Did you take the highway?

[Seth]

To the DANGER ZONE!

 

On Monday night I watched TOP GUN in 3D at/on an IMAX movie theater and not on VHS, DVD, Blue Ray, etc . . .

 

I was five years old when Top Gun was released to the world.  So although I've seen it a few hundred times, I finally saw it on the big screen!  Tonight is the last night you can see it in 3D in the theaters during this limited release back to the big screens, so if you've ever wanted to, have fun!

 

Also, I didn't know, but Jurrassic Park is being re-released as well (similar 3D conversion).  That's for later this year (and yes, I caught that in the theaters).

 

Take care,

 

-Seth

[Hank]

Top Gun has been one of my favorite movies since it came out. Too bad my eyes failed the Navy flight physical . . .

 

Would have liked to see the movie on the big IMAX screen, but it was too far to go and had family commitments last weekend. Today it is snowing, supposed to get worse tonight. May have to settle for a DVD . . . Interesting trivia:  my wife & I each had VHS copies [hers store-bought, mine taped from cable] when we first met.

 

"I feel the need, the need for speed" has been my mantra since before I started driving, and well before Top Gun. Now, though, I find more speed in the Mooney than I ever did in my cars, although in the past I used to surpass Skyhawk speeds on the interstate. The laws are too tough to try that any more.

[320KPH]

I saw the original cinematic release.

 

I own the special edition DVD and the making of the film is a better disc than the film itself.

 

Anyone know about the Tarantino riff on this film?

[carusoam]

My boy and I watched the special edition DVD in HD the other day as well. He has a quick trigger finger for high speed passes over the fluffy smoochy scenes...

It's like automatic editting to match the audience requirements.

3D and IMAX would be nice, if my son were allowed to hit the ff button a few times.

Best regards,

-a-

[201er]

Top Gun is for old people

[carusoam]

_{Yes it is Mike.}

 

_{Us oldies are interested in things like seat belts and air bags today, as our time on the planet seems less than it did before.}

 

_{We have difficulty with web sites}.

 

And today I have found the subscript button...

 

Because I'm using a PC in place of my Ipad1.

 

Life is great,  I fly a Mooney!

 

Best regards,

 

-a-

[DrBill]

I've not seen it advertised here yet.  Perhaps I missed it.

I was really interested in the Navy.  When I graduated from College in 1971 (EE major) jobs were scarce so I talked to the recruiter about flying for the Navy (my Dad was in the Navy in WWII). I had my pilots license so naturally I wanted to fly.

Took the pre-elistment flight physical at South Weymouth Naval Air Station in MA. Passed with flying colors.  Went for a flight in a trainer and after a few basic turns, I told the pilot I flew a Citabria back home. We headed out over the bay and did some REAL aerobatics.  Cool stuff. Bottom line is I was not offered a flight school slot since I was NOT ROTC. So I did not enlist.  I think it is still that way.

I must admit, I stayed in the officers quarters at S. Weymout and it was not really nice. The furniture in the lounge was leather but REALLY WORN. Lot of cracks and tears.  THat was 40 years ago and I remember it like yesterday. Really made a negative impression.

BILL

[yvesg]

Bill what does ROTC mean?

Yves

[DonMuncy]

Reserve Officer's Training Course. Military course available (required at one time at some colleges at one time.) 

[M016576]

I saw Top Gun in "3-D" 5 years ago. It was very hot in Fallon, lots of briefing and debriefing, and no cool explosions. Oh, it ran a little long for a flick: 3 or so months. I liked the 2-D version better ;-)

[aviatoreb]

I saw Top Gun in "3-D" 5 years ago. It was very hot in Fallon, lots of briefing and debriefing, and no cool explosions. Oh, it ran a little long for a flick: 3 or so months. I liked the 2-D version better ;-)

 

Dude - stop complaining and get back to work there Maverick.  Remember, don't buzz the tower.

[carusoam]

http://afrotc.com/images/AFROTC_Overview.pdf

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps(?)

Back in the 80s...

ROTC would pay for yor college. For each year they paid for, you would work for them for a year.

In the 80s there were no wars, Iraq1 was still on the horizon, the iron curtain was uncomfortably still in place.

ROTC is a great way to go to some very nice schools. As a side benefit, they would pay for your flight school for your PP.

The facilities, deficted in the movie and described by Dr. Bill were left over from either the ice age or WWII.

It was clear what you were getting from day one, the risk that was involved, the education, the jobs that were available, the challenges...

Unfortunately, if you don't fly a plane, the other jobs pale slightly in comparison.

Now, I have great respect for our military boys...

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

All branches offer ROTC, except the Marines are under NROTC as "Marine Option." When I started in NROTC as the son of a career Marine officer, life was good. Then the Navy Captain commanding our unit retired and was replaced by a Marine colonel. Neither he nor the freshly-promoted Major on staff could understand why I was not Marine option, but I was just taking my father's advice. We parted ways amicably at the end of the year.

 

ROTC obligations start at the beginning of the junior year, when you commit for 4 years active duty plus 2 years reserve. If you stay in the unit and graduate [some friends had problems and graduated late, it just had to be worked out with the sponsoring ROTC program], you serve your time as an officer. If you, the school and ROTC part ways without graduation, you serve your time in the enlisted ranks [Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines; I don't know if you can select a different branch or if you must stay in the one whose ROTC program you were in]. The rules may have changed since then, as some of my classmates served in the First Gulf War.

 

Many schools will have one or two ROTC programs, and will often have agreements with nearby schools for the remaining ones. My freshman roommate was AFROTC, and once a week a bus would pick up several of them and go across Nashville to MTSU. I could walk to the NROTC building, closer than many of my classes.

 

My eyes failed the flight physical on the depth perception test, a piece of window glass with rows of dots. Which dot in each row is on the other side of the glass from the others? The corpsman holding the glass was sitting several feet away, and he set it down and said 'never mind' after finishing the first of two sets.

 

That's when I gave up on ever being a pilot. Realized my mistake around age 30, but wasn't ready to commit the time and effort. Came up with the dedication later, after moving somewhere with no instructors. It all came together here in the country six or seven years ago. Life is now good. PPL in pocket, unbelievable airplane in hangar. Never dreamed either would happen.

 

Guess I'll just have to settle for Top Gun on the small screen.

 

P.S. for Jim--Marine Option ROTC students attend Marine Corps Officer Candidate School during the summer after their junior year, when they are committed. Don't know for sure what happens to those who wash out of Quantico, but it cannot be pleasant. It is difficult to visit a recruiter and get a slot at OCS [or it used to be], although a friend fell for their line after gradaution when he couldn't get a desirable job. "Enlist now, go through boot camp, and since you are a college graduate you can get into OCS later." After his five years were through, he returned to the civilian world only a little worse for wear. Driving a truck through Bahrain during combat is difficult, but it's what corporals do, even when they speak, read and write Korean and Russian, because trucks are driven by corporals.

[1964-M20E]

I was AFROTC when in college even went to 4 week summer training but in the end the AF did not have a pilot slot for me. I could have stayed in and became an officer but I chose to leave the program with no commitments. The AF was not out anything either no tuition or pilot training I was paying my own way.

[M016576]

You guys have it pretty much nailed down. Three ways to fly jets for Uncle Sam:

OCS- go to college first, get a degree, then sign up with an officer recruiter. Most will give you a pilot contract up front so long as you meet the physical / medical requirements

ROTC- college gets paid for, but you owe a service commitment (typically 5 years) as an officer on the back end. Pilot commitments are 8 years for navy/ marines and 10 years for USAF. Pilot billets are awarded during your junior year in college.

Service academy- this is what I did. 4 years of college at a service academy. You get your assignment in your senior year, but you are directly competing with your classmates for said billet. They are handed out in order of merit (ie, the number 1 guy gets his pick, then number 2, all the way down the line). Tends to make for some competition!

Regardless of your commissioning source, all pilot candidates go through the same training, and no one has any sort of advantage over the others. The selection between a helicopter or jet pilot comes down to performance in primary flight training, timing, and of course, a dose of luck.

[Oscar Avalle]

I heard they are filming a sequel to Top Gun.... anybody knows anything about that...

[Jeff_S]

There has been a sequel in consideration and they were apparently ready to start filming, or at least moving closer to production, when producer/director Tony Scott committed suicide. From what I've heard, the project is on hold while they reassess.

[Hank]

You guys have it pretty much nailed down. Three ways to fly jets for Uncle Sam:

OCS- go to college first, get a degree, then sign up with an officer recruiter. Most will give you a pilot contract up front so long as you meet the physical / medical requirements

ROTC- college gets paid for, but you owe a service commitment (typically 5 years) as an officer on the back end. Pilot commitments are 8 years for navy/ marines and 10 years for USAF. Pilot billets are awarded during your junior year in college.

Service academy- this is what I did. 4 years of college at a service academy. You get your assignment in your senior year, but you are directly competing with your classmates for said billet. They are handed out in order of merit (ie, the number 1 guy gets his pick, then number 2, all the way down the line). Tends to make for some competition!

Regardless of your commissioning source, all pilot candidates go through the same training, and no one has any sort of advantage over the others. The selection between a helicopter or jet pilot comes down to performance in primary flight training, timing, and of course, a dose of luck.

 

Times have changed since my dad went through Pensacola. Top man in the class was given free choice of any open billet; the rest of the class from #2 on down were assigned according to the needs of the service. Fighters came first, transports came last, everything else in-between. At the time, three went to fighters then bunches including him to helicopters, with a few at the end to transports.

 

Seems like the divvying up came after the Advanced course, but I hadn't been born yet so I can't vouch with any certainty. Pretty sure things have changed in the intervening decades, especially now that recruiting is more difficult. It's less of a "screen out the undesireables" as it is "bring in the ones we want."

 

[fantom]

Back in 'my day' the USAF obligation after graduation from flight school was 'only' four years resulting in a total active duty commitment of about five and a half years. Additional training incurred extended commitments. Assignments were by class standing, with instructor recommendations required for fighters, and after the top ten percent picked, selections were by quartile. Thus the guy in the first quartile picked then the first guy in the second quartile choose, followed by the first guy in the third quartile. Instructor overrides and 'needs of the service' still came into play. Since fighters were never more than ten percent they went to the top guys with a C141 or Nightingale sprinkled in for the married guys or those not wanting to go to war. I wanted an F-111 or an RF-4, but our assignment block didn't have any so I settled on an F-4, was a 21 year old aircraft commander and the rest is history. BTW, lots of fine flying scenes but most of the rest of Top Gun is pure Hollywood BS. Like the guys who joined the Army based on Sgt. Bilko, those who joined the Navy motivated by Top Gun were in for some major disappoonents.

[Hank]

BTW, lots of fine flying scenes but most of the rest of Top Gun is pure Hollywood BS. Like the guys who joined the Army based on Sgt. Bilko, those who joined the Navy motivated by Top Gun were in for some major disappoonents.

 

That's been going on for a long time. The Navy contributed to the film because it would be good for recruiting. Much as my father was influenced by Flying Leathernecks and Sergeant York. I don't think the actual Corps matched his initial expectations . . . . .

[M016576]

Times have changed since my dad went through Pensacola. Top man in the class was given free choice of any open billet; the rest of the class from #2 on down were assigned according to the needs of the service. Fighters came first, transports came last, everything else in-between. At the time, three went to fighters then bunches including him to helicopters, with a few at the end to transports.

 

Seems like the divvying up came after the Advanced course, but I hadn't been born yet so I can't vouch with any certainty. Pretty sure things have changed in the intervening decades, especially now that recruiting is more difficult. It's less of a "screen out the undesireables" as it is "bring in the ones we want."

 

That's kind of how the selection works still. Every flight is graded, at the completion of primary flight, you're given a relative score based on the performance of the last 200 or so pilots. Everyone that graduates during a certain period is ranked against each other. Their is a fixed line in the sand that is "boat grades." If you score above that line, you are eligible to put carrier based fixed wing on your dream sheet. Typically the number 1 guy gets whatever he/she wants (although the Navy does "quality assurance" from time to time, where the number 1 pilot will be sent to communities that typically get lower scoring pilots). Then they go down the list- number 2, number 3, etc, etc. if jet billets are available, and you have jet grades, and you are high in your class, you get jets. Some classes have no jet billets available, some have more jet slots than pilots that have jet grades. Like I said, skill gets you some of the way, but luck and timing carry you home....