After 40 years as a professional pilot flying movies turn me off. People who fly like that would be grounded faster than you can imagine, Air Force, Navy, Airline..seriously discouraged or mostly not allowed at all..
There’s more-It’s the role of blacks and their place in the flick. They’re the supportive ones acknowledging Pete Mitchells expertise. They’re also the level-headed ones while all the whites acting out their gung-ho machismo. The blacks let them be big dumb whitey. Hilarious.
As a career fighter pilot (A-10 and F-15E), have flown low level in special use airspace, but for day to day ops, nope, grounded for sure.
The Navy has different rules but they aren’t THAT different.
It’s just a movie, entertainment, and like all fiction, suspending disbelief is required.
Yeah but that is whatnmakes it an “action movie” ie unrealistic, and loads of action- it’s what people,want. Boxing movies are totally fake too, and the championship in them woild be pumilated to pulp 1/2 through first round in real life by a relatively boxer, but we like,the movies as an escape,from the absurdity of real life, into a realm of the absurdity of movie life. Plus it’s cool to see vehicles git blown up real,good
As a side note. Here in Nashua, NH yesterday afternoon we had a pair of jets do a fly over of the municipal airport right behind my office. The whole building shook. Very loud.
A bunch of the guys ran outside to look but they were long gone. One guy called the airport. They said a pair of F15 Strike Eagles had done a low fly over. They must have come up from the airbase out near Springfield, MA.
Sometimes they go up and fly through the White Mountains in NH.
My fighter pilot friend just retired for five years ago. He thoroughly enjoyed the movie. He said the movie will do three things, make Tom Cruz look good, be factually incorrect about everything to do with fighter combat, and be thoroughly entertaining.
I worked at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in the late 90’s. Every time one of the Prowlers took-off they did a barrel roll and then went about their business for the day.