Jerry Gillick's fascination with flight began as a boy watching airplanes with his father at the local airport. For his father, it may have been inexpensive entertainment to keep the Gillick kids busy; but for Jerry, it was his first glimpse into what would become his life-long passion for flight.
Jerry began flying in 1972. A proud Cleveland native, Jerry has lived in two homes within two streets in Lakewood, Ohio his entire life. He briefly worked for Erie-Lackawanna Railroad and attended Cleveland State University before earning an Associate of Science in Aviation Technology from Cuyahoga Community College in 1978. Although he caught the itch for flight early on, he has always been happy as a hometown boy. Jerry met his childhood sweetheart, Mary Kay, when he was just eleven years old and they married on October 7, 1978. They have been deeply in love ever since.
After obtaining his pilot license and additional ratings from Sundorph Aeronautical Corp, he began work there as a ground school instructor in 1980. He served the aviation community as a devoted flight instructor at Sundorph, and later Baron Aviation, by developing countless would-be flyers into respectable aviators while he obtained over six thousand hours of flight instruction in myriad piston aircraft.
Armed with a unique level of patience, genuine kindheartedness and a revered technical skillset, Jerry began his professional career as a corporate pilot for Society National Bank, later known as KeyCorp, in the fall of 1989. During his twenty-eight-year tenure at KeyCorp Jerry earned type ratings in the LRJET, LR45, HS125, DA50 and DA2000, totaling just shy of 13,000 hours of total flight time. Retiring from his professional pilot career in September 2017, Jerry Gillick leaves a legacy of outstanding performance and unparalleled benevolence while setting the standard for professionalism in business aviation.
Jerry is a loyal friend, devoted husband and proud father to Andy Gillick and grandfather to Eddie, Emily and Charlie. He is a unique aviator in that he is not only respected for his technical expertise, vast experience and natural ability to pilot the pants off of an aircraft, anyone who has ever had the pleasure of sharing a cockpit with Jerry would agree that he is possibly the most likeable pilot they've ever met.
Jerry's contributions to aviation will live forever in the countless people he has affected in his many years of flying. The positive influence he has had on us personally and professionally will swell in the skies forever. Thank you for your contributions to aviation and for your friendship, Jerry.
These are the good ol' days.