This story first ran in the September 2019 issue of EAA Sport Aviation.
Jimmy Graham, EAA 1139302, remembers the exact moment when aviation became one of his passions in life. Like many future aviators of a certain age, his inspiration came from a certain iconic film starring Tom Cruise and F-14 Tomcats.
“Are you kidding me?” Jimmy said with a laugh. “The movie Top Gun. I was obsessed with that movie as a young kid.”
From that initial seedling of motivation, Jimmy dove headfirst into aviation. He is an experienced aerobatic pilot, has dipped his toes into the world of seaplanes, and is now a helicopter pilot. In his day job, Jimmy is one of the best tight ends in the National Football League. However, in the offseason, you won’t find too many people more passionate about aviation or about getting anyone and everyone he can find interested in something that’s firmly ingrained into his heart and soul.
Last summer, Jimmy was announced as EAA’s new Young Eagles co-chairman. As someone who made his own way into the world of aviation and has made it a priority for years to help others find that same path, Jimmy is the perfect fit to help spread The Spirit of Aviation to youths throughout the world.
A Winding Road to Aviation
Following that original screening of Top Gun, a movie that has influenced thousands of military aviators and general aviation pilots since it was released in 1986, the seed was planted. However, it took Jimmy a little while to actually get into an airplane. Even in the midst of an athletic career that would lead to the NFL, aviation was always in the back of his mind.
“I’ve always really been obsessed with planes and aviation,” Jimmy said. “I lived on Fort Bragg for a little bit, and so I always heard the jets flying by and always wanted to be a part of that. Then one day, I grew to 6-foot-7, so that dream went away, and I was actually recruited to play college basketball. I ended up going to University of Miami, played there for four years, and I fouled so many people that they asked me to play football. They said I’m in the wrong sport.”
So, he switched to football and trained and played with the University of Miami football team for just six months before the NFL came calling. But prior to that, he got one of his first tastes of aviation.
“While I was in college, I actually got my first opportunity to fly in a small plane,” Jimmy said. “My first flight in a plane was an Extra 300L, which is about as lucky as it gets. I just remember, we’re over the [Florida] Keys upside down, and I said, ‘I’m going to do anything it takes to do this one day.’ So, if you fast-forward, right when I was leaving college, I started my aviation quest, which is ongoing, and I think will be forever ongoing the rest of my life.”
Drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 2010 NFL draft, Jimmy spent the next year preparing for and playing his rookie season of professional football. That was a mentally and physically exhausting process that left him little time to pursue aviation. “You go to minicamp [after you’re drafted] and then you go through the offseason,” he said. “Then you have the season, which is the longest thing you’ve ever gone through in your life. Then, for the next three months, it’s the first time you’ve ever had time off.”
But, once Jimmy’s rookie season was over, it was game on, so to speak.
“After my rookie year, they actually told me that I was going to be the starter the following year and that it was my position to lose,” he said. “Now I’m thinking, ‘Oh, I’m about to be the starter of an NFL team. That’s wild. So let me go to flight school.’ That’s how that started. A lot of guys when they first get that opportunity to do anything they want, they usually travel, they spend a little money, buy something, this and that. But, for me, I said, ‘Well, this is my opportunity to become a pilot.’ So, I did. I put my head down.”
Like most new pilots, Jimmy didn’t fully understand how much work his flight training would be prior to starting. Those challenges were something he was used to, and ultimately it paid off in the long run.
“Before you get into aviation, you really don’t realize how much studying is needed to learn what is basically a new language,” he said. “You’re learning to communicate, you’re learning how to predict weather, weather movements. You’re learning just a whole new system. That process of, ‘Wow, I’m actually back in school.’ This isn’t just me in a plane manipulating and having fun. I have to learn this because I’m going to be in this by myself eventually. Really, I think for everyone, that’s the first thing, was like, ‘Wow, this is a lot more in-depth than I thought.’ That’s when you get serious, and that’s when you sit down and learn these things, which they really never change throughout your aviation career, those basic fundamentals.”
Aviation hasn’t been just a simple pastime that’s filled Jimmy’s time off the gridiron. The lessons Jimmy has learned in football about preparation and discipline have translated well to aviation. In turn, aviation has helped with some of the mental aspects of being a successful football player.
“There are a million parallels between my job and flying,” Jimmy said. “One of the main things is discipline. Preflight. My game day is identical to what it was 10 years ago. I do the same thing. I eat the same things. My locker is set up the same way. … It’s just like when I fly. There’s always a preflight. You’re always going through and checking the wheels. You’re always checking the weather, seeing what challenges are up for you that day. When I’m sitting in my locker before the game, I literally go through every play we have that day. I’m always at the game three and a half hours before the game starts so that I can go through the game plan once again. It’s just like that with aviation, especially when you fly so many different types of aircraft.”
Jimmy said he’s challenged himself a bit with helicopters, seaplanes, and aerobatic planes. Being able to adapt to the different aircraft is similar to having to adapt while on the football field, he said.
“I’ve got to mentally put that hat on and now transition, and the ability to adapt to all those different aircraft is very similar to the ability to adapt to all the different circumstances of football that you get just in one game,” Jimmy said. “Through my 10-year career, I’ve been through some pivotal moments, obviously some great moments, in games and the playoffs. I’ve scored a lot in the league and done a lot of good — and a lot of that is my ability to adapt and react. I think flying has helped with that.”
With all that in mind, flying is truly a passion for Jimmy. It may translate well to the sport of football, but make no mistake about it — he flies to relax, to escape the daily grind and intense pressure of the NFL. When he’s up in the air, he’s at home.
“For me, it’s more of an outlet,” he said. “For me, up there in the plane, or in the helicopter, there’s no analysts, there’s no coach yelling at me, there’s no reporter telling me how I should do something better, or how I need to make that catch, or how great the catch was. For me, it’s the aircraft, it’s myself, it’s my mind, and it’s the weather. It’s that sense of peace that it gives me, and it gives my mind, that I chase. Football and flying, they’ve gone together. I’ve done both of them. I started both at the same time, so for me it’s everything.”
A Special Connection
Jimmy’s initial passion within aviation once he’d earned his pilot certificate was undoubtedly aerobatics. As a physically and mentally intense form of flying, Jimmy found aerobatics to be very rewarding and was something he could easily relate back to football.
“What I always try to think of is: How can I simulate scoring a touchdown in the NFL? Because that can be addicting,” he said. “I’ve done it 70-something times, and I plan to do it many more. And the feeling of that is absolutely addicting. So, for me, I’m pretty sure doing aerobatics in front of a crowd at Oshkosh has to be about as close as scoring a touchdown in the NFL. And I can imagine winning any type of aerobatic competition in the Unlimited level has to also feel that way.”
Aerobatics is something Jimmy continues to practice, with the goal of eventually getting into aerobatic competition and air shows following his NFL career. However, his aviation interests have significantly broadened over the years. Jimmy also owns a 1957 de Havilland Beaver seaplane and recently purchased a Bell UH-1H Iroquois helicopter. The helicopter, best known as the Huey, is a Vietnam War veteran and was restored by Northwest Helicopters in Washington. When talking about his Huey, arguably the aircraft synonymous with Vietnam and the war in Southeast Asia, there’s no hiding Jimmy’s excitement.
“This helicopter flew in Vietnam for the 170th Assault Helicopter Company,” he said. “They actually weren’t even recognized until the ’90s because they did a lot of the cross-border stuff and really most of the dangerous missions. After that, it went to Singapore, and basically it’s been in the military until I got a hold of it and had it restored by Northwest Helicopters up there in Washington. And, as you can tell, they did a phenomenal job. I mean, this thing is better than ever. I’ve had a lot of Vietnam pilots always tell me that they never looked this good.
“Because of the [Sikorsky UH-60] Black Hawk, [the United States] kind of just threw them to the wayside,” he added. “But Singapore, they really used them as their main military helicopter. So, this one was actually really taken care of. And once we got it, it was basically a fuselage. But I fly with pride, and I just feel like I’m just carrying a piece of history and moving it forward. I was able to bring it back to life, but really even just the stories I’ve heard, bringing back other people’s stories to life has been truly incredible and worth every moment and really every penny that it took to bring this thing back.”
Growing up thinking there was the chance he’d be in the military eventually, Jimmy has a unique respect for current military members and veterans who’ve put their lives on the line and, in many cases, given the ultimate sacrifice. Jimmy has begun to use his Huey to honor those veterans and has made many special connections with those who became all too familiar with it in the steamy jungles of Vietnam.
“I always thought I’d be in the military growing up,” he said. “Even my first couple years in the league, I actually thought maybe I’d join the military. I just felt like I wasn’t doing enough. I had a lot of friends that were over there, overseas, doing their part and I felt almost unfulfilled, like I needed to do more. So, I actually thought about quitting football a long, long time ago to be there with my brothers. I ended up staying in the league. For me, I feel like we have such a great country. You know, this is the greatest country in all of the world, and if you take from this country, I feel like you’ve got to give something back. And this is kind of my give back. This is my thank-you for everyone who’s put their life on the line and all the men and women who I feel like sometimes get thrown to the wayside or are forgotten. Those moments and those stories that they give me are just absolutely incredible.”
Inspiring the Next Generation
Like his passion for honoring veterans and military, Jimmy’s commitment to helping a younger generation become involved in aviation stems from personal experience. He knows how much an opportunity like this can impact a life, and the earlier someone is exposed to it, the better.
“For me, flying the kids, it wasn’t just too long ago that I was that kid, and I always wished that I had that opportunity and a mentor like that who would take me up and show me something so magical,” he said. “I just picture myself being in that same seat, giving young Jimmy Graham that opportunity that never happened. … All it takes is one Young Eagles flight, and you’re hooked for life. I can guarantee it. If you don’t believe it, come fly with me.”
Nothing in life is given, Jimmy said. It’s important to work hard toward the things you want. His story is a testament to that.
“Obviously for me, learning how to fly while I’m in my NFL career wasn’t easy,” he said. “It’s been time-consuming, and really the only other thing I’ve done besides work out. But I’m actually from the gutter, I’m from nothing. I was adopted in high school. And so, I guess I’m a testament of ‘if you believe in it, and you dream of it, and you chase it with everything you have, then you can do it.’”
In his experience flying kids over the years, he’s had numerous success stories, particularly when he’s taken up people in his aerobatic Extra.
“I used to have a Bonanza, and I took a lot of kids up in that,” he said. “I took a fair amount of people in there and was able to have those moments. But it’s happened in the Extra a lot where basically a lot of people’s first time flying is doing aerobatics, and they instantly go and get their private. They’re like, ‘I’ve got to go and get my private. What does it take?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, you need a lot of books and a little bit of cash, and some want to because it’s not like learning to ride a motorcycle. The flying stuff is very serious, and you’re going to be flying people, so you’ve got to know it in and out.’”
EAA CEO and Chairman of the Board Jack J. Pelton can sense Jimmy’s passion for aviation from a mile away. But he is even more impressed by the way Jimmy has gone about his business as a pilot, something that’s arguably just as important to impress about young people interested in aviation.
“I think there’s an underpinning to him that’s different than just his enthusiasm and passion for aviation that’s really important to me,” Jack said. “He has a very professional approach to flying. He talks about his similar approach to football. When you have a guy that is so serious about it and is going about it the right way — the training, getting additional ratings, being very, very professional in how he goes about his flying — that is the best attribute you can have. It’s not just ‘Let’s have fun.’ When you look at what he has done in aviation already, that is a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of education, a lot of learning, [and] a lot of professionalism to do what he has done already in a relatively young aviation career. I think that speaks volumes about his character and what he brings to young people, showing them not only the fun but seriousness of it and where you can go with it.”
As a pro athlete, Jimmy’s schedule is hectic. Between game preparation, training, traveling, and the countless other daily commitments he has, his free time is valuable. He’s chosen to spend it flying, not only to improve his piloting skills but also donating significant time and money in an effort to spread The Spirit of Aviation. If that doesn’t represent the Young Eagles program, nothing does.
“Anybody in their life, they’re consumed with their career and their family,” Jack said. “That takes up a big portion of your life, so your available free time to do other stuff is not as great as you think you’d have. Here’s a guy who has elected to spend all of that free time continuing to learn and advance himself in aviation. I think it’s a great example to people that if you put your mind to it and you get dedicated and get focused, you can do this.”
Jack said Jimmy is “the real deal” when it comes to supporting aviation.
“This is not a promotional activity on his part,” Jack said. “It’s truly coming from his heart. He’s talked many times about paying it forward. He’s lived that. That’s really what I walked away impressed by. It’s not just words. He’s all about giving back and wanting to get young kids introduced to aviation. He’s an amazing guy.”
For Jimmy, the opportunity to be a Young Eagles co-chairman is something he cherishes. He’s looking forward to bringing aviation into many lives for as long as he can.
“I’ll be a part of this program forever, honestly,” he said. “I mean, it’s a truly special program, and I take it very seriously. I’m humbled and blessed by the opportunity.”
