Top Gun: Maverick

WaywardFan

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There were 2 SR-71’s (named Habu there, after a local black poisonous snake) on Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. My father was in a F-15 squadron there. One time, he heard about a sunset take off of a Habu and drove my siblings and I to the flightline to witness the take off. As a teen boy, so awesome.
 

UncleChris

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There were 2 SR-71’s (named Habu there, after a local black poisonous snake) on Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. My father was in a F-15 squadron there. One time, he heard about a sunset take off of a Habu and drove my siblings and I to the flightline to witness the take off. As a teen boy, so awesome.
We used to watch where the North Vietnamese THOUGHT the plane was as opposed to where he actually was. Short version....all they really knew was that he was up there somewhere.... ;)
 

Finito

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My dad was in the Air Force, he flew F-5's (AKA the Mig 28 in the original top gun), I have a pilot's license... but that has no real bearing on this discussion, it is only to brag and sound like an expert.

Planes have actually become slower, much slower, F-14s and F-4s, the work horses of the cold war era, were far faster jets than the current F-15, F-22 and F-35s. F-14s, the plane in the original top gun also had the capability to engage at a far longer range than almost any modern fighter, it was designed for fleet defense and air superiority. It had the ability to launch missiles from well beyond visual range, it was faster than almost anything and, by virtue of it's variable wings, more maneuverable than any fighter prior to the modern era of 'thrust vectoring' fighters. Sadly, the F-14 was phased out because of it's single use expertise, air to air domination. It lacked the ground attack ability of other planes, like the F-18, F-16 and F-15. While it was faster than all those planes and more maneuverable it lacked the multi-role capability that most modern US fighters possess.

But the biggest advancement in the last 20-30 years is in avionics. Until recently, if a pilot wanted to engage with a missile they needed to fire and keep the nose of the plane and radar locked on the target until a kill was scored. Modern fighters have far more advanced missiles, radars and HUDs (the software in the cockpit), they quickly get a lock, fire off a missile, and immediately disengage. The F-14 could have been upgraded to include this ability, but it would have been costly and on an air-frame that was out of production.

Also, the avionics aspect is the most unrealistic part of these trailers. American pilots wear helmets that make them look like aliens, you cannot see their faces because their visual is like what Iron Man sees in the marvel movies, computer read outs in every direction they look. But... it's a movie, and they want to show off that they paid a lot of money to show you that they actually got Tom Cruise to sit in the back seat of an F-18, so I can forgive them.

This all ignores stealth. The F-22 and F-35 are the only mass produced stealth fighters in the world. Both go slower than Vietnam era fighters, but both have far more advanced avionics, are virtually undetectable by radar and are highly maneuverable. But, Top-Gun is a movie about the Navy, and the F-22 is not used by the Navy and the F-35 has only recently been introduced.

Great post
 

Dr. Jones

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Love all of this. As a 19K10 (Tanker) in the army..... I can also attest for the A-10. I have never seen a plane take that much punishment and still come back to land after the mission is over. An absolute workhorse and savior to forward line units. 11B, 11D, & 19K's honor all Apache & Warthog crews!
 

carrrnuttt

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Might be OT to this thread, but since several plane/flight enthusiasts seems to have gathered in here, I figured this is as good a place as any to post this:

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That was textbook, but scary as ALL hell.

I don't know if I would have held up as well as this dude did, hence why I would want an Icon A5 and its built in parachute system which you can actually guide in to a landing, once deployed.
 
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puckhead

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Might be OT to this thread, but since several plane/flight enthusiasts seems to have gathered in here, I figured this is as good a place as any to post this:

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That was textbook, but scary as ALL hell.

I don't know if I would have held up as well as this dude did, hence why I would want an Icon A5 and it's built in parachute system which you can actually guide in to a landing, once deployed.

That was amazing. I felt those "sighs" like I was in the cockpit. They would have had to burn that front seat after the mess I would have left in there.
 
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Brian in Mesa

Brian in Mesa

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Nothing new, but it is getting closer...

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Cheesebeef

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I have seen U2 three times. Great concerts
Yeah. I saw them about ten years ago in Anaheim at the Angels stadium. My buddy somehow rigged up fake floor VIP passes and we ended up literally one person from the stage.

I really like U2, but would hardly consider myself a die-hard and that was one of the sickest shows I’ve ever seen. They rocked that stage for close to 3 hours… a good old fashion rock and roll show that was as much show as rock, in all the best ways.
 

Bada0Bing

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What a fun 80's flick. I rewatched it for the first time since I was a kid. Holds up well and the cheesy scenes/lines are awesome.

Looking forward to the sequel. If I make it out to the the theater it'll be the first time since prepandemic.
 

Finito

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What a fun 80's flick. I rewatched it for the first time since I was a kid. Holds up well and the cheesy scenes/lines are awesome.

Looking forward to the sequel. If I make it out to the the theater it'll be the first time since prepandemic.

I seen it theaters recently they do classic movies on Tuesdays at Harkins during the summers

It never gets old
 

MigratingOsprey

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Watched the original with the kids last night and the whole family went to see Maverick tonight

Fun movie.

My son had it in his top 3. My daughter liked it, but preferred the first. My wife loved it.

I thought it was a really enjoyable movie.

Was fun to see it in the theater as well. Good energy with the crowd - we were all there for the same stuff.

Living over by Luke, lot of AF people there.

The couple pilots I know of had already watched it with their squadron
 

Bada0Bing

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My son (22) just watched the original and loved it. We're gonna watch this in imax in a few weeks. Can't flipp'n wait.
 
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