Top Gun turns 40

Tony Scott's 1986 blockbuster and the 2022 sequel are the best recruitment tools the US Navy could hope for.

See full article...

 

[Albino_Boo]

I still think Iceman and Maverick should have been married in the sequel.

 

[Albino_Boo]

I can't think about Top Gun without thinking about watching it with my grandfather, who had flown the T-38 and F-5 extensively, as he listed off European aircraft that would have been much more convincing adversaries than the F-5s in the film.

Although I think he would have related more to the second film as after Vietnam he really had to fight to remain in flying roles and not get stuck behind a desk in Washington or Brussels.

F-5s are the aggressor aircraft used from the mid 70s till the early 90s because its performance was close to the Mig 21.

 

[Albino_Boo]

I want David Suchet back but this time the villain is a diminutive fussy Belgian.

Ze little grey cells

 

[Albino_Boo]

When reading up on the Red Eagle Squadron at Tonapah Test Range, i learned that the Navy actually took their Top Gun pilots out there to see the real MiGs for a day as part of the program.

The idea was to expose the pilots to the real thing, so they didn’t get “buck fever” and hesitate for a critical fraction of a second when going up against real hostiles because they had never seen an actual MiG or Sukohi before.

Back in those days meeting MIGs and Bears was a regular occurrence when on deployment.

 

[Albino_Boo]

Operation Constant Peg -
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhPjl3rTza0

Operation constant pegging is something entirely different that happens in certain locations in Las Vegas