Stunts › Sequences › Top Gun: Maverick (2022) ›
F-14 Tomcat exfiltration + Su-57 dogfight
Maverick + Rooster commandeer a parked F-14A from the enemy hangar and dogfight a pair of Su-57 Felons en route to home plate. No airworthy F-14s remain in service — practical photography used a static F-14A on long-term loan from the Naval Aviation Museum, mounted on a hydraulic gimbal at NAS Pt. Mugu. The F-14 + Su-57 in flight are CG composites by MPC over plate photography of Northrop F-5s and an L-39 Albatros standing in for the Felon energy state.
Rigging
Equipment + technique
aerial-cockpit-mockup
Static F-14A airframe at NAS Pt. Mugu; cockpit mounted on a six-DOF Scott Fisher hydraulic gimbal driven by a pre-programmed flight envelope keyed to the edited shot. Practical canopy + practical flight controls — no green-screen interior.
Safety
Officer + bulletins
Bulletins observed
- SAG-AFTRA Bulletin #14 (Stunts)↗
- SAG-AFTRA Bulletin #20 (Aerial)
Rigging glossary
3 rigs used in this sequence
Each entry explains how the rig works mechanically and the safety bulletin that governs it. Click through for the full glossary detail.
descender
Fan descender
A controlled vertical descent rig where a centrifugal fan brake regulates rope payout. The reference rig for the Burj Khalifa work in Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.
aerial
Helicopter mount (external stunt platform)
External hard-mount platform on a stunt-rated helicopter, used for sustained aerial performance work — Tom Cruise's helicopter chase in Fallout, every modern airbase boarding sequence.
aerial
Wingsuit BASE
High-altitude wingsuit performance — Mission: Impossible has used it; almost no other narrative production has.
References
Further reading
- TGM's nearly hidden VFXThe Hollywood Reporterarticle
- TGM Soars to Match Live-Action and CGVFX Voiceinterview