ALL PHOTOS THE JIMMY GRAHAM FOUNDATION


INTHESPOTLIGHT By Dan Reed


NFL Star Helps Kids Pursue Aviation Careers Jimmy Graham: Chicago Bears tight end and instrument-rated pilot.


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FL TIGHT END JIMMY Graham—newly signed to a lucrative free-agent con-


tract by the Chicago Bears—didn’t get much attention or encouragement at home, growing up in what can best be described as a highly dysfunctional military family. Things got so bad that his mother effectively abandoned him as an 11-year-old when she placed him in a group home in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where the older and bigger boys beat him regularly. So it makes sense now that, after his improbable rise to stardom and wealth in the NFL, Graham is commit- ted to encouraging youngsters— especially those from similarly tough and impoverished backgrounds—to aim for futures that seemingly are beyond their reach. What’s surprising, though, is that


the 6-foot 7-inch, 270-lb All Pro pass-catching machine isn’t using his athletic prowess and fame to help kids excel in athletics. Rather, Graham depends on his personal Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter—plus his Extra 330 LX aerobatic plane (it’s a really tight fit) and his 1957 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver seaplane (with retractable skis)—to point kids toward potential careers in aviation. Though he’d only been a licensed pilot


for a little less than eight years at the time, Graham jumped at the chance in 2018 to follow in the footsteps of Gen. Chuck Yeager, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, and actors Harrison Ford and Cliff Robertson as chairman of the Young Eagles. The organization, founded in 1992 by the US Experimental Aircraft Association, gives children ages 8 to 17


20 ROTOR 2020 Q2


helicopter operated in the Vietnamese Central Highlands, ferry ing soldiers into and out of battle zones. It also flew into and out of Cambodia and Laos in sup- port of the 5th Special Forces Group. These days, the Huey mostly carries children via the Young Eagles program, along with Vietnam veterans taking brief trips down memory lane.


ROTOR: Given your challenged childhood and the huge amount of time you’ve committed to becoming a top athlete, how did you get so involved in flying? Graham: The first movie I remem- ber watching was Top Gun. My dream was to be a fighter pilot, but then I grew to a freakish six- seven and there went that dream. We lived around military bases— my original parents were in the military. I randomly loitered around airports, talking a lot about aviation and asking a lot of questions. I met


opportunities to experience flight in a gen- eral aviation aircraft and to learn about aviation. Because he can take only one kid at a time up with him in his Extra 330, and only two or three in his Beaver, Graham’s Young Eagles ride of choice is his Huey. The air- craft, along with his charitable organization, The Jimmy Graham Foundation, is based at Miami Executive Airport (KTMB), outside of Miami, Florida. The iconic model is fully restored to the


way it looked when it flew with the US Army’s 170th Assault Helicopter Co. during 21 months from 1968 through 1969. The


a guy named John. He said if I ever wanted to go up [in an aircraft], he’d give me a ride. So I flew with him and loved it.


When did you get your pilot’s license? I played basketball at the University of Miami for four years, then played one year of football there before being drafted by the New Orleans Saints. I’d never had the time or money to learn to fly. But after my first NFL season, I had some money and, for the first time, some [spare] time in the off- season, so I started lessons. I took my checkride before the end of that year. Except in years when I had off-season


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