JIM T. GRAHAM
Administrator/Sales RCGroups, Flying Giants, Helifreak
JAY SMITH: How did you get involved with model aviation?
JIM GRAHAM: As a kid, my grandpa took me to full-scale air shows across Texas. My uncle had a hangar and airstrip in Collinsville, Texas. He would take me up every time I went to visit.
I dreamed of flying RC airplanes when I was little, but I never knew anyone who did it. After I bought my first house, I went to a garage sale and saw a nearly complete Sagittarius trainer. I bought it for $5. I lived a few miles from one of the oldest RC fields in the US (Edwin Warner Model Aviators). With the club members’ help, I got the “Fiver” ready to fly. Bryce Custer was my instructor.
JS: How has model aviation impacted your life and/or career?
JG: When I started flying in approximately 2003, I was running a record label. I would put a .40 Knife profile airplane in the trunk of my 1976 El Dorado Cadillac convertible and stop on my way to work to get in a flight.
On one of those days, I met the owner of Hobby Lobby, Jim Martin. He said that he followed my posts and hoped that one day I would work for him as a marketer, which I eventually did. Hobby Lobby changed the face of RC.
I credit Jim for introducing electric RC. I worked with the great RC designers whom I found on RCGroups.com and bring their airplanes to the public. We were the first with outrunner motors, LiPo batteries, foam aircraft, and more. This led to my relationship with RCGroups.com, where I work today.
JS: What disciplines of modeling do you currently participate in?
JG: Throughout the years, I have tried a little of everything. At Hobby Lobby, it was a must to fly whatever was new and in style. My first love was profile airplanes. I don’t think there is any better flying aircraft than a well-designed profile. That taught me to build and cover airplanes.
I was really into scale FPV flying. There was a lot to learn to master it. The challenge is what hooks me. Now I’m back to what I started with—great flying, line-of-sight RC airplanes. If you are feeling burned out, just try another aspect of the hobby and you will be hooked again!
JS: What other hobbies do you have?
JG: I feel that RC opened my mind up to other hobbies. Working with wood, soldering, and electronics, and making them all work together showed me that I could do just about anything. I got my first guitar at the age of 5, and I love it as much now as I did then.
RC taught me that I could also build guitars, amplifiers, and guitar pedals. I try to play once a day. I have also taken up the fiddle! I grew up on an exotic animal ranch in Texas, surrounded by all things Western. I have always wanted to make my own belts and holsters. I’m proud to say that I am a pretty good leather maker. I even own a huge saddle sewing machine. All of these hobbies fight for my attention.
JS: Who or what has influenced you the most?
JG: My parents were my biggest influences. They never let me take the easy way out of anything. I can still see my dad interacting with people and making them laugh. He taught me to appreciate other people and how to not only make them happy, but to treat them right.
My mom taught me that my word meant something. It took me years to realize that much of who I am, how I act, and what I do is from my folks. My dad is gone now but I have been able to say thank-you to my mother. What they taught me has been invaluable.
JS: When thinking about your involvement with RCGroups, what are you most proud of?
JG: I work with two groups: hobbyists and hobby companies. I talk to the RC pilots every day on RCGroups.com. I help them with site issues and create feature articles that discuss builds, reviews, events, new products, contests, and much more.
My goal is to share information that hobbyists need. When I work with a company, I try to be as smart as possible about what I can do to help it succeed. I love to figure out solutions, and when I come up with a good one, I know it.
When I have helped a company grow, I feel great. Those companies are what keep our hobby alive. It’s a mutual relationship. RCGroups.com has touched so many hobbyists since 1996, that it’s hard to wrap your head around it. It is the RC home of thousands of people each day, and a place to go for information about nearly every aspect of the hobby.
After 20 years in the RC industry, I sincerely hope that I have had some positive effect on this great big hobby and the people in it.
