioneer Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to honor women who have made significant contributions as record setters, pioneers, or innovators. Each year, the organization solicits nominations from throughout the aviation industry for the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame. We salute these distinguished members of the 2008 Women in Aviation, International Pioneer Hall of Fame. The 2008 inductees include:

Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock

(from the WAI site): Inspired in 1962 to "add a bit of fun" to her then 38-year life, Jerrie Mock took her husband's jocular remark, "Why don't you fly around the world?" and ran with it. A quarter century had elapsed since Amelia Earhart's fatal attempt, but a woman had not yet soloed around the world. Mock modified her 1953 Cessna 180, The Spirit of Columbus with a new engine and avionics. She took off on March 19, 1964, and landed safely in Columbus on April 19, 1964 (29 days, 11 hours, and 59 minutes later). She was the first woman to fly from the United States to Africa via the North Atlantic, the first to fly the Pacific in a single-engine aircraft, and the first to fly both major oceans solo. Mock continued to compete, achieving 21 records for speed and distance. She received the FAA's Gold Medal for Exceptional Service from President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Jerrie will be inducted at the 19th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference, held from March 13-15 2008 at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego, CA. The actual 2008 Scholarship Awards Banquet and WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held 7:00 - 10:00 PM in the Atlas Ballroom.

There has been no word yet from WAI about Jerrie being in attendance at the San Diego event.

Still lots of interest

In case you were wondering, the price of Jerrie's wonderful book continues to rise, and can be bought here:

THREE-EIGHT CHARLIE.
Author: Mock, Jerrie [Geraldine L. Mock].
Publisher: J. B. Lippincott [Philadelphia/ New York]. 1970. (1970).

1st edition. 288pp. 8vo. 1/2 slate blue cloth with silver lettering over turquoise cloth. Prologue & Epilogue by Russell C. Mock. 8 b/w plates. Signed by author on short title page: "To George with Best Wishes Jerrie Mock". The author was the first woman to fly solo around the world with her historic 1964 flight. Bottom edge has some scattered, light spots of foxing o/w Fine (No defects)/ DJ (Unclipped. Spine extremes worn with with two 1/4" tears on upper edge, front panel has a 1/4" tear on top edge & a few small spots o/w Very Good, i.e. signs of careful use with no significant defects).

Price: US$800.00

Still alive.

Just wanted to let everyone know that this project is still very much alive and well, and I continue to get inquiries from people who think making this movie is a fantastic idea. I still feel strongly that it is only a matter of time before the right studio executive makes the call that will change a lot of lives and make this film a reality.

Until then, make sure you get over to the Smithsonian and visit Charlie, the airplane that made this whole story possible.

Best News EVER for Charlie

Just received word this morning from Washington D.C. that the Spirit of Columbus is OFFICIALLY hanging in the National Air and Space Museum's Steven Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. This is very symbolic, as "Charlie" now carries equal importance as an historic aviation artifact when compared with all the other airplanes "hanging" in the Smithsonian.

Hat tip to NASM GA Curator Dorothy Cochrane for sending me these three wonderful photos (photos are courtesy Smithsonian Institution):

Washed out.

I have just returned from Oshkosh, Wisconsin where I was scheduled to present a forum about Jerrie Mock and her historic 1964 flight around the world. After three months of intense preparations for this endeavor – which included a nationwide PR and invitation campaign to media and aviation CEOs and top management – I was expecting a very good crowd.

But Mother Nature had other ideas.

On the morning of the forum – this past Sunday – I watched from the breakfast table as a very dark, ominous squall line approached Oshkosh. Driving to Airventure, the rain and wind was about as close to hurricane strength as I have ever experienced...causing the tires on my rented Dodge Neon to struggle to maintain traction as I crept towards Wittman Regional Airport. At one point, a plastic kiddie wading pool blew past me, maybe that should have been a clue? Or, maybe the fact that only a few other vehicles were attempting to drive through the squall...clue #2?

I never realized just how powerful this line was until taxiing for departure out of Appleton's airport the next day. In the overflow transient parking area, I saw someone's Piper Cub flipped over onto the back of someone else's V35 Bonanza...proof that the rumor I had heard about a tornado briefling touching down at that field was in fact true.

When I arrived at Airventure to give the forum, it was a ghost town. I leisurely pulled the Neon up into the very first row of cars, in a lot that on a clear day would have been jammed. On arrival at the Sporty's Pavilion, several rows of folding chairs had been blown over, and everything was soaked with water. Outside, a row of port-a-potties was blown over. Clue #3 that this day was going to be a disaster.

Because the Airventure grounds were basically deserted, only eight people showed up to hear the story of Aviation's Forgotten Pioneer. I perservered and gave the presentation anyway, but it was just heard by a few people who straggled in from the rain to stay dry as the storm pounded away at the Wisconsin countryside.

All the important media, movie and airline people I invited never materialized, and I will never know if they would have attended if the weather had been clear. I was just happy to have completed my mission to give the speech, even if it was to a giant tent full of empty wet plastic chairs.

BOOK ALERT!

A copy of Jerrie Mock's Three-Eight Charlie just went up for auction on eBay today. It is a used ex-library copy so it has the usual wear expected, but it IS a first edition and will read just as well as the clean, signed copies that have been going for near $400. Bidding looks to be starting at $75 and ends May 28th.

I am not the seller, and you can bid on this book here.

Update 06-01-06: Bidding ended with this book going for $78! Someone got a real deal here. Expect this coppy to re-surface again with a much higher reserve - dan

Book sales continue to bring record amounts

A couple of recent finds on the web demonstrate that demand for Jerrie’s book Three-Eight Charlie continues to be very high.

Here is an available copy that is being offered on Alibris for $353.49.
Here is an available copy on Bibliophile for $353.54.
Here is a completed eBay auction that closed out today for $199, a bargain by today’s prices.

What this shows me is that interest in the story of Jerrie Mock continues to swell. And this is without the mainstream media covering this story. Think about what will happen to the legend of Three-Eight Charlie and America’s Forgotten Pioneer when my screenplay is bought, the film is produced and it is released.

Will the day come when a copy of her book jumps into four digits? Current trends indicate that yes, we will see a $1,000 copy some day. This is all so very cool. I just love seeing JM get her due finally.

I get letters.

Almost every day, my inbox glows with email about Jerrie Mock, her book Three-Eight Charlie, or the screenplay project. But on occasion, a letter comes in that is so eloquent, so “from the heart” that I cannot resist sharing it with the world. Here is one of these letters, published with Mr. Emrich’s permission.

He says it all so well…

Hey Dan,

Just wanted to send along some words of encouragement. The world needs this story to be told. Keep working hard, your cause is worthy, and this brave woman needs to be better recognized for what she has accomplished on behalf of Aviation and Women.

I was born in Columbus, Ohio on 15-Feb-1961. We moved to Newark, Ohio when I was about 3 years old, and have lived there ever since. I’m a senior engineer at Snow Aviation Int’l Inc. based at Rickenbacker Int’l Airport. I drive on Jerrie Mock Ave. every day! In fact, Snow Aviation’s building sits on the corner of Paul Tibbets St. and Jerrie Mock Ave.

Well, yesterday my mother hands me a copy of the Nov 17-22, 2005 edition of “Our Town”; A small community newspaper for Licking County. The main headline is “Newark’s Forgotten Aviatrix; Local pilot, Jerrie Mock succeeded where Amelia Earhart had failed.” The article also has a picture of President Johnson presenting Jerrie with the FAA medal for exceptional service. What really astonishes me is that I went to Roosevelt Jr. High School, and I graduated from Newark High School (1979)…I believe Jerrie did also (well not in 1979 but…). Why am I just learning about her!? It’s a disgrace! I am actually ashamed! I’m ashamed of the school system, I’m ashamed of the local government…there are exactly zero plaques or memorials to Jerrie…that I can find anyway, and I’m ashamed of myself for not knowing about Jerrie Mock. Jerrie should be proud of the fact that she didn’t ‘sell her soul’ (her words) for recognition. The WORLD owes Jerrie, not the other way around!

This story must be told. I pray that Jerrie can see the movie before the Lord calls her home; she deserves that much! I also hope I get a chance to meet Jerrie in this lifetime. If you are ever in Newark, please contact me. I would certainly be glad to show you around town, if you need to do any research. Good luck and God bless.

Keep us all informed.

Tom Emrich
Newark, Ohio

17 April, 1964.

Forty-two years ago today, a woman with generous amounts of both determination and courage chirped the tires of her Skywagon at Port Columbus Airport in Ohio, completing an amazing journey around the world alone in a small airplane full of gas. It has taken over four decades for her to finally begin to get her due, and with each day, more and more people know her name and what she accomplished.

Congratulations Jerrie.

$305.

The auction for the signed first edition of Jerrie Mock's Three-Eight Charlie just ended on eBay, and man, what a battle it was.

Over the last 48 hours of the auction, two bidders swapped "high bidder" status, each raising the ante just enough to slap the other down. Then tonight, as the auction came down to the wire, the book passed $200 with 34 minutes left before a "lurker" kicked the legs out from under everyone by jacking the price from $225 to $300 with one minute remaining. (For those not used to eBay, a "lurker" is a bidder who sits quietly on the sidelines until the last moment before diving in with a very high bid to steal the auction.)

Lurking is a tactic that usually works, but in this case, the lurker got lurked by another lurker who slammed home the win with :40 seconds left, landing the book for $305.

HOT HOT HOT!!!

For those of you who have been dying to get your hands on a copy of Jerrie Mock's ultra-rare book Three-Eight Charlie, I have great news:

A signed first edition has just appeared on eBay today (Monday, 10 April), with no reserve and a current bid of only $11.50! Bid high and bid fast if you want to snag this.

I am not the seller and don't know who the seller is, but this is such a rare book, this auction ought to be very interesting since another seller has listed a "Buy it now" price for the same book (unsigned) at $395! You may access the auction here.

This is the kind
of thing that keeps
me going

With any long project, the creator always needs a spike of interest now and then to keep motivated. So when I read that a used bookstore in Ventura, CA is offering a copy of Jerrie’s book Three-Eight Charlie at $395 (buy it now, not an auction) on eBay, I was floored.

When I began this project in 2000, I was able to quickly snag three copies of the book on eBay for $25-35 each…two of them signed by Jerrie. So it gives me great joy to know that after five years of promoting her legend, her book – called an “extremely scarce aviation biography” by the seller – is now well into triple digits and rising.

Have you got a few extra bucks lying around? This is an awesome book that I believe will only go up in value if all of my future cards fall into place as they should. Buy the book here.

Very cool new map

There is an awesome GoogleMap posted at myflightblog.com! Anyone interested in this story should go check this out.

The person who runs this blog says he is "captivated" by the story, and to that I say GREAT! I hope that soon millions of people will also be interested in America's Forgotten Pioneer.

Yes, it is an awesome book

One of the better flight blogs out there just posted a great review of Jerrie’s book, Three-Eight Charlie after actually finding a copy in a library! That is a rare occurance, I promise you. Hope the Librarian didn’t hear that collectors are offering up to $500 now for copies.

Take a minute and check out myflightblog.com. It is a great collection of all kinds of flight stuff that aviators enjoy.

An interesting call, and a good question

I just got off the phone with a Literary Agent in L.A. who said he had been a journalist for decades and was surprised to have never heard of Jerrie Mock or her around-the-world flight. Then he asked a question: Am I sure she really did this?

Yes, I am sure. The Smithsonian is sure. The NAA and FAI are sure. She really did it...that is not the mystery here. The mystery is how such a significant aviation accomplishment went unnoticed for the last 42 years.

But I have a gut feeling that is all about to change.

Another great contact

Recently I made contact with Jerrie Mock's younger sister Susan, who still lives in the Columbus, Ohio area and was more than willing to help me connect the dots on many aspects of this story. And this month – after both of us being far too busy over the holidays – we finally connected for a long, long chat.

I learned more interesting details about the story, many which I already knew and which Susan simply confirmed for me. But she also enlightened me on some intricate details about the days leading up to the flight that have never been published anywhere. This kind of information – from someone who was at Port Columbus Airport on the morning of March 19, 1964 – is invaluable in my quest to make this film script as accurate as can be.

Three-Eight Charlie is an evolving work. The screenplay is finished and is being reviewed by several literary agents in Hollywood, but until the night of the premiere, I suspect this film and story will continue to develop as I uncover more and more contacts with the past.

Thanks you, Susan, you have been an inspiration to me. And yes, we are also proud of your sister too.

Jerrie Mock nominated for Hall of Fame

Ann Cooper, a CFI and author of numerous books on aviation themes, has nominated Jerrie Mock for Women in Aviation’s Pioneer Hall of Fame.

Ann has written:

Fire and Air; A Life on the Edge - Patty Wagstaff, Aerobatic Champion,
On the Wing; Jessie Woods and the Flying Aces Air Circus,
Rising Above It; Edna Gardner Whyte,
How High She Flies - Dorothy Swain Lewis,
Weaving the Winds; Emily Howell Warner
…and over 700 magazine articles.

Find out more about this author here.

I'd like you to meet "Charlie, Jr."

That's the name I have given to a very cool model airplane my wife hand-made for me for Christmas. Read all about it here.

This will help increase the accuracy level!

I have recently made contact with Jerrie Mock's younger sister Susan, a very friendly lady who is eager to help me set the scene as accurately as possible. Susan was there on the morning of 19 March, 1964 when Jerrie and Charlie departed Columbus, so she'll be a valuable asset in my quest to bring this story to life exactly as it happened. This is developing...

I am receiving lots of emails these days about Jerrie Mock and Charlie, but the following letter tops my list and demonstrates how people are really beginning to understand what this project is all about:

11-29-05: Dan, it was amazing that with all the many different aircraft I saw when I recently visited the Udvar-Hazy Museum, "Three-Eight Charlie" is the one that totally grabbed my attention. I thought about it later and it's pretty easy to figure out why.

I have been flying for over 37 years and have over 300 carrier landings, but there is one thing about those carrier landings; I was sitting on top of an ejection seat and had destroyers and helicopters all around in the event something went wrong. Jerrie Mock had no one around her to help in the case of an emergency. I would be hard pressed to find another aircraft in the museum that required the pure "guts" to complete the mission that "Three-Eight-Charlie" did. Sure the Blackbird may be a little faster than Jerrie's 180 and the P-38 may be a little sexier, but as far as I am concerned, what she accomplished in that airplane, puts her and Charlie in a category that is about as special as any I have seen.

I thought it was interesting that before I left the museum, after about a 3-4 hour stay, something made me go back and just stare at her airplane again. I kept thinking about what it would have been like to be over the middle of the Pacific Ocean in "Three-Eight Charlie" in the middle of the night. It's difficult for me to imagine what it took to take on that challenge and I am certainly happy you are trying to keep the story alive and to even re-kindle the interest.

Please let me know if you come across any copies of her book. This is a aviation story that must be told, especially since Jerrie Mock is still around to share it.

Merrill C. Donahoo
Columbia, SC

It is letters like this that makes this project worthwhile. Go ahead and jam my inbox, reading these letters makes my day.

There are some days in this life that we simply will never forget. November 16, 2005 was one of those days for me as I spent several hours at the Smithsonian's Steven Udvar-Hazy Center crawling around every square inch of FAA N1538C, snapping endless digital images of the Spirit of Columbus for use later by the movie producers who buy the Three-Eight Charlie screenplay project.

To the untrained eye, “Charlie” looks much like my Skyhawk, your Skylane, or any number of plain Jane Skywagons. The only exterior clues to this plane’s rich heritage are a few colorful sponsor decals on the fuselage, and large white script lettering on the cowling. But when I opened the door, the two huge aluminum gas tanks crammed inside where the seats used to be were visible, and a truly amazing thing happened.

With NASM Curator of General Aviation Dorothy Cochran (and several Security Guards) keeping VERY close eye on me, I was able to poke my head and my camera inside the most famous Cessna on the planet. What I found transported back in time to April 17, 1964 at Port Columbus Airport at the precise moment when Jerrie Mock yanked out the mixture, shut down her trusty Continental and crawled out of Charlie…for the last time.

Through the years that Charlie was on display at Cessna’s Wichita factory, the NASM National Mall Museum, and the 21+ years in storage at the Garber Restoration Facility, nothing was touched in Charlie’s cabin. Jerrie left notes taped to the tanks with some very, very complex instructions on how to transfer gas between the two interior ferry tanks and the two wing tanks. There is even a yellowed note wedged into a space on the panel showing the 10 must important frequencies she would use.

Everything remains perfectly intact. The wear marks on the left door panel, the cracks in the original 1953 factory plastic, everything. I almost expected to see the remains of a Ham sandwich or an old ink pen on the floor, if not for the fact that I know Jerrie kept perfect house in Charlie during her flight.

While the Smithsonian has kept Charlie in great condition, like many of it’s artifacts, they have chosen to preserve history by leaving the original plane alone rather than complete a full restoration. Because of this, I was able to get an unprecedented look at this historic flying machine before the NASM suspends Charlie for all time at the Hazy Center.

This meeting with Charlie was a chance to learn even more about the mechanical operation of the aircraft. By reviewing notes Jerrie has taped all over – along with the photos I have taken – we can now get a realistic glimpse into what it must have been like for a young mother of three to fly across Atlantic on a dark and stormy night, trying to keep the right amount of gasoline flowing from one tank to the next, to the next, to the next, and eventually to the engine.

Aside from the Smithsonian’s own photographers, this trip to the Hazy produced a very valuable set of archival research images. Not valuable in a fiscal sense, but in a cinematic one. When a Prop department begins re-creating “Charlie” for filming, it will all be there. Every nut, bolt, radio, gauge, switch, fuse, hose, pump, valve, wire, crack and blemish has now been recorded. This is so very important because this is the first time the story is being told on film, so it has to be historically accurate.

• • •

The interior of Charlie is functional, nothing more. Even one tiny chrome part would look ridiculously out of place. The simulated leather on the original seafoam green pilot’s seat is quite worn, and there are gaps around some of the radios that would make a Garmin engineer queasy. Everything in 1538C is there for a reason, that being to get Jerrie Mock safely around the world.

And while the Spirit of Columbus may never have won “Best of Show” at Oshkosh, there is no question that this bird has some SERIOUS legs. And when your wings are icing up on a cold, windy night and the nearest airport is across 1,500 miles of snarling, Cessna-eating waves, it doesn’t matter if your plane may not win beauty contests. All that matters is whether that round metal thingy out front continues to go round and round.

Major kudos to Editor Amy Laboda of Aviation for Women Magazine for her great coverage of the Jerrie Mock story in their Nov/Dec issue! This is a very special issue too, since it is being distributed this week at AOPA Expo in Tampa.

This magazine has a very targeted readership, women flyers who will certainly want to know about Jerrie, Charlie and the screenplay project. And if the traffic bump on my website and this Blog in the last few days is any indication, seems interest is growing steadily.

And when someone from the film industry with the heart of an aviator reads this article and contacts me, then maybe we will be on our way towards breaking this story nationally in the mainstream press. After all, spreading the word about Jerrie and her accomplishments is what this project is all about…and making the movie a reality will be the best method to get the word out to the general public.

Long time coming: This morning, I received news that something wonderful has happened to “Charlie” in Washington, D.C. – Dorothy Cochrane, GA Curator at NASM sent me this photo of the Spirit of Columbus, completed restored and ready to be hung in the Steven Udvar-Hazy Aviation Center at Dulles Airport.

Charlie has never looked better! The staff at NASM deserves major kudos from all of the many Charlie fans who have joined together to rally behind the Jerrie Mock story and the Three-Eight Charlie screenplay project.

The installation of Charlie at Hazy is a HUGE step towards honoring Jerrie for her 1964 accomplishment. I could not possibly be happier about this, and am trying to schedule a trip to photograph Charlie in detail before he is hung from the rafters forever. If that happens, we will have valuable research photos of this storied airplane that will come in very handy in the future. I plan the most comprehensive photo shoot the NASM will allow me, one never before undertaken on this airplane.

Update 551PM: I am told the plane will be on the ground until at least the first of the year. This means that now until at least January 1, 2006 represents your best chance since 1984 to see Charlie before the NASM crew hangs the plane in its rightful place of prominance. So if you have been waiting to see the most important Cessna on the planet, go visit the NASM website and book your flight there...just like I did today!!!

More than one person has told me that Jennifer Love Hewitt should play Jerrie Mock in Three-Eight Charlie, and in this side-by-side image, the resemblance is indeed striking.


I recently saw Ms. Hewitt on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as she came on stage briefly to sign the Harley that Jay was auctioning off to raise funds for the Hurricane Katrina effort. JLH was wearing a knit outfit that hinted of a "retro" 1964 cut, and her hair was styled similar to the way Jerrie wore her hair during her '64 flight. It was more than a little eerie how these two women look so much alike! In fact, Ms. Hewitt even walks and carries herself like Jerrie.

Now all I have to do is get the right agent to bring this screenplay to her agent's attention, and maybe – just maybe – someone with mega-box office appeal like JLH might become involved and take the part. She would bring in more of the younger male audience, who will be hearing about the film from their girlfriends, their mother and sisters, and the media. And when those young men hear who is the star, how will they be able to pass up a movie with airplanes AND Jennifer Love Hewitt?

The readership of this blog is made up of both pilots and non-pilots, so I must assume that not everyone knows how it feels to be in command of an aircraft.

Of course, pilots know of the rush one gets when your wheels break ground and lift overcomes its battle with gravity and you are FLYING! It is at that point when being “Pilot in Command” becomes the best feeling in the world, one that any non-aviator can never truly understand.

Pilots fully appreciate Jerrie Mock’s determination to fly solo around the world, because there is just something wonderful about being up there…alone. Just you, the airplane and God’s good graces letting you hang there between Heaven and Earth, suspended in aviation bliss.

But non-pilots will also appreciate Jerrie’s courage and motivation behind planning and completing the 1964 flight. Almost everyone will relate to her ambitious plans to achieve a dream, because those who watch the movie Three-Eight Charlie will at one time or another set out on their own quest to achieve a dream. The parallels between Jerrie Mock’s life journey and that of the audience members will be unmistakable.

I believe that there are thousands of everyday people out there who secretly harbor the dream to fly. These are people who get that little tingle in their soul each time they hear a Cessna or Piper Cub chug by, but finances or family obligations have never allowed them to take flying lessons. Some have never even verbalized these dreams. These are the folks who will be truly inspired by Three-Eight Charlie after seeing a common housewife and mother go against the grain to make her dreams to fly a reality.

After this film premieres, there will be a spike in new student starts at flight schools across America – you can bet on it. The general aviation community will be better off after America discovers Jerrie and Charlie, and if many new pilots are born from this film's creation, my work will be done.

Back in 1964, society and the press didn’t quite know what to do with a woman who wanted to fly around the world by herself. I don’t believe society was all that crazy about women driving cars back then, so flying was off the charts crazy to even consider.

The image shown above illustrates that as newspapers flocked to the Jerrie Mock story, it was usually the “Women’s Page” writer who got the assignment. Forget that Jerrie was embarking on a dangerous 23,206-mile flight. Forget that she would be in a flying gas can surrounded by hundreds of gallons of explosive AvGas. What the reporters really wanted to know was WHAT WAS SHE GOING TO BE WEARING!

The Answer? Drip-dries. (if you don't know what drip-dries are, ask your grandmother)

Jerrie was called a “Flying Housewife” in so many stories back then, it became a moniker she reluctantly grew to accept. The press didn’t treat her with the respect you'd think an “aviation pioneer” deserves, but instead portrayed her as a somewhat silly housemom who just HAD to go sow her wild oats. Tragic, I say.

I guess that all changed when she returned to Port Columbus, wearing those same drip-dries. Upon stepped down from Charlie for the last time, Jerrie doesn’t recall the press saying a word about what she was wearing! I guess that is something you just don’t ask an aviation pioneer.

She sure proved lots of people wrong about the ability of women to fly airplanes. And while she didn't intend to do so, I think she also made a quiet statement about gender equality, at a time when that issue was not even on the radar screen yet. Way to go, Jerrie.

I have not yet mentioned in this Blog that I was the founder of the Welcome Sky Aviation Scholarship Program in California. Welcome Sky was my way of generating funding from the more wealthy pilots and distributing that money to the “best and brightest” young aviators 16-21 who had a sincere interest in learning to fly.

Since I moved to Oregon, the program was kept semi-alive by my old flying club, but that has now changed. They have now officially transferred “ownership” of the program back to me solely, which is great news for fans of Three-Eight Charlie.

Here’s why: One of my life's passions since earning my private ticket in '96 has been to motivate young people to learn to fly, to replace the older pilots when they lose their medicals. This keeps a steady stream of pilots coming into the system to become good aviation consumers as they age and amass wealth.

Now that Welcome Sky is back in my camp, I’d love to somehow relate the sale of the Three-Eight Charlie screenplay project to the scholarship program. In a perfect world, the sale of the film rights would generate enough money to allow me to contribute a portion back to the program and resurrect Welcome Sky nationally. I suspect there will be many, many young people motivated by this film, and having a nationwide not-for-profit scholarship program in place when it premieres would be a great way to fill the sky with fresh faces.

Help from another writer always graciously accepted: I have a habit of searching the aviation section at every used book store I find. This past weekend in Ashland, OR, I discovered a gem in Lisa Yount’s American Profiles: Women Aviators, published in 1995.

In the book is a great section on Jerrie Mock, with some new information that I did not know. After making contact with Lisa, she is sending along some of her background research data on Jerrie, some which was gleaned from the Columbus Dispatch archives! I look forward to receiving this new information, and thank Lisa for taking the time to dig through her storage boxes and copy/send these old articles.

Lisa has now branched out creatively and is an accomplished artist as well as a writer. Learn more about the art of Lisa Yount here, or search Amazon for the LONG list of books she has written.

You can find a word here and a word there on the Internet about Jerrie Mock’s historic 1964 flight, but a lot of it will be incorrect information. As the only screenwriter with exclusive access to Jerrie and her own archived records, I am happy to report that as I have researched Three-Eight Charlie, you can believe that the information in this screenplay is as accurate as I can possibly make it.

The image above shows the cover sheet of Jerrie’s actual document from the National Aeronautic Association listing her “official” record for speed around the world, Class C-1.c, Group II, feminine. While preparing to write the screenplay, I have visited with Jerrie and was allowed to review these important documents. It is her wish that Three-Eight Charlie be the real story of what happened, not a fabricated myth that only loosely resembles the truth.

Think about that for a moment. Imagine sitting across the table from Lindbergh perusing his log books, customs documents, flight plans, passport, and stacks of information as detailed as purchase documents for the airplane! How much did it cost Jerrie and Russ to buy the avionics? I know. What did they pay for Charlie, and what were the terms of the loan? Yes, I know that too.

One glaring example of why this screenplay is so important to aviation history is that in nearly every Internet article about her flight, the distance is shown as 23,103 statute miles. But upon reviewing her official NAA docs, the record distance was actually 23,206.37 statute miles. The NAA said it, I believe it, and that settles it.

There are many, many other facts and figures that I have discovered and have worked into my screenplay, and as the only writer with this story, a producer who buys this project can rest assured that they are getting the Real Deal.

Connie Luhta of the International Women’s Air and Space Museum in Cleveland, OH sent photos recently of a new display they set up at Burke Lakefront Airport that shines the spotlight on significant women aviators. Among them is Jerrie Mock, and her portion of the display includes facts and figures about her 1964 flight, a dust cover from her 1970 book, and some photos we sent to the museum.

This is a great development because it was a similar display in Florida that omitted mention of Jerrie which led to the meeting with me and the eventually signing of the contract allowing me to obtain exclusive life story rights and write the screenplay Three-Eight Charlie. Glad to see we are making good progress on spreading the word to the world about Aviation’s Forgotten Pioneer.

As a pilot and friend of Jerrie, I salute Connie and the IWASM for their efforts to make this display happen so many people can learn about Jerrie and her accomplishments.

Why a website and blog for a screenplay project? That is a question I have been asked before, and the answer is quite simple…why NOT?

Those friends of Three-Eight Charlie who are already following this project know that because of its historical importance, it is an unusual situation for any screenwriter to be working through. That’s because, when this movie enjoys the wide release and proper marketing campaign it deserves, Jerrie Mock will one day be as famous as Amelia Earhart.

But before anyone can serious consider securing this property and making the movie, they must first learn that Jerrie even exists. Her story has fallen so far through the cracks of American history, she is a virtual unknown. That is the primary reason why I have set up the website and this blog, so that people wanting to learn about Jerrie’s life and accomplishments can do so quickly.

Some might say [in purely Poker terms] that I am “tipping my hat” by putting this information out there. Not true. Because I have an exclusive with Jerrie on her Life Story Rights and the script is securely copyright-protected (US Library of Congress and WGA-West), I feel that getting “ripped off” is not a viable worry. There is just one “first woman to fly solo around the world” story, and this is it.

So enjoy the blog and site, and keep those emails coming.

Comparing apples to apples: A question I’ve been asked is how Jerrie Mock’s Spirit of Columbus compares to Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis. When you look at the two aircraft, there is not much difference. The difference comes when you look at the journeys of these two aviation pioneers.

Both ships were conventional gear, single-engine monoplanes carrying one crew member, the pilot. St. Louis was powered by a 223-hp engine, while 225 ponies pulled Mock’s Columbus through the sky.

Columbus obviously had more sophisticated Nav and Comm radios, that is, when they were operational. And since many of the NDBs and VORs along Mock’s route were either turned off or unreliable, she often had to revert to dead reckoning, gut feelings, or the seat of her pants to navigate, just like Lindbergh.

After flying for 33 hours, 30 minutes through low clouds, rain and fog on a one-leg trip across one ocean between two countries, Lindbergh touched down at the Le Bourget Aerodrome in Paris, France. Mock on the other hand flew through 29 days of sandstorms, thunderstorms, icing, fog, rain and severe heat on an exhausting 23,206 mile, 20-leg journey across three oceans through 14 countries.

When apples are truly compared to apples, I fail to see how anyone can reach the conclusion that Lindbergh’s flight in St. Louis was any more or less important than Mock’s flight in Charlie around the world. Someday, I hope that aviation history books will reflect this fact once they give Jerrie the due credit she has earned.