As Top Gun: Maverick tops the box office worldwide, real-life pilots have opened up about what the 'Top Gun' course is actually like.
The newly-released film sees Tom Cruise return to his iconic role as Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, only this time he’s in the instructor’s seat.
However, it’s in the US Defence Department’s Patch Wearers: The Real Top Gun where fans of the movie can get a true insight into how the US Navy trains the best of the best.
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One pilot, Kyle ‘Washjob’ Haith, said of the course: “Going through the Top Gun course was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
He went on to describe it as ‘gruelling’ and said it was ‘13 weeks of pain’.
“But everybody had the same goal and they had the same determination and drive,” Washjob asserted. “We all just kind of leaned on each other at that point and looked to each other for motivation.”
However, while the course is gruelling, the pilot made a point of saying that is also ‘an extremely fulfilling experience’.
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“Some of the flying that we do is a little bit more risky,” he said, “but being able to execute those tactics, that’s an extremely fulfilling experience.”
Discussing how pilots are selected for the program, Stu ‘Gizmo’ Whipkey, said that they essentially ‘teach the teachers’.
“Top Gun was founded as an organisation where we bring aircrew from the fleet who are doing well and we’ll teach them our techniques.
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“And then send them back to their squadron so they share these tactics, techniques with the rest of fleet.
“Every time we go [and] fly, there’s always something that can be improved or something that we can work on.”
Pictured below are the US Navy's Blue Angels, who Tom Cruise flew with prior to filming Top Gun: Maverick, as per Insider.
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Another pilot, Orion ‘Sid’ Kelly, said: “Nothing can completely prepare you for how busy and difficult the course is, but we don’t dwell on that because you’re flying with some of the best pilots in the entire world.
“The most dangerous misconception for a Top Gun instructor is that they've arrived or that they’re as good as they need to be."
He said, simply put, the Top Gun pilots ‘are not in the business of good enough’.
News of the reality of the Top Gun course comes as Top Gun: Maverick grossed more than $500 million in global box office sales.
Topics: Film and TV
Emma Guinness