People Remembered By Joanna Dodder Nellans
Shawn receiving the Collective Challenge Trophy on behalf of his crew from Maj. Gen. Dan Loomis. Photo: 427 Lion Squadron Association
helicopter-related topics including the comprehensive “Cyclic
and Collective: Photo:427 Lion Squadron Association,
427squadron.com Shawn Coyle
Shawn Coyle turned his lifelong aviation interest into work as a test pilot, engineer, educator, consultant, inventor and author.
Coyle cofounded Aeroserve Technologies
Ltd. in 1997.
He was inducted into NASA’s Space Technology Hall of Fame for successful commercialization of the Airtab Vortex Generator, originally designed to reduce aerodynamic drag during transport of space shuttles on Boeing 747s and now widely used throughout
the world,
particularly in the trucking business.
Coyle earned his private pilot license through the Royal Canadian Air Cadets at the age of 17. After earning a civil engineering degree, he converted to
helicopters
and served with the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron. Then Coyle tackled a variety of aviation jobs from 1984 to 2007: U.K. test pilot, Canadian Aerospace and Engineering Test Establishment, Bell Helicopters
test pilot, Naval Test Pilot School
chief rotary wing instructor, International Test Pilots School in England, U.K. independent aviation consultant, Transport Canada engineering test pilot, helicopter
program branch
chief at the National Test Pilot School in the U.S., EMS pilot in the U.S., director of flight operations at Agusta Helicopters in the U.S., and then director of certification at Aerosimulators in Belgium and the U.S.
“I learned a ton flying with Shawn as a student test pilot,” Bryan Carrothers wrote below a tribute to Coyle on the 427 Squadron Association Facebook page. “I will never forget the flight we did together on defining the HV curve where we banged and skidded to a stop after an auto and we looked at each other and said ‘that point is definitely on the avoid side of the curve!’”
With all that experience under his
extensively on U.S.
belt, Coyle wrote aviation-
related topics, conducted accident analysis, served as an expert
witness, and published six books on
rotorcraftpro.com 59
More Art and Science of Flying Helicopters,” a must-read for all helicopter pilots. He was honored with the HAI Excellence in Communications Award.
He taught a popular HAI Heli-Expo course called “Helicopter Aerodynamics Without Equations.”
“Shawn could explain things in such a way that an engineer would find the explanation accurate while the pilot would find it crystal clear,” said Greg Brown, HAI director of education and training services.
Coyle died on June 19, 2021 at the age of 71. He leaves his second wife Tricia, three children, and four grandchildren.
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