I too know someone who was there for Tom’s ONLY flight he took during the filming of Top Gun. He went up ONCE. He shit his pants...LITERALLY. Yes he vomited a few times as well.
I met Tom a few times as a kid. He grew up in Glenn Ridge, NJ where I have 5 cousins an Aunt and Uncle who live there and he was best friends with them growing up and was always in and out of the house. I also went to Valley Forge Military Academy and had great stories with him about it in one convo and oddly enough his character along with Timmothy Hutton was shot and killed in my actual room off the main area in Wheeler Hall. I was in Gulf company and E Battery was on the bottom of the barracks. That main area is real but that front gate doesn’t exist...it was only put there for the movie and the actual speaking parts took place over by the mess hall with Col. Kirby across from the infirmary.
I still think Cruise is a great actor. Magnolia is his best performance ever. Vanilla Sky was great and so was Far and Away. Taps will always be a gem to me “beautiful man! beautiful!”
If you haven't seen his latest, "Oblivion" go see it.