A retired Top Gun instructor rates the flying in Top Gun: Maverick with high remarks. Directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, and Glen Powell, the film used minimal CGI in order to portray realistic flying experiences. While the film debuted in 2022, the accuracies, as well as the inaccuracies, are still discussed today.
Dave Berke spent 23 years in the Marines Corps as a fighter pilot. Throughout his career, he flew the F-18 Hornet, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-22 Raptor, and the F-35 Lightning II. In a recent video by Insider, he rates the film’s flying scenes for technique and accuracy. Despite admitting he considers himself a tough grader, he even gives some of the maneuvers in the movie a 9/10.
One scene Berke examines shows Cruise’s character implementing a maneuver called a “knife edge,” which involves quickly moving the aircraft from side to side. “When the maneuver happens, you actually turn through the sky more effectively,” says Berke, “So when you turn that jet, it keeps inside that really narrow space. They did a great job depicting that. Very realistic.”
Next, Berke looks at a maneuver Cruise’s character implements called a “low altitude pop,” which involves flying low, in Cruise’s case about 100 feet, and rolling upside down as the jet pulls toward the target.
“That’s exactly how we teach it. The whole point to that is the higher you climb and the more altitude you have, and the higher the angle of climb, the harder it’s going to be to see the target on the ground. So he has to roll upside down, so he’s looking at the top of the canopy. To be able to maintain the sight of this target throughout the entire maneuver, he’s got to aim these precision laser guided weapons right onto this very, very small target. And then he finishes off with a very high g maneuver to get back out of that bunker position.
Everything that’s done here, we train for. Tough scene, tough scenario, tough in real life. Very doable, but not easy to do. I’m giving this a nine. I’m probably a tough grader. Never going to give him that perfect ten, but this is about as good as it gets. They did a great job here. Really well done.”
Tom Cruise’s Maverick Flight Training Made The Movie More Realistic
Tom Cruise Created A Training Course For His Co-Stars
Dedicated to the realism of the film, Cruise arranged an intense flight training program for the cast. While the training was involved and vigorous, the program had a gradual ramp-up, so the actors could feel confident before taking part in aerial maneuvers that generate 8.5 g’s.
“He understood the assignment and what we were going to need in order to be confident and give good performances up in these [F/A-18 Super Hornets] while actually pulling g’s and doing these serious aerobatic maneuvers,” Top Gun: Maverick star Lewis Pullman said of Cruise’s training program, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
None of the actors, including Tom Cruise, ever actually operated the aircraft controls of the jets they were in. They were in the cockpit while experienced pilots had the reins. But even just being in a jet that’s participating in maneuvers that generate 8.5 g’s requires training. Additionally, the real cockpit footage of the actors in the jets while flying made all the difference when it came to the realism of Top Gun: Maverick.