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Top Gun 1986 - Did they get a major thing wrong???

posted 2 years ago by MickeyDL (3)
6 replies | jump to latest

Ok. I get right to the point.

Throughout the film. We hear the term wingman. Well, imho the movie is getting it incorrect.

In the training sequence. Goose to Maverick "Stay with Hollywood.
We're his cover"

Hollywood to Maverick "Don't you leave me, Maverick."

Maverick gets yelled at by Jester, "You never,
never leave your wingman."

In the end sequence. Iceman to control.... "We've lost Hollywood.
We've lost our wingman."

Maverick says to Merlin, "I'm not leaving my wingman"

Then at the end. Iceman. "You are still dangerous.
But you can be my wingman
anytime."

Ok. So when Jester was yelling at him. He's wrong. And when Maverick say I'm not leaving my wingman he is wrong.

MAVERICK IS THE WINGMAN. He's following the leader. He can't "leave" the wingman because he's IS the wingman. Throughout the entire film. In training he was Hollywood's wingman and at the end he was Iceman's wingman.

This always bugged me. LOL

[–] strntz (12344) 2 years ago

I'm not a pilot, so I'm just speculating.

I always thought they used the term interchangeably, instead of saying "I'm not leaving my lead" they refer to each other as wingmen?. I mean, at some point in a protracted fight, the wingman may not be in a classic wingman position and the lead pilot may end up behind the wingman and now the lead pilot ends up protecting the wingman.

You could be right though and maybe the correct term is "lead" and someone with Air Force experience can clarify that.

[–] MickeyDL (3) 2 years ago

Thanks for responding.

A Wingman is a fighter jet position pattern. There's the lead, then the wingman who which protects (and warns) the leader position. It's basically a support/alert role.

[–] Mustang (5432) 2 years ago

I thought they took turns being leader and wingmen? So not every flight has the same leader/wingman?

The part about Mav getting into trouble for leaving than not leaving his wingman is a metaphor for Maverick's pilot experience. We see a few times during the film that "If you think, you're dead" these guys use instinct and they are ambitious (cocky) not to mention competing for the TG trophy. So when Mav leaves Hollywood to chase Jester that is a problem as Hollywood gets bounced and "killed".

Then Goose dies. This hits Mav hard and when in the final combat sequence he is fighting his instincts and trying to go by the book. So he is clinging to his leader but he can see what is really needed is to go after the Migs.

I also would suspect that everyone is a Wingman, you would all be looking out for each other in the end.

[–] MickeyDL (3) 2 years ago

Thanks for responding.

I see what you are saying. But now you are getting into metaphors and emotions. I understand all that in terms of the film. But it's in the details of what is being said though. The characters words.

The very end.

Iceman: "You are still dangerous. But you can be my wingman anytime."

Maverick's response. "BS you can be mine"

Right there. He's fully acknowledging Iceman was the leader, and he was his wingman. The wingman follows the leader.

[–] blue1981 (7787) 2 years ago

The writer said on the audio commentary that the Top Gun Trophy doesn’t exist at the real Top Gun school in the Navy. It was just a plot device for the movie.

[–] ebhaynz (3689) 2 years ago

I was in the Air Force 24 years, mostly issuing out codes to aircrews. This wingman crap eventually filtered down to us who supported the aircrews missions. For instance, "if you go off base, don't go without a/your wingman." I was in Korea and there was a popular place off base that sold chicken. We used to say "don't get wings without your wingman".

Note the Space Shuttle had a wingman when it landed so yes, the actual meaning of wingman is following and supporting/looking out for the lead aircraft. And in Top Gun, these 2 gyay guys are suggesting "No you can be MY wingman, because I'm the lead and YOU'RE not".