Gerald “Gerry” F. Marsters died on 11 August. He was 93 years old.
Marsters joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1952 as a Pilot Officer and was awarded his wings in 1953. He became a Lieutenant Commander and Pilot Trainer, flying the Harvard and the Sabre and Silver Star. After leaving the Air Force, he attended Queen’s University and then received a full doctoral scholarship to Cornell University where he was awarded his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering in 1967.
Returning to Queen’s University as a professor, Marsters shared his love of aerospace engineering with his students. During sabbaticals from Queen’s, he worked with De Havilland and in the high-speed aerodynamics lab at the National Aeronautical Establishment. In 1982, he accepted an appointment as Director of Airworthiness at Transport Canada and helped guide the vision of the future of aerospace in Canada. He worked toward a new Bilateral Aviation Agreement between the United States and Canada, and the FAA awarded his efforts with a gold medal – one of only a small number of Canadians to be so honored, his citation read: “Dr. Marsters has earned the respect of the world aviation community.”
In 1987, he moved to the Institute of Aerospace Research at the National Research Council of Canada as Director General, guiding such projects as the bird gun, wind tunnels, artificial vision systems and flight simulation. He also was a pioneer in uncrewed aerial vehicles in this position. After he retired from the government, Marsters opened a private consultancy, AeroVations Associates.
Marsters served as president of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute and helped shape the conversations Canadians were having about the future of aviation. He served on the AIAA Corporate Member Committee in the early 1990s. Marsters was a Fellow of both AIAA (1992) and the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute.
