Top Gun (1986) - 5 questions

Question: I would like to know from a real Navy pilot if the scene is correct where Maverick's F-14 is right on Iceman's tail and he tells him to fly hard right to get out of his way. This leaves jet wash in his flight path and the jet goes down. Wouldn't a real pilot be trained to avoid this kind of danger from happening with the jet wash?

Answer: Probably not a lot of Navy fighter jocks on this site. Of course he'd be trained to avoid it, but Maverick is hyper-aggressive and is following Iceman way too closely. Had he been farther back he'd have avoided it.

Question: This is probably a stupid question, but I know nothing at all about how these kind of aircrafts are flown. What exactly is the purpose of the guy sitting in the back of the plane? All they seem to do in the film is look in all directions for enemy aircrafts.

Answer: These aircraft are extremely complex; the presence of the backseater, variously known officially as the Weapon Systems Operator or Radar Intercept Officer, allows the pilot to focus on the immediate needs of flying the plane, as his backseater can take on many of the other tasks required. They serve as navigators, tacticians, bombardiers, weapons systems operators and, of course, as we see in the film, an extra set of eyes; they use their discretion in passing information to the pilot, ensuring that the pilot has only data that's important to the situation and isn't swamped by trivia. Without the distraction of having to fly the plane, they can often be better placed to coordinate between multiple planes, leading to situations where the backseater can be placed in command of the mission.

Question: In many flight and pre flight scenes, Ice is shown wearing a blue collared shirt under his flight suit. Is it normal for pilots to wear street clothes under their flight suits as opposed to just an undershirt? What about pants?

Answer: After being stationed onboard an Aircraft Carrier for several years I can say your observations are correct. They should have a regulation white T under there. None of the pilots I know would wear a civilian T under their flight suit because it could mark them as an American, and it could contain chemicals that in a pure oxygen environment of the flight suit could have produced fumes.

Question: Why does the air traffic controller call Maverick "Ghostrider"? Surely that isn't his call sign?

Answer: That's the name of his aircraft. By using "Ghostrider", the controller is speaking to both Maverick and Goose.

Question: Who does that guy call when he says "Yeah, Maverick just quit"?

Answer: Most likely? Charlie. He probably knows that there is something between the two and lets her know which explains the following scene where Charlie walks into the bar he is at.