Top Gun - The Movie

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Top Gun - The Movie

Post by Spanky »

I found this on the Tomcat-Sunset website and thought ya'll might get a kick out of it.

I was an extra in Top Gun, as were several pilots/RIOs from VF-124 RAG classes, other F-14 notables such as Heater, and others. If you watch the movie closely, you'll see active-duty guys in the O'Club, classroom, flight line and graduation scenes. In addition, that's a future VF-211 YN1 (YN1 Gates) who was walking in the hallway and spilled the tray of coffee all over that pissed-off commander after the tower fly-by. Waggy, if you think you saw Heater in the graduation scene, you probably did. I was there too. Paramount fed us, let our wives come watch the filming, and ensured we got VIP treatment at the premiere showing in Mission Valley and the reception afterwards.

The story about the accuracy of the patches, paint jobs, etc. goes like this:

We were taking a break in the filming of the hangar classroom scene (I could tell you but I'd have to kill you scene). Several of us fighter jock know-it-alls surrounded the director, Tony Scott, and asked him about the patches, etc. He said, "We're not making this movie for fighter pilots, we're making it for Kansas wheat farmers who don't know anything about the Navy." We found out that he had picked out the patches, call-signs, paint jobs, etc. that he liked because they would look good on film and make the actors look like somebody. Worked for me. Navy recruiting, and the lines for visitors passes on Wednesday night for the O'Club went way up after the movie came out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will "Stall" Gildner
VF-211, Oct 85 - Oct 88
Colonel US Air Force
Air Attache
US Embassy, London, UK
[/quote][/quote]
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Post by Sandrat »

Kind of the same thing happened during the filming of that modern day war epic FIREBIRDS. I know several guys who were extras in the movie down at Fort Rucker.
"You made a fool out of young lieutenants. That's not against Army regulations."

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Post by Spanky »

Now there is a quality movie if I ever saw one.....at least it had a Vette in it.


When we have mastered these tactics, we will use them to seek out and confront the forces of evil and kill 'em deader than hell!
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Post by Spanky »

"Mr. Sandrat.... I'm looking for a 1st class all American hero with his heart & brain wired together cooking full tilt boogie for freedom & justice!"
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Post by Sandrat »

"That's real big of you. Little."
"You made a fool out of young lieutenants. That's not against Army regulations."

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Post by Spanky »

Mr. Sandrat, this operation will be a failure if we all die!
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

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Post by Sandrat »

"I am your mother now, Calvin."
"You made a fool out of young lieutenants. That's not against Army regulations."

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Post by Spanky »

"I AM THE GREATEST!"
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

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Post by Sandrat »

COOK 'EM

CLEAN 'EM

NAB 'EM

STAB 'EM

ALL GONE

BYE BYE!
"You made a fool out of young lieutenants. That's not against Army regulations."

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Post by Spanky »

BTW...do any of you know who was flying the F-14 in the famous finger scence with the Mig-28 and the Tower fly-by over the Miramar Tower?

I know the answer and Rat is not allowed to answer.....we've both met him.
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

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Post by Sandrat »

Awesome guy - much bigger than I thought he'd be for a Tomcat pilot.
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Post by Sandrat »

Scott Altman - now a shuttle vet.

Since nobody every answered. What a guy!
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Post by Spanky »

I forgot about it...:)

I hear he's going back to Hubble....might as well.
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Post by Spanky »

Scott D. Altman (Captain, USN)
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, EXPLORATION BRANCH, JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

PERSONAL DATA: Born August 15, 1959 in Lincoln, Illinois. Married to the former Jill Shannon Loomer of Tucson, Arizona. They have three children. Hometown is Pekin, Illinois, where his parents, Fred and Sharon Altman, currently reside.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Pekin Community High School, Pekin, Illinois in 1977; received bachelor of science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois in May 1981, and a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in June 1990.

ORGANIZATIONS: University of Illinois Alumni Association, Sigma Chi Alumni Association, life member Association of Naval Aviation and Military Order of the World Wars.

SPECIAL HONORS: Defense Superior Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Strike/Flight Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, 1987 Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Tactical Aviation as selected by the Association of Naval Aviation.

EXPERIENCE: Commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy in August 1981, received his Navy wings of gold in February 1983. Attached to Fighter Squadron 51 at NAS Miramar, Altman completed two deployments to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean flying the F-14A Tomcat. In August 1987, he was selected for the Naval Postgraduate School-Test Pilot School Coop program and graduated with Test Pilot School Class 97 in June 1990 as a Distinguished Graduate, spending the next two years as a test pilot on various F-14 projects. Deploying with VF-31 and the new F-14D, he was awarded the Navy Air Medal for his role as a strike leader flying over Southern Iraq in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. Shortly following his return from this six-month deployment, he was selected for the astronaut program. He has logged over 4000 flight hours in more than 40 types of aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Altman reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995 as an astronaut candidate. He completed a year of training and was initially assigned to work technical aspects of orbiter landing and roll out issues for the Astronaut Office Vehicle Systems Branch. He was the pilot on STS-90 (1998) and STS-106 (2000), and was the mission commander on STS-109 (2002). A veteran of three space flights, Altman has logged over 38 days in space. Following two years as Shuttle Branch chief for the Astronaut Office and lead for the Cockpit Avionics Upgrade, he was assigned on temporary duty to NASA Headquarters as Deputy Director, Requirements Division of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Since returning to Houston, he has served as the Deputy Chief of the Exploration Branch of the Astronaut Office. Altman is assigned to command the final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The mission will extend and improve the observatory’s capabilities through 2013. Launch is targeted for 2008.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-90 Neurolab (April 17 to May 3, 1998). During the 16-day Spacelab flight the seven person crew aboard Space Shuttle Columbia served as both experiment subjects and operators for 26 individual life science experiments focusing on the effects of microgravity on the brain and nervous system.

STS-106 Atlantis (September 8-20, 2000). During the 12-day mission, the crew successfully prepared the International Space Station for the arrival of the first permanent crew. Additionally, he handflew two complete flyarounds of the station after undocking.

STS-109 Columbia (March 1-12, 2002). STS-109 was the fourth Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission. The STS-109 crew successfully upgraded the Hubble Space Telescope leaving it with a new power unit, a new camera and new solar arrays. HST servicing and upgrade was accomplished by four crewmembers during a total of 5 EVAs in 5 consecutive days. The space walkers were assisted by crewmates inside Space Shuttle Columbia. STS-109 orbited the Earth 165 times, and covered 3.9 million miles in over 262 hours, culminating in a night landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

OCTOBER 2006
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

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Post by Sandrat »

Like I said, what a guy. Honestly one of the nicest shuttle astronauts we ever interacted with.
"You made a fool out of young lieutenants. That's not against Army regulations."

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