Stallion 51 has been in the business of sharing the cockpit of their dual control P-51 Mustangs, as well as their T-6 Texan and L-39 TurboJet for decades. Their experienced and enthusiastic instructors not only enjoy flying these unique aircraft but also sharing the experience with aviation enthusiasts from all over the world.
Jerry “Jive” Kerby joins this talented group of instructor pilots which include Stallion 51 owner and chief pilot Lee “Mr. Mustang” Lauderback, highest time Mustang pilot in the world; John “Homer” Black retired USAF F-15 pilot and air show performer; Steve “Mad Dog” Larmore, with tens of thousand of hours between the Mustangs, T-6s. and gliders, John “JP” Posson L-39 Patriots Jet Team member, and Marco Rusconi, former Canadian Forces Snowbird member. Jive brings to this experienced group a lifetime of varied aviation experiences.
Jive’s flying career started when he was 10 years old when he took his first flight at a county fair in Missouri. When he saw the Thunderbirds fly at his first air show, he knew his course was set to be a fighter pilot. Jive started flying lessons when he was 15, soloed on his 16th birthday, and earned his private pilot’s license on his 17th birthday.
After Jive graduated from a professional pilot training program, he began working as a charter and cargo pilot while earning his bachelor’s degree in aviation. Upon completion of his degree, Jive joined the United States Air Force accumulating over 4300 hours while flying F-15C Eagle and the F-4 Phantom. It was in the F-4 that Jive achieved his next aviation goal…to be an air show pilot flying for the USAF Heritage Flight program in the F-4 Phantom in 2005, which is where he met Lee and was first introduced to the P-51. His post-USAF air show career continued as a solo performer in a T-33, the wingman for a two-ship civilian jet team, and as the lead pilot of a six-ship civilian jet team.
In 2019, Jive attended the Reno Air Races Pylon Racing School for the first time. He then qualified in the Jet Class in a De Havilland Vampire at over 500 mph and is one of only seven air race pilots to qualify at that speed in race history. He returned to Reno for 2021 flying the L-39C as Team Race 11’s main aircraft.
Jive currently has over 15,000 hours of flight time in 75 different aircraft, including adding the Mirage F-1 and the P-51 most recently. His experience in these many different aircraft has earned him certifications for low level aerobatics and serves as a Certified Aerobatic Competency Evaluator (ACE) through the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) and is a designated pilot examiner (DPE and SAE).
Since 2013, you have seen Jive performing at airshows in his RV-8 “Wild Blue Rodeo” air show act, as an L-39 solo jet act, and as opposing solo with the six-ship T-28 demonstration team known as Trojan Thunder. Jive will be bringing all that experience to Stallion 51 and sharing it with the many visitors who come to experience the Mustang the T-6 Texan and L-39 Turbojet first hand and at the controls. Check out more about Jive on Stallion 51’s website at www.stallion51.com.