(FOX News) The U.S. Navy allowed the “Top Gun: Maverick” studio to use F/A-18 Super Hornets for more than $11,000 an hour for the upcoming film, but Tom Cruise and his fellow actors were not allowed to touch the planes’ controls.
Cruise wanted all the actors portraying pilots in the movie to fly in one of the fighter jets, so they could know what it feels like to operate an aircraft under the pressure of immense gravitational forces. Cruise also flew in a jet for the original “Top Gun” in 1986.
Cruise was able to fly in several sorties for the new movie, but the Pentagon prohibits non-military personnel from controlling Defense Department equipment other than small arms in training scenarios, Pentagon entertainment media office chief Glen Roberts said, according to Bloomberg News. The actors were, however able to ride behind pilots after completing required training on how to eject from the jets in the event of an emergency and how to survive in the sea.
www.foxnews.com/entertainment/top-gun-studio-fighter-jets-11k-hour-tom-cruise