Stunts › Sequences › Top Gun: Maverick (2022) ›
Live-flight BFM dogfight training
Cruise + cast performed actual G-loaded BFM (basic fighter manoeuvres) flights in the rear seats of VFA-122 F/A-18Fs. Cast underwent a Navy-administered "C-pole survival" training programme + centrifuge run before being cleared for the rear-seat flights. Flying instructors from VFA-122 ("the Flying Eagles") were in the front seat for every take.
Rigging
Equipment + technique
aerial-cockpit-mockup
No mock-up here — real F/A-18Fs. The six Sony VENICE Rialto cameras were custom-mounted inside the cockpit by Sony's engineering team in coordination with NAVAIR; cockpit video-recorder systems and additional hardware were removed to make space.
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
- Stunt Spotlight — Inside the Aircraft of Top Gun: MaverickFilm Independentinterview
- Six Sony VENICE Cameras Inside a Fighter-Jet CockpitY.M.Cinema Magazinearticle