Warbird Information Exchange

I don't recall an Aggressor squadron with gloss back paint jobs with a Red Star in those days. I suppose it's possible.

While I know there wasn't much else MiG-wise around in those days, maybe using something other than an American airplane would have been better. I just know that showing that movie on a military base was sure to raise a chuckle when Goose says "Wow, 28's no one has been this close before!" It sure did at the base theater at Lakenheath.

TOP GUN!

More cheese that a double cheese burger!

Actually, "Airplane!" was a parody of "Zero Hour!", a 1957 movie,
according to the "Don't call me Shirley" DVD edition of the movie.

_________________
-Bill
B-17E 41-2595 "Desert Rat" Restoration Team

If you can, watch Zero Hour...you will really appreciate Airplane more...still one of the funniest movies I have seen.
As for cockpit scenes, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats Plan 9 From Outer Space..supposed to be a DC-6 but the control columns are just sticks with half circle plywood on them. No other controls, electronics, etc in the cockpit. Also, the partition between the "cockpit" and the rest of the plane is Ed Wood's (director) personal shower curtain.

Those were the actual F-5's that the Topgun school used that were in the movie. I grew up next to Miramar and my uncle was part of the film crew for the movie. He said they used a water based paint on the F-5's and it kept peeling off during flight.

The scene with the plane flying along and the engines running predates Zero Hour, by 4 years. The Zero Hour story is a good one. I never eat fish on a plane!

That is cool. Just last year there were a pair of Top Gun F-5's at Oshkosh that were painted just like the movie. I wonder if there are still active in the Navy? Also I give Top Gun credit for at least using the real aircraft that Top Gun had. They didn't paint up T-6's to be the bad guy. I am not sure what else could have been used during that time period.

_________________
Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Yes, they are at NAS Fallon, NV now. They also operate at El Centro, CA and Key West FL, for adversary training.

_________________
If God had wanted man to fly behind a flat motor, Pratt Whitney would've built one.

If I remember it right, the planes and pilots used in Topgun were all from the school. I used to love watching the F-14 flying the pattern. I'm old enough to remember watching the F-4's before the Tomcats. Unfortunately they turned Miramar into a Marine Corps base and I moved 1100 miles away.

That reminds me, in the movie there is a hangar that says Fighter Town USA. Is that really there?

_________________
Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Yes.

From a been there done that perspective, the movie is highly inacurate in depicting Naval Aviation, but, not as bad as Iron Eagle was for the AF. I would put them both in the same ball park. I have always wondered why they used a fictional squadron, just guess it is just Hollywierd doing its thing. It was a huge recruiting success, and we all had the priviledge (orders) to attend the Miramar premier at the base theather in our cracker jack dress whites.

Lots of muted chuckles, during the movie. I think I was most amazed at the lack of military bearing this movie depicted. Next, how bad they edited this thing, especially scenes on the boat.

After the movie became a box office success it seemed like every celebrity came out of the woodwork for a "Ride" in the Tomcat.

Warren
ex gunfighter plane captain and maint puke