Russell Borton and the Flying Bathtub
Russell Borton (1921-2003) was one of the two sons of Nell Wolfe Borton, who was my grandmother’s sister and my mom’s favorite aunt. Russ was therefore my mom’s first cousin. Born in Litchfield, he spent most of his life in Jackson, MI.
During World War II Russ served in the 179th Engineer Battalion, and some time later got a job at Consumers Power Co. in Jackson, where he remained for 38 years. Besides Consumers, he had a 2nd (probably unpaid) job, as a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). When Jackson’s Local Chapter 304 of the EAA was established in 1967, Russ Borton was a founder. He was President of the Local for 27 years, growing the membership to 140. He was particularly active in promoting aviation and aviation careers among Jackson area youth. He also had a special interest in rebuilding aircraft.
Two articles in the March 1982 issue of the magazine The Vintage Airplane tell the unusual story of one of the airplanes that Russ and Local 304 rebuilt. I have put a link to those articles below. One of the plane’s nicknames was the “flying bathtub”, which is explained in the article.
I took the second photo of that plane and its informational sign in 2018 when I visited the Experimental Aircraft Association Museum (EAA) in Oshkosh, WI, site of the organization’s huge annual fly-in. The EAA has had the plane on display ever since it was completed in 1981.
See 2 magazine articles, on the restoration of this aircraft, and its eventful flight from Jackson, MI to the EAA Museum at Oshkosh, WI.
Ted Lienhart