Both Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022) owe much of their success to the expertise of real U.S. Navy TOPGUN instructors who served as technical advisors—and even appeared in the films themselves.
The original Top Gun became 1986’s highest-grossing movie and turned Tom Cruise’s “Maverick” into a cultural icon. With unforgettable lines like “Talk to me, Goose” and “I feel the need—the need for speed,” paired with leather jackets and aviator sunglasses, the film became synonymous with naval aviation. Its sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, carried on that legacy decades later, becoming the 12th-highest-grossing film of all time.
At the heart of both films were the Navy’s technical advisors. For the 1986 original, that role was filled by Rear Admiral Pete “Viper” Pettigrew, a real-life TOPGUN instructor. In fact, the name “Viper” was borrowed for the film’s fictional Commander Mike Metcalf, played by Tom Skerritt. Pettigrew himself appeared briefly in the movie—as “Perry,” the older aviator at the bar when Maverick first meets Charlie.
Pettigrew’s influence on Top Gun went far beyond his cameo. When producer Jerry Bruckheimer struggled to convince a hesitant Tom Cruise to take the lead role, he called Pettigrew for help. Viper took Cruise on an intense flight in a Navy jet—an experience so thrilling that Cruise called his agent immediately after landing to accept the part. That single flight arguably made Top Gun possible.
Viper’s real-life career was just as legendary. A Stanford graduate, he earned his Wings of Gold in June 1966 and flew the F-4 Phantom II in Vietnam. Serving with VF-151 aboard the USS Coral Sea, he completed two combat tours between 1967 and 1969. In 1970, he joined the newly established U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School—known famously as TOPGUN—as an instructor. On May 6, 1972, while deployed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, Pettigrew shot down a MiG-21 using an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile. He later joined the Navy Reserve and retired in 1998.
For Top Gun: Maverick, history repeated itself with another real-life TOPGUN instructor serving as the film’s technical advisor—Captain Brian “Ferg” Ferguson. Like Pettigrew, Ferg also made a cameo appearance. In the Hard Deck Bar scene, after Penny rings the bell to make Maverick buy everyone a round, an aviator approaches and says, “Much appreciated, pal.” That aviator was Ferguson himself.
A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Ferguson was commissioned in 1993 after completing Navy Officer Candidate School. He flew F/A-18 Hornets with VFA-151 aboard the USS Constellation and later commanded VFC-13, a Navy Reserve adversary squadron. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he flew numerous night combat missions.
When the Maverick production began, the Navy’s Chief of Staff contacted Ferg, suggesting he take the role of technical advisor. Initially reluctant, Ferguson was persuaded by his wife, who told him:
“If they get it wrong and you had a chance to make it better but didn’t take it, you’ll complain about it for the rest of your life. And if they get it right, you’ll regret not being part of it.”
Accepting the job, Ferg became responsible for ensuring realism across aerial sequences, flight operations, and even uniform accuracy. Working closely with Tom Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer, and director Joseph Kosinski, he also collaborated with the aerial cinematography team to design visually stunning but safe flight scenes.
Together, Viper and Ferg represent two generations of real TOPGUN aviators whose expertise not only defined the authenticity of Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick—but also helped turn them into cinematic legends.
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