During a 35-year distinguished career as an aerospace engineer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, BGen (Retired) Terry Leversedge enjoyed multiple command tours. Terry was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan while his father served at the RCAF Station there, and then after graduating from RMC in 1979 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he began his career in the flight test world and steadily moved back and forth between field tours and headquarters assignments primarily on the fighter / trainer fleets. In 1986, he obtained his Masters of Science degree in Aerospace Vehicle Design from Cranfield University in the UK. A structural engineer through advanced training and practical exposure, he gained extensive experience in support operations and program management. His career highlights include: serving as both the Senior Aircraft Maintenance Authority and Wing Logistics Officer during a period of significant infrastructure renewal and also during the Y2K preparations; serving as the Program Manager for the highly successful Incremental Modernization Program for the CF-18 Hornet; being the chief of staff for the Director General Aerospace Engineering and Program Management Division where he was responsible for strategic planning, the implementation of the AF9000 Quality system and for the organizational planning associated with Optimized Weapon System Management; being a Deputy Commander Mission Support in the operational headquarters during the creation and validation of the Mission Support Flight concept as well as serving as the chairman of the NATO Flying Training in Canada program. His last tour consisted of four years on the Air Staff as the Director General of Personnel for the Chief of Air Staff within the Air Force.

His life-long interest in aviation history and passion for Canadian military aviation history, logistics and aerospace engineering served him well during his military career. After retirement from active duty, this passion translated in to a seven year stint as an aviation / strategic consultant under the company name Kestrel Aerospace Research Inc, and more recently into writing and documenting that rich military aviation history both through his editorial and writing duties with the RCAF's Airforce Magazine and in launching a new series of publications providing accurate and detailed histories of Canada's military aircraft fleets through Kestrel Publications. Kestrel Publications was founded by Terry in 2019 to help fill a continuing void in accurate and informed Canadian military aircraft histories. As an aside, and according to his website, the name Kestrel has long affiliation with things that fly. First and foremost, it is a bird of prey of the falcon species, common to North America and elsewhere. Similarly, in aviation terms, it was a type of an aircraft engine (i.e. the Rolls-Royce Kestrel), the name for the precursor to the Harrier VTOL “jump” jet (i.e. the Hawker-Siddeley P1127 Kestrel), as well as several other different types of aircraft designs (i.e. the Miles M.9 Kestrel & the Kestrel K-350 turboprop, etc), and even the name of a US military aircraft squadron.

NB Banner photo is of BGen Leversedge while addressing the cadets at Ridley College during their 104th Annual Inspection in May, 2011; the photo to the top right is from his Kestrel Publications website and courtesy of Vintage WIngs Canada