Tech & Auto
Fighter Pilots Say This Top Gun: Maverick Scene Is Actually Impossible
By JACK PICONE
While the “Top Gun: Maverick” filmmakers worked with the U.S. military to give realistic portrayals of fighter jets’ flight and combat, not everything was accurate or possible.
According to real-life fighter pilot C.W. Lemoine, one aerial maneuver during the film’s training sequence is physically impossible due to physics.
In the scene, the audience sees an F/A-18F piloted by Phoenix and Bob flying to the right flank of Hangman from the left, not just on its side but belly-first.
Lemoine explained the scene with his hands on his YouTube channel: “When a jet goes this way, it looks belly up. This was like a belly-up rejoin to put itself into position.”
Lemoine and F/A-18 instructor pilot Trevor “Gonky” Hartsock explained that it was either shot in reverse or the film used CGI for that scene.