Top Gun


Director: Tony Scott
Writter: Ehud Yonay, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr.
Tom Plays: Maverick
Status: ON DVD

Plot

The macho students of an elite US Flying school for advanced fighter pilots compete to be best in the class, and one romances the teacher.

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Goofs

Continuity: Stinger’s ribbons on his chest.

Continuity: The shot of the inverted F-14 cockpit (close to the cockpit of the MiG-28) is flipped, (lettering is reversed).

Factual errors: In the final dogfight scene, when Iceman’s plane is hit, they claim they are hit in the right engine; however, when they show the closeup of the bullet holes the “Rescue” point arrow is clearly visible. There is no rescue point on the engine nacelle of an F-14. Why would there be? These points are located on the front fuselage close to the cockpit.

Revealing mistakes: The F-14 crews were filmed in a discarded Navy cockpit that was not attached to the rest of the plane. This is why you can never see the wings or vertical stabilizers in the background when they show the actors “flying” in this cockpit.

Factual errors: There is no plane called the MiG-28 – all Mikoyan-Gurevich aircraft have odd-number designations. The planes used in the film to simulate the MiGs are Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs.

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Navy rules state on tactical jets, oxygen shall be worn from takeoff until landing, a rule broken throughout the movie. Real Navy/Marine Corps pilots break this rule all the time as well.

Continuity: In the elevator, Charlie’s ear alternates between being tucked under her cap and being untucked between shots.

Continuity: The distance between the aircraft after Goose takes the picture.

Factual errors: During most flight sequences, safety pins and star wheels on left top head box of MBU GRU-8 ejection seat are installed. Thus the seat is not armed and in any inverted maneuvers, seats would slide off ejection gun rails.

Continuity: The squadron markings on both Iceman and Maverick’s Tomcats change a few times. Both of the original markings are not real Tomcats squadron markings.

Continuity: Maverick’s wristwatch changes several times during the training flight.

Continuity: During the final dogfight, we several shot of Goose in the co-pilot seat when obviously he is dead and Merlin is Maverick’s “RIO”.

Factual errors: During both the training missions and dogfight scenes, the sound effects for the targeting system and the radar/missile warning are nearly identical. In reality, those two sounds would be completely different so as to give the pilot no doubt as to what’s going on (as evidenced when Maverick appears confused when he hears a “lock on” tone when Jester “kills” him while Maverick’s chasing Viper).

Continuity: In hop 19, Hollywood and Maverick are chasing Jester while Viper gets away. Hollywood’s plane is in front of Maverick’s but when Maverick breaks away to go after Viper, it is the F-14 in front that pulls away.

Revealing mistakes: In many scenes with aircraft on the ground, missiles are shown loaded onto aircraft with blue stripes painted on them. Blue is the color code for inert ordnance. These missiles are for practice and cannot be fired at targets.

Continuity: Maverick’s watch before and after the training flight.

Continuity: Maverick’s tailhook retracts too quickly when he decides to rescue Cougar. Additionally, it is visible in a later shot.

Continuity: Charlie gains her folder when she exits the ladies room.

Continuity: Iceman suddenly appears next to Wolfman in the locker.

Continuity: Maverick’s hair during the elevator scene.

Continuity: When Maverick is cruising on his motorcycle right after arriving at Miramar, it is high noon. In the very next shot, the sun is setting.

Continuity: Before Maverick and Goose depart for Miramar, Stinger tells them that the Top Gun school lasts five weeks. Later in the film, Charlie tells Maverick (during their hallway conversation) the school last eight weeks.

Continuity: In the elevator scene, Maverick walks through a “closed” elevator door.

Continuity: Maverick’s arms alternate between on his cheek, in his lap and folded between shots during Viper’s lecture at the beginning of the picture.

Continuity: First date between Charlie and Maverick, level of wine in bottle goes down then up and down then up and then some before the first drop is poured.

Continuity: During the initial flight scenes with the MiG-28’s, when Maverick is visible on the screen, Sundown’s helmet (orange and white stripes) is reflected on the cockpit canopy. This is noticeable above and behind Maverick on the upper left side of the canopy.

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After Iceman says the alternate trophy for the runners-up is in the ladies room, Goose starts to laugh. In one shot, his hand isn’t on Maverick’s shoulder, but when he finishes laughing, it is.

Continuity: Numerous positional inconsistencies during the volleyball game.

Continuity: Through most of the first class at Top Gun, Slider has his arm behind Iceman, but right before he says, “The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies room,” Slider suddenly disappears.

Continuity: Maverick Leaves the volleyball game with no belt on. He arrives at Charlie’s house with one on

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: While all Navy pilots must have NOMEX flight gloves with them, they are not required to (and in fact, do not always) wear them.

Continuity: Amount of ice in Maverick’s glass in the airport bar.

Continuity: Viper’s sunglasses after Maverick’s first landing after the accident.

Revealing mistakes: When Maverick is riding his motorcycle along the runway, you can see the tie-down straps that hold him onto the trailer, visible on his front fender.

Continuity: Supposedly the final dogfight happens over water, yet a mountain is visible in the corner of one shot.

Continuity: Maverick fires the same missile from the same wing station at least three times.

Continuity: The lettering on the front of Sundown’s helmet disappears once he and Maverick are back on the ground after their first flight together.

Revealing mistakes: The signal that Maverick is given before he takes off for the final fight scene is not the launch signal, but rather the “remove power” signal. This signal is given early in F-14 launch procedures, not right before launch.

Continuity: Maverick’s sunglasses are (not) on when Slider picks him up after they return to the carrier.

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: “Ladies Room” sign on the window of the toilets isn’t inverted when Maverick goes inside. That’s because we’re looking in a mirror.

Revealing mistakes: In the bar scene when Goose is playing “Great Balls of Fire, ” the movement of his hands does not match the music.

Continuity: Position of the wine bottle at Charlie’s place.

Continuity: Toward the end of the movie, when Maverick is waiting on “Alert Five, ” the camera cuts between Maverick in the cockpit and outside, where carrier crew are working on “his” plane. The plane they are working on is actually an A-6 Intruder, not an F-14.

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Goose is depicted as a Lt (jg) and wears the proper insignia: on a white uniform, shoulder boards with one thick gold bar and one thin, and in khakis, a single silver bar (a full lieutenant wears double silver bars). (Some thought he was wearing full lieutenant insignia; they are similar.)

Continuity: In stairwell Iceman puts on watch twice.

Continuity: When Maverick is riding his motorcycle alongside the runway, after the F-14 takes off and turns to the left the shot changes and shows Maverick riding past lighting standards heading toward the runway as indicated by the strobe lights.

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The insignia for a Navy Lieutenant happen to be the same as for Army and Air Force Captains. Thus, Maverick and Iceman are correctly wearing Lieutenant insignia.

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Charlotte Blackwood is supposed to be an “astrophysicist” training Navy pilots. While this specific discipline isn’t relevant to flight training, her general math/science background surely is.

Crew or equipment visible: When Maverick is driving his motorcycle along the runway with the planes taking off, you can see the bed of the truck he’s atop at the bottom of the screen.

Revealing mistakes: After Iceman is hit for the first time in the final dogfight, the smoke maker on the back of his Tomcat is clearly visible, emitting smoke.

Continuity: When the F-14 engines flame out before the flat spin, Goose says, “Engine one is out,” and the next shot shows the number two (right) engine “flaming out”. When Goose says, “Engine two is out,” we see the number one (left) engine “flaming out”. (The flame outs are actually the engines being normally brought out of afterburner.)

Continuity: After diner at Charlie’s, Maverick and Charlie have a talk and in the background there’s a parrot eating a peanut (sitting on one leg). The peanut disappears and reappears between shots.

Continuity: Navy pilots fly with the oxygen mask designated MBU-14/p, which in the movie is correctly depicted. But, after Goose ejects and is shown dead and bleeding in the water, he is wearing an MS220001 oxygen mask which was used in the ’50s, ’60s and very early ’70s. It is not in use today.

Factual errors: The term “bogey” is misused throughout the movie. A bogey is an unidentified aircraft. Once identified, it is referred to as a “friendly” (for friendly aircraft), “bandit” (for non-friendly aircraft) or “hostile” (for non-friendly aircraft that may be fired at). In USN terminology, a non-friendly surface radar contact is a “skunk”.

Continuity: When Maverick leaves Charlie’s house after he has dinner with her, there is a For Rent sign in her yard (as there is when he drives by her house later in the movie), but there wasn’t one when he arrived.

Factual errors: Many errors are made when describing maneuvers that various aircraft have made. This is especially noticeable during the briefing before the first hop.

Continuity: When Charlie gives Maverick a dinner invitation, she clearly writes it on a form, but on close up of the invitation, it is written on a blank sheet of paper.

Revealing mistakes: When Maverick is launching from the carrier before the final battle, he goes directly into a roll when leaving ship. An F-14 taking off with full tanks of fuel wouldn’t have gained enough speed to do this so soon. You can see while filming this (rear mounted camera), the plane that does the roll comes from a low-level flyby over side of the carrier. Also, the catapult Maverick supposedly launched from is “stacked” with parked aircraft.

Factual errors: When Charlie chases down Maverick on his motorcycle her car has a blue DOD decal on its windshield. Blue decals are used for officers, red decals, for enlisted. As a civilian employee she would have had a green DOD decal for her car.

Continuity: After Charlie hands out the dinner invitation to Maverick, Slider tells him “Crash and burn, huh, Mav?” while holding a plane model in front of his face. In the very next shot the plane disappears.

Continuity: Maverick and Iceman seem to change planes during the final fight scene. Maverick launches in an F-14 bearing a 104 on the nose. Once he lands he exits an F-14 with 114 on the nose while Iceman exits an F-14 with 114 on the nose.

Continuity: During the first hop, the sky is clear with minimal cloud cover most of the time, but in the shot near the end of the hop where we see the F-14 chasing the A-4 from above, the sky is extremely cloudy.

Continuity: On hop 31, the planes clearly take off early in the morning, but once they’re off the ground, it’s high noon.

Factual errors: In the opening scene when all planes take off, it is sunrise. As they intercept the “bogeys” it is high noon. Towards the end of flying time it is nighttime.

Continuity: When Maverick has dinner with Charlie, he discusses how much his “folks love this music” while “Dock of the Bay” is playing. His father went missing in 1965 but this song was only recorded in December 1967 and not released till the new year.

Continuity: In the opening sequence, where Maverick and Cougar engage the two MiGs, there’s a mountain range in the background of some shots, but the action is set in the middle of the ocean.

Continuity: In the initial scenes, where “Stinger”, the Admiral is on the radar deck, he has no service insignias on his uniform. Then, in the second scene, he has an enormous number of service insignias on his uniform and they continue to be evident throughout.

Factual errors: During the final dogfight, the F-14’s are shown launching AIM-9 Sidewinders as well as AIM-7 Sparrow missiles at the “Migs”. The AIM-7’s would have been worthless at the close ranges shown as the targeting aircraft has to maintain constant radar “lock” on its target. In addition, both the AIM-9 and the AIM-7 have minimum ranges of nearly a mile, making the likelihood of a kill in a close range dogfight very slim. The F-14 is armed with a 20mm cannon for this very reason and a Top Gun-trained pilot would probably have used it when battling more maneuverable aircraft at short range.

Quotes

Iceman: You two really are cowboys.
Maverick: What’s your problem, Kazanski?
Iceman: You’re everyone’s problem. That’s because every time you go up in the air, you’re unsafe. I don’t like you because you’re dangerous.
Maverick: That’s right! Ice… man. I am dangerous.

Charlie: Excuse me, Lieutenant. Is there something wrong?
Maverick: Yes ma’am, the data on the MiG is inaccurate.
Charlie: How’s that, Lieutenant?
Maverick: Well, I just happened to see a MiG 28 do a…
Goose: We!
Maverick: Uh, sorry Goose. WE happened to see a MiG 28 do a 4g negative dive.
Charlie: Where did you see this?
Maverick: Uh, that’s classified.
Charlie: It’s what?
Maverick: It’s classified. I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

Maverick: Tower, this is Ghost rider requesting a flyby.
Air Boss Johnson: That’s a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full.

Viper: Good morning, gentlemen, the temperature is 110 degrees.
Wolfman: Holy shit, it’s Viper!
Goose: Viper’s up here, great… oh shit…
Maverick: Great, he’s probably saying, “Holy shit, it’s Maverick and Goose.”
Goose: Yeah, I’m sure he’s saying that.

Viper: In case some of you are wondering who the best is they are up here on this plaque.
[turns to Maverick] Viper: Do you think your name will be on that plaque?
Maverick: Yes sir.
Viper: That’s pretty arrogant, considering the company you’re in.
Maverick: Yes sir.
Viper: I like that in a pilot.

Viper: I flew with your old man. VF-51, the Oriskany. You’re a lot like he was. Only better… and worse. He was a natural heroic son of a bitch that one.
Maverick: So he DID do it right.
Viper: Yeah, he did it right… Is that why you fly the way you do? Trying to prove something? Yeah your old man did it right. What I’m about to tell you is classified. It could end my career. We were in the worst dogfight I ever dreamed of. There were bogeys like fireflies all over the sky. His F-4 was hit, and he was wounded, but he could’ve made it back. He stayed in it, saved three planes before he bought it.
Maverick: How come I never heard that before?
Viper: Well that’s not something the State Department tells dependents when the battle occurred over the wrong line on some map.
Maverick: So you were there?
Viper: I was there. What’s on your mind?
Maverick: My options, Sir.
Viper: Simple. First you’ve acquired enough points to show up tomorrow and graduate with your Top Gun class, or you can quit. There’d be no disgrace. That spin was hell, it would’ve shook me up.
Maverick: So you think I should quit?
Viper: I didn’t say that. The simple fact is you feel responsible for Goose and you have a confidence problem. Now I’m not gonna sit here and blow sunshine up your ass, Lieutenant. A good pilot is compelled to evaluate what’s happened, so he can apply what he’s learned. Up there, we gotta push it. That’s our job. It’s your option Lieutenant. All yours.
Maverick: Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, Sir, but thank you very much for your time.
Viper: No Problem. Good luck.

Maverick: That son of a bitch cut me off!

Stinger: Maverick, you just did an incredibly brave thing. What you should have done was land your plane! you don’t own that plane, the tax payers do! Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash. You’ve been busted, you lost your qualifications as section leader three times, put in hack twice by me, with a history of high speed passes over five air control towers, and one admiral’s daughter!
Goose: Penny Benjamin?
[Maverick shrugs] Stinger: And you asshole, you’re lucky to be here!
Goose: Thank you, sir.
Stinger: And let’s not bullshit Maverick. Your family name ain’t the best in the Navy. You need to be doing it better, and cleaner than the other guy. Now what is it with you?
Maverick: Just want to serve my country, be the best pilot in the Navy, sir.
Stinger: Don’t screw around with me Maverick. You’re a hell of an instinctive pilot. Maybe too good. I’d like to bust your butt but I can’t. I got another problem here. I gotta send somebody from this squadron to Miramar. I gotta do something here, I still can believe it. I gotta give you your dream shot! I’m gonna send you up against the best. You two characters are going to Top Gun.

Carole: Hey Goose you big stud!
Goose: That’s me, honey.
Carole: Take me to bed or lose me forever.
Goose: Show me the way home, honey.

Maverick: I think I’ll go embarrass myself with Goose

Maverick: This is what I call a target rich environment.
Goose: You live your life between your legs Mav.
Maverick: Goose, even you could get laid in a place like this.
Goose: Hell, I’d be happy to just find a girl that would talk dirty to me.

Maverick: [spots Charlie for the first time] She’s lost that loving feeling.
Goose: She’s lo…
[catches up] Goose: No she hasn’t.
Maverick: Yes she has.
Goose: [objecting] She’s not lost that lo…
Maverick: Goose, she’s lost it man.
[walks off] Goose: [to Mav] Come on!
[to himself] Goose: Aw sh… I hate it when she does that.

Maverick: I feel the need…
Maverick, Goose: …the need for speed!

Maverick: You don’t have time to think up there. If you think, you’re dead.

Stinger: And if you screw up just this much, you’ll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong!
Maverick: Yes sir!

Iceman: You can be my wingman any time.
Maverick: Bullshit! You can be mine.

Stinger: They gave you your choice of duty son, anything, anywhere. Do you believe that shit? Where do you think you wanna go?
Maverick: I thought of being an instructor, sir.
Stinger: Top Gun?
Maverick: Yes, sir.
Stinger: God help us.

Charlie: What do you wanna do? Just drop down on the tile and go for it?
Maverick: No, actually I had this counter in mind.
Charlie: Great, that would be very, very comfortable, yeah.
Maverick: It could be.

Goose: No. No, Mav, this is not a good idea.
Maverick: Sorry Goose, but it’s time to buzz a tower.

Maverick: Too close for missles, I’m switching to guns.

Merlin: What are you doing? You’re slowing down, you’re slowing down!
Maverick: I’m bringing him in closer, Merlin.
Merlin: You’re gonna do WHAT?

Charlie: I’ll have what he’s having. Hemlock is it?
Maverick: Ice water.

[to Cougar and Merlin while up in the air] Maverick: Any of you boys seen an aircraft-carrier around here?

[Charlie has just given Maverick her address while pretending to turn down his date offer] Slider: Crashed and burned! Huh, Mav?
Maverick: Hey, Slider.
[sniffs] Maverick: You stink!

Charlie: Listen, can I ask you a personal question?
Maverick: That depends.
Charlie: Are you a good pilot?
Maverick: I can hold my own.
Charlie: Great, then I won’t have to worry about you making your living as a singer.
Maverick: I’m going to need a beer to put these flames out. Yo! Great Mav, real slick.

Maverick: Jesus Christ, and you think I’m reckless? When I fly, I’ll have you know that my crew and my plane come first.
Charlie: Well, I am going to finish my sentence, Lieutenant. My review of your flight performance was right on.
Maverick: Is that right?
Charlie: That is right, but I held something back. I see some real genius in your flying, Maverick, but I can’t say that in there. I was afraid that everyone in the tax trailer would see right through me, and I just don’t want anyone to know that I’ve fallen for you.

Charlie: So lieutenant, where exactly were you?
Maverick: Well, we…
Goose: Thank you.
Maverick: Started up on a 6, when he pulled from the clouds, and then I moved in above him.
Charlie: Well, if you were directly above him, how could you see him?
Maverick: Because I was inverted.
Iceman: [coughs whilst saying] Bullshit.
Goose: No he was man, it was a really great move. He was inverted.
Charlie: You were in a 4g inverted dive with a MiG28?
Maverick: Yes ma’am.
Charlie: At what range?
Maverick: Um, about 2 meters.
Goose: It was actually about 1 and a half I think. It was 1 and a half, I’ve got a great Polaroid of it, and he’s right there, must be 1 and a half.
Maverick: Was a nice picture.
Goose: Thanks.
Charlie: Eh lieutenant, what were you doing there?
Goose: Communicating.
Maverick: Communicating. Keeping up foriegn relations. You know, giving him the bird!
Goose: [Charlie looks puzzled, so Goose clarifies] You know, the finger
[gestures apprpriately] Charlie: Yes, I know the finger, Goose.
Goose: I-I’m sorry, I hate it when it does that, I’m sorry. Excuse me.

Viper: How ya doin’?
Maverick: I’m all right.
Viper: Goose is dead.
Maverick: I know.
Viper: You fly jets long enough, something like this happens.
Maverick: He was my R.I.O., my responsibility.
Viper: My squadron we lost 8 of 18 aircraft. 10 men. First one dies you die too, but there will be others. You can count on that. You gotta let him go. You gotta let him go.

Goose: It’s the bottom of the 9th, the score is tied its time for the big one.
Iceman: You up for this one, Maverick?
Maverick: Just a walk in the park Kazansky.

Maverick: I can see it’s dangerous for you, but if the government trusts me, maybe you could.
Charlie: It takes a lot more than just fancy flying.

[Merlin sees the last two MiGs flying away at the end of the dogfight] Merlin: Mustang, this is Voodoo 3. Remaining MiGs are bugging out.

[to Maverick after the last dogfight] Stinger: How’s it feel to be on the front page of every newspaper in the english-speaking world, even though the other side denies the incident? Congratulations.

Maverick: Standby, Viper’s coming down.

Maverick: Jesus, this guy’s good!

Trivia

Val Kilmer did not want to be in this film, but was forced to by contractual obligations.
Matthew Modine was originally selected to play Maverick but he turned the part down.

One of the unused call-signs ‘Tombstone’ can be seen on a black fighter pilot helmet with three red arrows in promotional photos featuring Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson.

The aircraft used for the fictional MiG-28s are Northrop F-5E (single seat) and F (two seat) Tiger IIs, which were used by TOPGUN as aggressor aircraft.

‘Anthony Edwards’ , Michael Ironside, and Rick Rossovich all went on to roles in the t.v. series ER. Edwards: Dr. Mark Greene, Ironside: Dr. William “Wild Willy” Swift, Rossovich: Dr. John “Tag” Taglieri

During the final furball, Stinger orders, “Ready Willard and Simkin on cats 3 and 4” – a reference to dogfight choreographer “Rat” Willard and naval consultant Semkin.

Bryan Adams was asked to allow his song “Only the Strong Survive” on the soundtrack, but he refused because he felt that the film glorified war.

In several locker scenes, one of the lockers is labeled as belonging to “TEX”. This is the call sign for one of the top gun instructors and Mig pilots that worked on the film, Lt. William ‘Tex’ Spence.

Charlie’s “older man” date at the officer’s club is the real-life “Viper”, Pete Pettigrew. He is a retired Navy pilot and TOPGUN instructor, and shot down a MiG during the Vietnam War. He served as the technical consultant on the film.

Actor Trademark: [Val Kilmer] flipping a pen over his knuckles.

The piano scene and the final bar/jukebox scene were shot in a San Diego restaurant called Kansas City BBQ, at the corner of Kettner Blvd and W. Harbor Drive. The restaurant now houses many props and memorabilia from the film, including the jukebox and Maverick’s flight helmet sits behind the bar in a locked display case.

The scene where Maverick follows Charlie into the bathroom was filmed at the Headquarters Building at Recruit Training Command, San Diego.

During the filming of some sequences from civilian aircraft, longtime Hollywood stunt pilot Art Scholl was killed. A biplane he was flying crashed off the Pacific Coast. The film is dedicated to his memory.

Director Tony Scott wrote a quick check for $25,000 to the commander of the aircraft carrier in order to capture one vital external shot.

The love scene between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis was filmed after initial test screenings. Moviegoers complained that there was no love scene, so the company obliged. McGillis, however, had already dyed her hair darker for her next film. This is why the scene is tinted blue. Also noticeable as a subsequent shoot due to the longer length of Tom Cruise’s hair (particularly in front).

Like the love scene, the elevator scene (where Maverick and Charlie meet after Mav’s workout) was filmed post-production. Kelly McGillis’s hair had already been colored for another movie role, that is why she is wearing a hat. Tom Cruise’s hair is longer in the shot, as well.

Just before the film started production, one of the producers announced that they wanted to use the Bruce Springsteen song “Born in the USA” but attempts to secure the song were unsuccessful.

Both John Carpenter and David Cronenberg turned down the chance to direct.

An early trailer was scored to the Cars’ song “Stranger Eyes”, from the album “Heartbeat City”. The song is not in the movie or on the soundtrack.

Riding on the back of this film’s success, the US Navy set up recruiting booths in the major cinemas to try and catch some of the adrenaline charged guys leaving the screenings. They had the highest applications rate for years as a result.

A script for “Top Gun 2” was completed shortly after the release of the film, but it broke down in pre-production because 1) the military’s technology had become updated and they didn’t want camera crew anywhere near their new aircraft and 2) Cruise did not want a sequel and finally agreed to star in one for a very high amount that was deemed “unaffordable.” The script followed the further adventures of Maverick as an instructer at the Top Gun academy, the twist being a cocky female reminiscent of himself joining the team.

Most of the actors who portrayed F-14 crewmembers received backseat rides in the F-14, and several of the scenes which appear in the film were filmed with the actors in the air.

Voted #3 Must See Movie of all time by listeners of Capital FM in London.

Following the movie, some of the F-5s used as the “MiG-28s” maintained their black paint schemes and served as “aggressor” aircraft simulating enemy planes in the real-life Top Gun program.

The pilot that gets “flipped off” by Maverick and Goose is Admiral Robert F. Willard, the lead flight choreographer for the film. He is now (2005) the Vice Admiral of Naval Operations for the US Navy.

After the “Car chase” when Charlie tells Marverick that she didn’t want anyone to find out she was falling for him, Maverick originally had a line to say. Tom Cruise forgot the line and “ad libbed” by kissing Kelly McGillis instead. The director liked it so much, he left the scene like that.

Judas Priest were asked to contribute the song “Reckless” to the soundtrack, but declined because they thought the movie would flop. Two years later, they contributed a cover of “Johnny B. Goode” to the movie of the same name, which turned out to be a flop.

Director Tony Scott was officially fired three times during production.

Harold Faltermeyer’s music score was the first to be performed and recorded on the polyphonic 16 bit stereo Synclavier Digital Music System.

During the opening dogfight, music from the film Thief of Hearts, composed by Top Gun composer Harold Faltermeyer, can be heard over-scoring action. The sequence had originally been temp-tracked to this music, so it was used when Harold Faltermeyer had left the project and the Top Gun score incomplete.

The callsign ‘Ghostrider’ that Maverick uses for his plane was the name of a real F-14 squadron (VF-142), and a model of a Tomcat from that squadron can be seen behind Sundown in the shot where Maverick tells Slider he stinks.

The motorcycle that Maverick rides is a 1985 Kawasaki GPZ 900

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s first name was Evan in early scripts of the film. It was later changed to Pete as an homage to Pete Pettigrew, who worked on the film (Pettigrew appears in the bar scene early in the film as Charlie’s older male date.)

In early drafts of the film, the character whose call sign is Merlin actually had the last name of Merlin, and his call sign was Wizard.

The film was originally going to have a scene near the end where Maverick visited Goose’s grave. A filmed version of this scene was never released, however still screen shots from what such a scene would have looked like are available on the special edition DVD.

Giorgio Moroder wrote most of the music for the songs on the soundtrack. Tom Whitlock, who wrote the majority of the lyrics to these songs, was actually the mechanic who worked on Moroder’s sports car.

An official release of Harold Faltermeyer’s score for the film has never been done. Two pieces of score appear on the current soundtrack, but the complete score has yet to be released.