Autobiographical details don’t often worm their way into this blog, but I think a bit of background information is needed here. You see, at the age of about 11 I saw ‘Top Gun’ for the first time, and straight away I decided that I was going to be a fighter pilot in the RAF. This ambition, or should I say delusion, lasted several years before it dawned on me that there was no chance of me ever becoming any kind of military man. Those of you who know me closely – OK, anyone who’s ever met me – will know what I mean.
But I still think ‘Top Gun’ is a classic, in spite of the pulsing, throbbing undercurrent of thinly-veiled homo-eroticism that runs through the entire film. (That volleyball game…all the steamy towel-slapping in the locker room… Cruise and Kilmer flirting like kittens and pretending it’s some kind of macho rivalry…Indeed at one point the hetero-façade threatens to break down altogether, when a frazzled air-traffic controller starts yelling “I want somebody’s butt!”). I still know every line from the script and I still love the soundtrack. And I still love to see and hear fighter jets streaking past, 100ft above the ground, at near the speed of sound. So there was just no way I could miss the airshow. Obviously I did the tour of film locations around the city too. See photos below.
It’s more than 20 years since I abandoned my RAF ambitions. The F14 Tomcat was retired from active service in 2006. Kelly McGillis turned 58 this year, and it turns out she was a dyke all along anyway. But a man can still dream. He can still watch the sun set over the California desert, and see the jets roar overhead, and he can don a pair of imitation RayBans and whisper ‘your ego’s writing cheques your body can’t cash!’ to himself, and from somewhere in his brain he can hear an electric guitar playing that theme tune…Yes indeed, a man can still dream, now and always.
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| MCAS Miramar, nearing sundown. Harrier jump jet just rising from a low pass at left. |
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| Breitling L-39 jet team, earlier in the day. |
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| I'd never seen a hashtag in the sky before. The whole of the message was literally 5 miles long and it was quite spooky to see. Details about #skytypers are here. |
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| The Shockwave Jet Truck. Americans... |
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| Radio-controlled flying Elvis. Really. Drone Be Cruel! The same guy does a flying Snoopy (video) and a flying witch on a broomstick (video). |
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| Intersection of Laurel and Union, San Diego. In the film, Kelly McGillis narrowly avoids a car crash here. (The yellow fire hydrant is visible twice in this clip at about the 1 minute mark.) She then has a brief argument with Tom Cruise, prior to their first snog. Cruise is presumably standing on a crate. And thinking about Val Kilmer. |
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| 102 Pacific St, Oceanside, CA 92054. About 30 miles north of San Diego. This is the house belonging to Charlie (Kelly McGillis) in the film. Derelict now, and boarded up to keep the sad tourists at bay. |
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| Edd vs Food #25 Chilli cheese fries, washed down with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Nothing too remarkable in that... But this is the Kansas City Barbecue, 600 W Harbor Drive, San Diego. It's where Maverick and Goose sing 'Great Balls Of Fire' in the film. |
