Top Gun 2

Just in case it hasn’t been mentioned…POP GUN
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Pop Gun

This is sorta a fanfilm of a different stripe. The year after Top Gun came out actual F-14 crews made a parody of it, apparently in glorious VHS. Is it...
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While watching the film I was curious what happened to Maverick's character over the last 36 years.

From the movie I heard he spent 6 months as a Top Gun instructor, a tour in Bosnia (1992-1995), two tours in Iraq (1991, 2003-2011), and the hypersonic aircraft program (2020 (original movie scheduled release), 2022). That leaves nine years completely unaccounted for.

Maverick was an LT at Top Gun. (I think I heard in the movie that he got 'canned' for the first time likely due to his maverick behavior at Top Gun as an instructor). It usually takes four additional years to make Captain, which would have been around 1990. So possibly he was Captain Mitchell in the Gulf War (1991). After his two tours in Iraq he may have gone on to USN Test Pilot School or possibly USAF Test Pilot School as an exchange pilot.

Test pilot school would account for at least another year of his time in training. With the Navy's expense in training test pilots they would have sent him on to an assignment developing another aircraft project(s) after graduation. Certainly before being considered the prime pilot for a hypersonic program. A couple of large projects that were available during that time were F/A-18E,F (which would account for his remarkable employment of the aircraft in the movie having come most recently from the hypersonic aircraft tests) or F-35C. There is also a photo of an F-117A Stealth Fighter in the movie with what appears to be him standing next to the aircraft. The F-117A retired in 2008. Of course its been sighted more recently. The plaque has a USAF shield and banner that looks like the 412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB, which he removes his sunglasses from. A small placard says Test Pilot Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

There is the possibility that his character became an inactive Naval Reservist and went on to work for a contractor after the Navy's test pilot program. Maintaining fighter aircraft flying skills testing the Hornet or Lightening II.

Possibly, due to the classified nature of the hypersonic program the Navy may have recalled him back to service as the prototype aircraft was expected to become operational (similar to the Stealth Helicopter, i.e. prototype used for a mission).

Just some thoughts. Maybe the writers of Top Gun Maverick will explain why or how he retained his Captains rank.
 
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Saw it this afternoon and enjoyed it. Next up, IMAX with the guys only. The movie theatre we saw it in was LOUD. Ears still ringing but did not notice this while the movie was running. Yep, could feel it - also Jurassic Park in the adjacent movie theatre!!

Darkstar is too small - should be double that size at the very least. Like the shape though and the Skunkworks logo was a nice touch.

Impressed with the CGI of the Su-57s and the Tomcat flying. FYI - the Tomcat was from the San Diego Air & Space Museum collection - they got credit there in the end and a "free" paint job for it. "Different than the you know what country was the bad guy" paint scheme in the movie.

Enjoy the Day! Mark
 
Mark Nankivil said:
Saw it this afternoon and enjoyed it. Next up, IMAX with the guys only. The movie theatre we saw it in was LOUD. Ears still ringing but did not notice this while the movie was running. Yep, could feel it - also Jurassic Park in the adjacent movie theatre!!

Darkstar is too small - should be double that size at the very least. Like the shape though and the Skunkworks logo was a nice touch.

Impressed with the CGI of the Su-57s and the Tomcat flying. FYI - the Tomcat was from the San Diego Air & Space Museum collection - they got credit there in the end and a "free" paint job for it. "Different than the you know what country was the bad guy" paint scheme in the movie.

Enjoy the Day! Mark
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Seems was not just the logo:

https://lockheedmartin.com/topgun

"Lockheed Martin conceptual designers, engineers and aircraft model developers work each day to bring aircraft concepts for today and tomorrow to life. These aircraft support critical global security missions and advance the future of aviation and technology.

We partnered with the Top Gun: Maverick film’s creative team to collaborate on bringing our expertise in hypersonic capabilities and aircraft design to the big screen."

Nice videos and wallpapers on the page.

I loved the movie, a great movie to see more than one time and always in the big screen.
 
The footage from a hand-held camera inside the cockpit of an Embracer Phenom 300E light jet showcases a pilot’s view of how the scenes of aircraft approaching and buzzing over the aircraft carrier might have been captured for the movie.
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View: https://youtu.be/Px8597V-u_Q

Screen-Shot-2022-06-06-at-7.11.58-PM-scaled.jpeg


eurasiantimes.com

Phenomenal! Buzzing Over 3 Super Hornets, A Private Jet Comes Stunningly Close To Landing On A US Aircraft Carrier

As the Top Gun: Maverick movie continues to ‘roar & soar’ at the box office, a footage has emerged offering a glimpse of how some of the breathtaking aerial stunts were shot in the action-packed film. Mission 2027 – Chinese Military Will Be ‘Ready For Action’ Against Taiwan & Allies In 5 Years...
eurasiantimes.com eurasiantimes.com
 
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I must say I was misty eyed at seeing the F-14 take wing…but still muttered “this mission demands a rod from god….no wings needed.
 
@publiusr : Yes the F-14 dogfight is truly amazing. Not as good as what was given to us in the first movie (not real) but still.

Went a second time and the aerial sequences are truly amazing. I was trying to guess which one was shot from the Phenom and I hardly guessed. When there is flying sequences, the tempo is much too quick, to say the least.
I guess that they have tweaked some of the shots to give a more dramatic angle (ex: the pull-out sequence at the end of the bombing run where the camera follow the Super Hornet up a climbing valley, so low that snow is lifted).
 
Really, the F-14 and B-1 should have went to Australia do’s they could have an all variable geometry Air Force, had they kept Tornadoes and F-111s.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Saw it on IMAX and totally worth the huge expense.

Last week I read, but cannot find, a very good little article on the similarities that Top Gun Maverick shares with many previous movies. Obviously including Star Wars but also several hints back to the original. I hadn't realised that quiet Bob is played by the son of Bill Pullman, who played an F-18 pilot and US President in Independence Day!
 
I was half expecting that line of the F-18 being the "Brewster Buffalo of modern carrier aviation" to be one of Hangman's quips. Who started that phrase?
 
It's always controversial to speak about money when Internet, generally, thinks that everything should come for free, but let's rejoice that Hollywood Majors now can't ignore the fact that Aviation is very, very profitable.
variety.com

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Soars Past $1 Billion, Overtakes ‘Doctor Strange 2’ as the Highest-Grossing Movie of the Year Globally

"Top Gun: Maverick" was already the highest-grossing film of the year in the U.S. but now it's the top-earning 2022 release in the world.
variety.com variety.com
 
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That and Lightspeed fighter toys seem to sell well.

Maybe we are done with car movies for awhile
 
Will wait for it on Paramount+, now that’s finally launched in the UK. I barely go to the cinema these days due to mobility issues.
 
Will wait until Top Gun 2 gets released onto Blue-Ray, I cannot remember the last time I ever went to see a movie at the cinema.
 
A bit annoyed that they have it back in IMAX for limited viewings at one of the nearby theatres. Cause two weeks ago my little brother decided to watch it again and dragged my older brother and the parents along to a standard showing since Jurassic World Dominion was taking up the IMAX slots for the time.

It wasn't bad but it's just not the same as IMAX.
 
just saw Top Gun 2..
came out later here in Japan than in the US

I appreciate that they had a lot of connections with the first movie, but didnt try to bring everything back.
I think the decision to make Penny the main love interest instead of bringing back Charlie, probably would have been more acceptable for audiences.. as Tom aged much better than Kelley.

I re-watched Top Gun 1 before watching this. I used to think Iceman was an arse when I first watched TG1 as a kid.. but actually he was right on a lot of things when you think about it. He wasnt that bad.

Was really glad to see Iceman/Val Kilmer on the big screen again.
Hangman is basically Iceman 2.0

A lot of the movie gave me Ace Combat vibes. The mission seemed straight out of the many Ace Combat games where you needed to fly low, navigate through canyons, then at the end, take out some land target and escape. Even the design of the hypersonic aircraft seemed like one of the Ace Combat aircraft. I also thought of the Israel-Osirak strike as well

Obviously the unnamed enemy airforce seemed like half Iran half Russia.

I thought a lot of the film was very realistic. But when it got to that scene where Maverick got shot down, survived an Mi-24, then proposed to steal a plane.. That part was just pure Hollywood and unrealistic.
But then when he suggested stealing the F-14.. all that nostalgia came rushing back and I'm glad they did it
to be frank, the F-18 just doesn't look as "cool", and they basically wrote out the F-35. Didn't buy the reason why they couldnt use it.
So seeing the F-14 again was nice.

I was actually thinking throughout that last part..
what if in real life.. some one really did steal an Iranian F-14 and tried to land it on a carrier.
how would everyone react on deck. Could the modern ship still catch and launch an F-14?
Did the Iranians do away with the tailhook? etc

I was also thinking about that scene where the Su-57 dodged the missile, how realistic was that manouver?

also the hand signs made between the Tom and the enemy pilots, were they based on anything?
 
TopGun booms French air Corps recruitment:

Il est encore bien trop tôt pour tirer des conclusions définitives sur le décollage des candidatures, mais, selon le colonel Spet, entre le 24 mai et le 7 juin, « nous avons observé, sur plusieurs centres d'information et de recrutement des forces armées [Cirfa], une augmentation moyenne de plus de 100 % par rapport à la période correspondante en 2021. Quant aux consultations du site de recrutement Devenir aviateur, elles ont également doublé pour les métiers de pilotes et navigateurs sur la même période. »
------------------/////--------------------

It is still far too early to draw definitive conclusions on the take-off of candidates applications but, according to Colonel Spet, between May 24 and June 7, "we observed, in several armed forces information and recruitment centers [Cirfa], an average increase of more than 100% compared to the corresponding period in 2021. As for the number of consultations on the recruitment website Become an aviator, they also doubled for all pilot and navigator careers over the same period. »
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Even Mr Macron got hooked and had to fly the Alpha jet!

www.lepoint.fr

Comment l’armée profite du phénomène « Top Gun : Maverick »

La suite de « Top Gun » survole les 5 millions d’entrées. Marine nationale et armée de l’air déploient leurs forces marketing pour séduire de jeunes recrues.
www.lepoint.fr www.lepoint.fr
 
helmutkohl said:
I think the decision to make Penny the main love interest instead of bringing back Charlie, probably would have been more acceptable for audiences.. as Tom aged much better than Kelley.
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Also: Someone like "Maverick" seems unlikely to stick with one person for thirty years. Equally unlikely, someone sticking with *him* for thirty years. Even with marriage and kids thrown in, he seems like the sort of character who would be far too into his career and being Mr. Adventure to settle down.
 
What's interesting is when Maverick hits M9.0 in Darkstar and his buddy the Warrant Officer says he is now the fastest human ever, what was flown between SR-71 (M3.4) up to lets say to M8.0. I assume this is for an air-breathing aircraft which leads me to believe others have flown at different hypersonic speeds in another vehicle(s), I could be wrong, but maybe we are being teased. The US military likes this movie, just speculating? Thoughts?
 
One question : Could the mission in Top Gun 2 be carried out by cruise missiles alone?
 
Hydroman said:
What's interesting is when Maverick hits M9.0 in Darkstar and his buddy the Warrant Officer says he is now the fastest human ever, what was flown between SR-71 (M3.4) up to lets say to M8.0. I assume this is for an air-breathing aircraft which leads me to believe others have flown at different hypersonic speeds in another vehicle(s), I could be wrong, but maybe we are being teased. The US military likes this movie, just speculating? Thoughts?
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I thought the same thing when I heard the WO say that in the control room. Its anybody's guess. One notion is that the X-24C with the follow-on LR-105 engine was supposed to take it to Mach 6-8 and 90,000 ft. If it went black and tested in the late 70s or early 80s it could have looked something like the model at Pima (Lockheed X-24C). Rene Francillon wrote of a Lockheed hypersonic project in his 1982 Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913, but was asked to remove it in his 1987 book of the same title. Of course this would be a question for Lockheed.
 

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Hydroman said:
What's interesting is when Maverick hits M9.0 in Darkstar and his buddy the Warrant Officer says he is now the fastest human ever, what was flown between SR-71 (M3.4) up to lets say to M8.0. I assume this is for an air-breathing aircraft which leads me to believe others have flown at different hypersonic speeds in another vehicle(s), I could be wrong, but maybe we are being teased. The US military likes this movie, just speculating? Thoughts?
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No, the line right after he passes Mach 9.0 is "He's the fastest man alive", which parses differently than "He's the fastest human ever".

This sort of statement is most accurately surrounded by a bunch of caveats...

- Probably the fastest humans ever in a capsule (sorry, spacecraft) were the Apollo astronauts who reached 25,000 mph (IIRC) at entry interface, returning from the moon.

- The fastest humans in a winged, unpowered vehicle were the group of Space Shuttle astronauts at re-entry at Mach 25 (about 15,000 mph) (assuming you don't count orbital speed - above my paygrade).

- The fastest human in a winged, [rocket] powered vehicle was Pete Knight in the X-15A-2 at Mach 6.7 (4,520 mph)

- The fastest human in a winged turbojet/turboramjet was (I don't know) in a member of the Blackbird family (probably A-12) at around Mach 3.3 (about 2,100 mph).

(Not to disparage any Soviet/Russian achievements or records, I don't have those at close hand to quote).


On the other hand, speculation about the historical accuracy of a line in Top Gun is probably as useful in the grand scheme of things as debating the veracity of the studio translation of the regional subtitles into Klingonese.
 
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publiusr said:
Really, the F-14 and B-1 should have went to Australia do’s they could have an all variable geometry Air Force, had they kept Tornadoes and F-111s.
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The RAAF never flew Tornadoes. In the 1960s-70s they flew Mirage IIIs, and in the 1980s-2010s they flew F/A-18s.
 

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