Top Gun 2
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: England
Posts: 26
Originally Posted by VictorGolf
Probably a daft question but is the canopy missing at about 2:30? If so why?
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Here
Posts: 1,515
Originally Posted by VictorGolf
Probably a daft question but is the canopy missing at about 2:30? If so why?
Les Chevaliers du Ciel
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: down under
Posts: 425
Movie top gun pilots not wearing mask?
As a private pilot flying a bug-smasher that's lucky to top 95 knots, I know zip about military aviation. But when I see Hollywood movie pilots like Tom Cruise unclipping their oxygen mask so they can speak, that seems like BS. Am I right?
Thanks.
And BTW, respect with a capital R for the folks who flyer military aircraft, you're tougher than me.
Thanks.
And BTW, respect with a capital R for the folks who flyer military aircraft, you're tougher than me.
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Near the coast
Posts: 2,093
Cooperplace
I regularly remove my mask below 10000’ cabin altitude for comfort during low workload moments. I always keep it on at low level for face protection in case of a bird strike and for take off and landing in case I need to take control.
You wouldn’t take the mask off to talk. Quite the opposite in fact. You need it on to talk into the microphone. Fast jet cockpits are often bloody noisy and trying to talk with your mask off would be unintelligible even if the microphone could even register your voice.
You will also notice in the movie that they always use clear visors (except the faceless bad guys) to show us their handsome/pretty faces. The only time I use a clear visor is at night or on an exceptionally dark, cloudy day. Opinions vary on visor use but the dark visor has seen me safely through 4000 hours of flying jets so I’ll stick with it.
BV
You wouldn’t take the mask off to talk. Quite the opposite in fact. You need it on to talk into the microphone. Fast jet cockpits are often bloody noisy and trying to talk with your mask off would be unintelligible even if the microphone could even register your voice.
You will also notice in the movie that they always use clear visors (except the faceless bad guys) to show us their handsome/pretty faces. The only time I use a clear visor is at night or on an exceptionally dark, cloudy day. Opinions vary on visor use but the dark visor has seen me safely through 4000 hours of flying jets so I’ll stick with it.
BV
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Westnoreastsouth
Posts: 1,554
As BV posted - I did do a fair bit of backseating whilst groundcrew and would never have gone flying without mask and visor in place,much safer if you get a birdstrike/canopy or seal failure/or have to eject (both for the actual ejection and protection against MDC/canopy shard 'splatter').
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Outside the Fence
Age: 69
Posts: 362
Many years ago when Top Gun was made it was quite normal in the US Navy for Fast Jet pilots and RIOs to fly with their mask down a lot of the time.
Apparently their Regulators put them on 100% Oxygen and it was unpopular as it dried out their throats over a prolonged time. Any Comments?
From my own experience in the USAF, when flying with certain Ex Viet Nam aviators, they had to have the mask hanging down to be able to smoke their cigar.
There were some who had ash trays that attached to the cockpit so the evidence could be easily removed after flight.
Apparently their Regulators put them on 100% Oxygen and it was unpopular as it dried out their throats over a prolonged time. Any Comments?
From my own experience in the USAF, when flying with certain Ex Viet Nam aviators, they had to have the mask hanging down to be able to smoke their cigar.
There were some who had ash trays that attached to the cockpit so the evidence could be easily removed after flight.
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: down under
Posts: 425
Thank you, like I said i have the world's most restricted pilot's licence. This is all very interesting and confirms my view of Hollywood. I would have asked my cousin who flew WW2 Typhoons, they were on oxygen from start to finish, CO issues, but alas he moved on to a better place. He mentioned filling a tank with beer and flying with it to occupied France "it didn't taste quite right but by god everyone was pleased to have the beer".
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Frensham
Posts: 361
Originally Posted by cooperplace
Thank you, like I said i have the world's most restricted pilot's licence. This is all very interesting and confirms my view of Hollywood. I would have asked my cousin who flew WW2 Typhoons, they were on oxygen from start to finish, CO issues, but alas he moved on to a better place. He mentioned filling a tank with beer and flying with it to occupied France "it didn't taste quite right but by god everyone was pleased to have the beer".
There's an article on this here:
https://zythophile.co.uk/2014/06/06/...20more%20beer.
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Narfalk
Posts: 391
As Longeron stated, I have flown in 3 ejection seat armed aircraft flights and the double visor stayed down and mask stayed on all the time as I was a cat B pax, bar one time on my last Jag flight, the dark visor came up for the selfie to prove I was in the seat! I know certain Jag pilots did remove masks for comfort (amazingly one civvy LAE said to me "I thought military combat aircraft were unpressurised?" which I replied that they are, just not to the pressure diff of civil aircraft) at suitable cabin diffs and the odd cool photo, if you were T E with demon gezzer shades on.!
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: down under
Posts: 425
Originally Posted by Wokkafans
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Scotland
Posts: 630
Originally Posted by Dominator2
From my own experience in the USAF, when flying with certain Ex Viet Nam aviators, they had to have the mask hanging down to be able to smoke their cigar.
There were some who had ash trays that attached to the cockpit so the evidence could be easily removed after flight.
