- The fictitious MIG-28 enemy aircraft was depicted by the Northrop F-5
- The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft
- The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft
- Top Gun is a 1986 American action film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures. Top Gun (1986) Tony Scott HD Tom Cruise
- The Navy made several aircraft from F-14 fighter squadron VF-51 "Screaming Eagles" (which Mike "Viper" Metcalf mentions in the scene at his home) available for the film. Paramount paid as much as US$7,800 per hour (equivalent to $19,700 in 2021) for fuel and other operating costs whenever aircraft were flown outside their normal duties. Shots of the aircraft carrier sequences were filmed aboard USS Enterprise, showing aircraft from F-14 squadrons VF-114 "Aardvarks" and VF-213 "Black Lions". The majority of the carrier flight deck shots were of normal aircraft operations and the film crew had to take what they could get, save for the occasional flyby which the film crew would request. During filming, director Tony Scott wanted to film aircraft landing and taking off, back-lit by the sun. During one particular filming sequence, the ship's commanding officer changed the ship's course, thus changing the light. When Scott asked if they could continue on their previous course and speed, he was informed by the commander that it cost US$25,000 (equivalent to $63,000 in 2021) to turn the ship, and to continue on course. Scott wrote the carrier's captain a check so that the ship could be turned and he could continue shooting for another five minutes
Future NASA astronaut Scott Altman piloted F-14 aircraft for many of the film's stunt sequences, having been recently stationed at NAS Miramar at time of filming. Altman was the pilot seen "flipping the bird" in the film's well-known opening sequence, as well as piloting the aircraft shown "buzzing the tower" throughout the film.
Most of the sequences of the aircraft maneuvering over land were shot at Naval Air Station Fallon, in Nevada, using ground-mounted cameras. Air-to-air shots were filmed using a Learjet, piloted by Astrovision inventor and legendary pilot Clay Lacy (his name is misspelled in the closing credits, as "Clay Lacey"). Grumman, manufacturer of the F-14, was commissioned by Paramount Pictures to create camera pods to be placed upon the aircraft that could be pointed toward either the front or rear of the aircraft providing outside shots at high altitude
The film was shot in the Super 35 format, as anamorphic lenses were too large to fit inside the cockpits of the fighter jets and also the cameras would fall off their mounts when the fighter jets maneuvered on their sides.
Reshoots after Top Gun's filming wrapped conflicted with Made in Heaven, in which McGillis starred with brown hair. Top Gun's filmmakers were forced to hide her hair color, which for example resulted that the scene shot in an elevator featured McGillis in a baseball cap.
The San Diego restaurant and bar Kansas City Barbeque served as a filming location for two scenes shot in July 1985. The first scene features Goose and Maverick singing "Great Balls of Fire" while seated at the piano. The final scene, where "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" can be heard on the restaurant's Wurlitzer jukebox, was also filmed at the restaurant. Both scenes were filmed consecutively. After the release of the movie, the restaurant went on to collect a significant amount of memorabilia from the motion picture until a kitchen fire on June 26, 2008, destroyed much of the restaurant. Some memorabilia and props, including the original piano used in the film, survived the fire, and the restaurant re-opened in November 2008.
In 1985, Paramount Pictures rented The Graves House, a historic San Diego Folk Victorian/Queen Anne cottage located at 102 North Pacific Street, and used it as the home for Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Blackwood Charlie's backyard scenes were filmed at another house located at 112 First Street (Seagaze Drive) that was behind The Graves House] In May 2020, The Graves House was relocated and later renovated into a pie shop called High Pie located at 250 North Pacific Street.
Renowned aerobatic pilot Art Scholl was hired to do in-flight camera work for the film. The original script called for a flat spin, which Scholl was to perform and capture on a camera on the aircraft. The aircraft was observed to spin through its recovery altitude, at which time Scholl radioed "I have a problem... I have a real problem". He was unable to recover from the spin and crashed his Pitts Special biplane into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast near Carlsbad on September 16, 1985. Neither Scholl's body nor his aircraft were recovered, leaving the official cause of the accident unknown. Top Gun was dedicated to Scholl's memory
