Instructor Tom Cox: A good teacher makes the student want to learn more
At 16 years old, Austin Coble of Henryetta, Oklahoma, had a desire, a dream, and a goal to learn how to fly. Fortunately for Coble, during an Internet search, he stumbled onto the Tulsa Technology Center, which offers the only aviation pilot program designed for high school students in the state.
Coble attended a private pilot ground school course where he met Tom Cox, his instructor, who introduced him to flying.
“Through this program, young adults are inspired to pursue their dreams in aviation,” said Cox, 32. “They realize what path they might want to follow in order to achieve their goals. They learn, in depth, the fundamentals of what it takes to become a pilot.”
Cox, who moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Colorado with his wife in 2005, began his flying career as a forward air controller in the Air Force from 1994 to 1998. After taking some time off, he finally earned his private pilot certificate in March 2006 and became a CFI in June 2008. Since relocating, he’s been teaching private pilot ground school courses at the Tulsa Technology Center and at Tulsa Community College. In addition, he is a full-time student at Oklahoma State University, majoring as a professional pilot with a minor in aviation management, and he is an instructor at Christiansen Aviation at Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport.
Coble is both Cox’s first student and first student to be signed off after passing his check ride with 62.2 hours on September 28, 2008. Now 17 years old, Coble is working toward his instrument rating and his airframe and powerplant technician certificate. He has earned his complex endorsement and is going to learn the G1000 in a Cessna 172.
“Tom is a great teacher. He is very particular about all the small details and makes a student want to learn more,” said Coble. “He is very professional, but he is also my friend and I trust him that if he passes me on something, then I really know what I am doing.”
For Cox, that’s what it’s about.
“You have to find someone that will commit to you,” he said, adding it’s important to get people excited and interested in learning how to fly. With most of his high school students, Cox said, it’s an exciting challenge. “They have no clue about aviation.”
So, he takes the time to motivate his students while informing them about the possibilities and career opportunities in the aviation industry.
“You really have to want it, though. It’s not easy,” said Coble. “Tom helped show me the steps to getting my private pilot certificate and I just did the work and followed his lead.”
Student logbook
Austin Coble, Tulsa Technology Center
Flight time: More than 65 hours
Private pilot certification: Passed his private pilot checkride on September 28, 2008.
What he says about Tom Cox: He made it tough, but I have never been so interested in what I was learning about in my life.
