Jon Botsford, one of our newest Chapter 59 members, was raised around airplanes.    His father was a flight instructor and was even involved in a flying circus before WW II.  During the war he became an A & P and was a propeller specialist.   He owned a total of 13 airplanes over the years including a Taylorcraft, J-3, BT-13, T-6, and even a TBM.  He took Jon for his first ride when he was so small that his dad removed the door to his Taylorcraft so he could see out!   So, you might think that Jon must have a few zillion hours as a pilot himself by now, right?  Well, no, his dad never taught him to fly!  That may be a very interesting story in itself, but we won’t get into that.

 Jon was born and raised in Eau Claire, WI, and attended the University of Wisconsin where he earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Vocational Education.  He then taught at East Kentucky University for three years before moving to College Station to earn a Ph.D. from Texas A&M.  He was supposed to go back to East Kentucky University upon completion of his degree but instead he joined the faculty at A&M and remained in College Station for another 21 yea rs.    Jon was an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for the Manufacturing Engineering Technology Program at A&M. He then spent five years at TSTC in Waco as Associate Dean.  After that he spent five years in Colorado at Pueblo Community College as Vice President for Technology. 
 It was while Jon was living in Colorado that he finally decided he had to start working on his private pilot license.   He accumulated about 100 hours over the next several years in Cessna 150/152, Cessna 172, Piper Cherokee and Dakota aircraft.  With his busy schedule and off again, on again flight training schedule, Jon is still needing that last cross Country before taking his private pilot checkride.   He has been retired now for over a year, and I got the impression he has finally wound down now from his hectic prior  schedule enough to get started again flying.   When asked what brought him back to Waco to retire Jon said “my wife!”  His wife, Annie, a native Wacoan, influenced his decision to return to Waco, plus it’s a central location when you’ve got kids scattered all over the state. And he likes it here.   Jon has four of them.  Annie is still working, so Jon has become a househusband, and claims to be a good cook (his dad was in the restaurant business, too). 

It’s often difficult to get a memorable aviation story out of folks I interview, but Jon had one I’m sure he’ll never forget, going back to early childhood.  He said  “A young employee of my father and I were asked to push an old, open cockpit bi-plane to the maintenance hangar.  The employee decided to taxi it rather than push it.  I was about 8 years old and was put in the cockpit to help start the plane.  When he said crack the throttle I did, about half way open!  When he pulled it through, the engine roared to life and the plane and I headed out onto the airport ramp.  I would stretch up and take a look out and then push on a rudder pedal to avoid other parked aircraft.  Finally he caught the plane with a flying leap and cut the throttle.  When asked why I didn’t pull the throttle back, I said ‘I was too busy.’  Almost my first solo!”
 
Jon is looking forward to being a very active member of the Chapter, something we always look forward to.  He has also volunteered his vast experience in fundraising to help the Chapter raise money for the Chapter 59 hangar/meeting place a number of members have dreamed about.  With our tax exempt status, Jon feels that we may be able to raise the money to build a meeting place and aviation learning center with donations from outside sources.  His experience with raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for A&M projects is invaluable for getting proposals for donations properly presented.  He mentioned that all members need to think about people they may know of with the resources to fund part or all of such a building effort.  Often times a “named center” might be the reward of such a philanthropist, in addition to providing a learning center for Young Eagle and other youth aviation projects.

 Jon has expressed an interest in building an airplane, too, and has been looking at the RV-9 as a good candidate for his project.  As a low time pilot, he likes the docile and forgiving characteristics Van has designed into this new model.  He sat in one at Oshkosh last year and said it seemed as roomy or roomier than a Cessna 172 in the front seats.  Jon says “the RV’s must be good airplanes, there are so many out there.”  The high numbers increase the first time builder’s comfort level, also, when it comes to needing assistance to resolve a question or problem in construction.  It sounds like Jon is going to be another guy with the famous “RV grin” in the near future.  Fueling the flames of a passion for aviation is what the EAA is all about.  On the grass roots level, Chapter 59 could have no better goal than to help fan those flames for good folks like Jon and help him achieve his aviation goals.  I believe the rewards for our Chapter will be returned many times over.  Thanks, Jon, for seeking out EAA Chapter 59 on our website, and joining us in the great sport and art of aviation.   -McMains

 
- McMains