Pilot Jerry Kirby of Westmoreland, Tenn., talks Tuesday, October 10, 2017, about his father’s first solo flight in 1940 at the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport. Kirby marks the anniversary each year by flying his historic 1943 Piper J-3 Cub airplane into Bowling Green. (Bac Totrong/photo@bgdailynews.com)

Jerry Kirby’s devotion to flight was ingrained at such an early age by his father that he may as well have been born with wings.

“When I was 5 years old, he taught me all the parts of an airplane,” said Kirby, 74, of Westmoreland, Tenn.

Kirby, who flies into Bowling Green for church every Sunday, could not have had a better mentor – his father, H.G. Kirby, took his first solo flights at what is now Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport as a teenager 77 years ago this past Sunday.

Back in 1940, the airport was still a fledgling enterprise that had been established six years earlier as a military airfield, and H.G. Kirby practiced maneuvers and landings on a grass strip in 20-minute sessions, often in a lightweight Piper J-3 Cub with a 65-horsepower engine.

The solo flights are documented in log books that H.G. Kirby kept. The last entry in one book shows a solo flight in Bowling Green on Dec. 7, 1941 – the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor Naval base that led to U.S. entry into World War II.

H.G. Kirby fought in Europe during the war, becoming a decorated veteran who earned a Bronze Star and several other honors.

Postwar, he became a pillar of Westmoreland, helping to incorporate the city, serving as its mayor for four years and holding a host of other leadership positions in the community.

Through the years, H.G. Kirby stayed up-to-date on his flight certifications, becoming a lieutenant with the Civil Air Patrol and flying experimental aircraft for more than 50 years before his death in 2013 at age 90.

Jerry Kirby followed in his father’s flight path, owning multiple planes with his father.

Since training for his pilot’s license in Florida, Kirby has logged more than 9,000 hours of flight time and has owned or co-owned more than 35 aircraft.

Kirby has also maintained strong ties to Bowling Green.

His wife, Linda, is a Bowling Green native, and a daughter went to Western Kentucky University.

“When my daughter was going to Western, her friends thought she was so spoiled because I would fly her laundry up,” Kirby said.

In aviation circles, Kirby has earned a reputation as a skilled pilot who performs at air shows at multiple venues.

Through the Experimental Aircraft Association, Kirby has introduced hundreds of youths to flying, and his farm, with its private airstrip and his three planes, has been a popular destination for school trips.

“Some of the kids have told me that’s the only time they’ve seen and touched a real airplane,” Kirby said.

Highlights over more than 50 years in the air include a flight from his Westmoreland airstrip to Fairbanks, Alaska, in a lightweight Legend Cub and his involvement in this year’s Paris Air Show in France, where he flew a Globe Swift aircraft.

Later this month, Kirby will be formally inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame.

Rob Barnett, director of the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport, said Kirby has more than earned the honor.

“His father was such a generous man who loved his community, and this family has donated not only time, but resources that have helped inspire children to learn how to fly,” Barnett said.

Kirby can often be seen at the airport volunteering at its annual Hangar Party and other events there.

“He supports us at every special event,” Barnett said. “He’s always here to help park cars, marshaling aircraft or just talk about airplanes.”