By The Times-News
Posted May 14, 2016 at 1:34 PM
Updated May 14, 2016 at 1:42 PMA well-known and respected Burlington pilot, businessman and philanthropist will be remembered next week when the Lynchburg, Va., Regional Air Show returns to the skies after a five-year hiatus.
Tom Coble, 58, was killed Jan. 20, 2012, during a return flight to Burlington when his L-39 Albatros fighter jet went down shortly after he took off in Rainbow City, Ala. Witnesses heard two loud explosions as the plane nose-dived into trees and exploded 1.1 miles from the runway. The debris field extended 142 feet.
COBLE GREW UP in Burlington, working with his father in commercial and residential construction. He started flying lessons at 15 and soloed on his 16th birthday. When he went to check out the business program at Liberty University in Lynchburg, he flew.
Coble put himself through Liberty by working at a slaughterhouse, starting a painting company and flipping houses. Then, as graduation neared, be became the pilot for the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, former president of Liberty University and a well-known pastor and political figure. Falwell became a personal hero, encouraging Coble in both faith and business.
Espousing a business philosophy grounded in faith, Coble founded Coble Cranes and Equipment/Coble Rents, which he sold in 1999. He then founded Coble Trench Safety, renting and selling trench and safety equipment and offering training classes, in 2002. The company grew to have 11 branches from Baltimore to Atlanta. He received the 2011 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
In every check his company issued, Coble tucked in a Gospel tract. He supported numerous local, regional, national and international ministries and charities, personally signing checks each month. Once he paid for a radio tower in South America for the Bible Broadcasting Network. He was a pilot for Veterans Airlift Command, a nonprofit organization that helps wounded veterans travel for medical treatment. He also flew for Harvesters International and New Directions International.
He was on the board of Liberty University and received the Eagle Award in 1998, recognizing him as an outstanding alumnus. In Burlington, Coble attended Harvest Baptist Church and led Alamance County’s Coalition of Concerned Christians.
COBLE HELPED found Liberty’s School of Aeronautics and helped organize the airshow in 2011. He will be honored this year with a “missing man” formation. Coble’s grandson, current Liberty student Ryan Coble, will ride in an L-39 among the formation of Warbirds in his grandfather’s honor.
Also featured will be U.S. Navy Blue Angels, aerobatic pilot Julie Clark, Warbirds, several types of military aircraft, the Navy SEALS jump team and the Navy Leapfrogs.
Ground events will appeal to younger audiences. Among them will be the “candy bomber,” a C-54 transport plane, along with its World War II pilot Gail Halvorsen, who dropped candy to German children while landing during the Berlin Airlift.
