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Filming[]

  1. Top Gun had a budget of 15 million.
  2. The US Navy made several aircraft from F-14 fighter squadron VF-51 "Screaming Eagles" (which Tom Skerritt mentions in the scene at his home) available for the film.
  3. Paramount Pictures paid as much as US$7,800 per hour (equivalent to $18,500 today) for fuel and other operating costs whenever aircraft were flown outside their normal duties.
  4. Shots of the aircraft carrier sequences were filmed aboard the USS Enterprise, showing aircraft from F-14 squadrons VF-114 "Aardvarks" and VF-213 "Black Lions".
  5. The majority of the carrier flight deck shots were of normal aircraft operations and the film crew had to take what they could get, save for the occasional flyby which the film crew would request. During filming, director Tony Scott wanted to shoot aircraft landing and taking off, back-lit by the sun. During one particular filming sequence, the ship's commanding officer changed the ship's course, thus changing the light. When Scott asked if they could continue on their previous course and speed, he was informed by the commander that it cost US$25,000 (equivalent to $59,000 today) to turn the ship, and to continue on course. Scott wrote the carrier's captain a US$25,000 check so that the ship could be turned and he could continue shooting for another five minutes.
  6. Filming and clapperboard of Top Gun on July 5, 1985.
  7. Most of the sequences of the aircraft maneuvering over land were shot at Naval Air Station Fallon, in Nevada, using ground-mounted cameras. Air-to-air shots were filmed using a Learjet, piloted by Astrovision inventor and legendary pilot Clay Lacy. His name is misspelled in the closing credits, as Clay Lacey.
  8. Grumman, manufacturer of the F-14, was commissioned by Paramount Pictures to create camera pods to be placed upon the aircraft that could be pointed toward either the front or rear of the aircraft providing outside shots at high altitude.
  9. In July 1985, Kansas City Barbeque served as a filming location for two scenes. The first scene features Goose and Maverick singing "Great Balls of Fire" while seated at the piano. The final scene, where "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" can be heard on the restaurant's jukebox, was also filmed at the restaurant. Both scenes were filmed consecutively. After release of the movie, the restaurant went on to collect a significant amount of memorabilia from the motion picture until a kitchen fire on June 26, 2008, destroyed much of the restaurant. Some memorabilia and props, including the original piano used in the film, survived the fire, and the restaurant re-opened in November 2008.
  10. Renowned aerobatic pilot Art Scholl was hired to do in-flight camera work for the film. The original script called for a flat spin, which Scholl was to perform and capture on a camera on the aircraft. The aircraft was observed to spin through its recovery altitude, at which time Scholl radioed "I have a problem... I have a real problem". He was unable to recover from the spin and crashed his Pitts Special bi-plane into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast near Carlsbad on September 16, 1985. Neither Scholl's body nor his aircraft was recovered, leaving the official cause of the accident unknown. Top Gun was dedicated to Scholl's memory.
  11. The film was shot in the Super 35 format, as anamorphic lenses were too large to fit inside the cockpits of the fighter jets.
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