'TOP GUN: MAVERICK' REIGNITES INTEREST IN REAL TOP GUN PILOTS
With the Top Gun: Maverick release date on May 24th, fans of the original classic movie will finally get to witness the continued story of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise. We’re all going to see what happened after Iceman told Pete he could be his wingman anytime. We’ll also find out if audiences around the globe will be treated to a rematch of that iconic shirtless volleyball scene that was set up just so we could see Tom Cruise flex while pretending to check his watch. At 59, we’ll see if his guns are still top. With Top Gun 2 releasing in theaters, it’s a great time to talk about the real-life Top Gun school and Top Gun pilots who keep the skies clear of enemy bogies all year round, not just on opening weekend. Suggested read:Famous Veterans: You’ll Never Believe These Celebrities Actually Served
“Top Gun: Maverick” vs. The Real Navy Top Gun
From the Top Gun: Maverick trailer, we know that Goose, Top Gun’s costar played by Anthony Edwards, had a son. He blames Maverick for reasons that will be obvious to fans of the original, and the tension here likely drives the emotional landscape of the plot. But these pilots and their training aren’t just a work of fiction. The official name of the real Navy Top Gun is the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI program). In popular culture, it’s known as TOPGUN, though the popularity of the movie spread that into two words to the casuals among us. TOPGUN began as the Navy Fighter Weapons School. It was founded during the Vietnam War in 1969 and housed at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. The purpose of TOPGUN was to beef up our air superiority since American pilots were losing out to the MiG counterparts, despite flying superior hardware. The program’s stated goal was to create advanced flight crew specialists who knew everything there was to know about the F-4 Phantom II, including tech, tactics, maneuverability, and more. Top Gun training was initially developed in the wake of American losses during Operation Rolling Thunder. But it quickly developed into a program to churn out the best of the best when it comes to global air superiority. The program would later move to NAS Fallon, Nevada, where it remains to this day. The Top Gun school location being in the middle of the desert allows for no distractions as the most elite pilots of our time duke it out to prove who’s really fit to be Iceman’s wingman.
Top Gun Flight School Planes
After Captain Frank Ault completed his report to the Navy about the failures of Operation Rolling Thunder, the TOPGUN school was created and run out of a trailer at NAS Miramar. Here, the instructors used lightweight planes to simulate the enemy MiG-17 and MiG-21. The most popular of these were the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and the USAF Northrop T-38 Talon. While the pilots in training were flying F-4 Phantoms back then, the school would migrate to the F-14 Tomcat featured in the original Top Gun film. And the F/A-18 Hornet joined the Top Gun fleet soon after. Instructors began to use the F-16 Falcon to better simulate a new generation of MiGs. These days, nine aircraft are used throughout the nine-week program, including the F-35C Lightning II.
The Top Gun Flight School Curriculum
The course consists of 80 hours of instruction through three Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI) classes. Students are challenged by 25 instructor-led sorties over the course of their graduate-level training in the hardware and tactics of advanced aerial weaponry. After graduating from Top Gun, Navy pilots become instructors themselves, either by taking their new knowledge to their operational squadron or by directly passing on what they’ve learned through joining an FRS squadron to teach new naval aviators. TOPGUN also offers a refresher course to pilots who’ve already been through the program, called the Strike-Fighter Tactics Refresher Course or “Re-Blue.” This is an annual event that occurs over two days of training to keep graduates apprised of updated tactics and current knowledge. The SFTI program has come a long way since its necessary inception as a result of high casualties during the Vietnam War. It began as a four-week course that was taught out of a trailer in a neglected corner of NAS Miramar, and it sits today as an elite program that’s highly touted in popular culture.
Top Gun Flight School Is About To Be Popular Again
With a lot of the Top Gun cast returning for the sequel – including Iceman, a.k.a Val Kilmer, Top Gun’s antagonist and foil to Tom Cruise’s Maverick – we’re set to see the story continue and witness a new generation of fighter pilots become inspired all over again. Top Gun: Maverick seems to be angling to show us exactly what Pete Mitchell has left in the tank and wants us to find out what new wild aerial tricks he has up his sleeve. Hopefully, fans will not have lost that lovin’ feeling come May 24th when Top Gun 2 is out in theaters nationwide. More like this:11 of the Best Military Movies in 2022 to Binge-Watch Now