Gerald Loyd

Gerald Loyd has been a resident of Arkansas his entire life. His childhood interest in aviation spawned an endeavor of flight, both military and civilian, that has spanned 58 years since he first received his private pilot certificate. Since then he’s amassed 8,000 flight hours, 1,432 of which were combat hours over Vietnam. He has acquired a commercial pilot certificate with Single & Multi engine, instrument and rotary wing ratings with formation flying card and flight lead cards.

In 1967, at the age of 19, Gerald applied for helicopter training program with the U. S. Army. He arrived at Ft. Walters in Mineral Wells, TX for Primary flight training in Hughs TH-55s. He then transferred to Ft. Rucker, AL in January 1968 for advanced training. He graduated in the top 10% of the class and received Gun Ship training. He graduated in May of 1968 as a W-1 Warrant Officer and received his Commercial Helicopter Pilot License. When he left Vietnam he had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, 24 Air Medals, two Air Medals with “V” device for Valor, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and other awards. When his time in the Army concluded, he returned home to Dumas.

As a member of a group call Mid-South RVators, His formation flying got noticed and he was asked to do fly overs at regional fly-ins. Eventually Gerald formed the Bulldog Flight Formation Team with some of the pilots he had trained. Gerald has spent 58 years helping others get their dreams in the air.