Hi, it’s Manasee here at the clubhouse. I’m here with Guy Snodgrass. He’s TOPGUN instructor and a US Navy and Marine Corps expert in air-to-air combat and tactical development. Thank you so much for joining us. So I see you have a fighter jet model on your bookshelf back there behind you. The plane you see over my shoulder is called the F/A-18/E. It’s a Super Hornet, is how we refer to it. And that’s how I got started. So in the original Top Gun movie, you had the F-14 Tomcat. You have the A-4 Skyhawk and some other airplanes that were demonstrated. Watch the birdie. They had taken that original design. And they made a lot of upgrades. They put brand new engines into it. They increased the ability to carry more fuel and more weapons, and so that’s what became known as the Super Hornet. I had a chance both as a TOPGUN instructor and then later on as a commanding officer of my own fighter squadron to fly every variant from A through F and then also another plane called the EA-18G Growler. So what is it like to really be an elite TOPGUN fighter pilot? Right, that’s where the Hollywood depiction of TOPGUN and then the reality starts to diverge somewhat. You know, there’s gonna be plenty of scenes where you’re all singing in a bar. ♪ You’ve lost that loving feeling ♪ ♪ Now, it’s gone, gone, gone ♪ You’re playing beach volleyball. You know, it looks like just a complete party day in and day out. The reality behind TOPGUN is it’s an incredibly professional organization. There’s a relatively small number of men and women who serve as TOPGUN instructors somewhere on the order of maybe 25, 26 at any given point in time. And so when you compare those numbers against the entirety of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps, who they represent as subject matter experts. So, I mean, there’s a lot running on their shoulders. How do the students change from their first day of training to when they graduate? You know, students are drawn from across the entirety of the Navy and Marine Corps. And then the TOPGUN staff of course is looking for three major things. We’re looking for an individual’s talent. You know, obviously you’d like to see someone who’s at least average if not above average in their capability as a fighter pilot. You’re looking for their passion because you want to know that they’re willing to put in the long hours. They’re willing to do what it takes to succeed. And then the last one, which I think surprises people, is that we’re looking for personality. A TOPGUN instructor at the end of the day is not only a leader, but they’re also a teacher. Day one when they walk in, you know, they’re really eager. They’re fresh, they’ve just come out of their first tour of duty as a fighter pilot. And now you’re really immersing them expanding their knowledge base, really working with them to become the very best and the finest fighter pilot they can be. So what you see walking out on graduation is definitely different than what you saw walking in on day one. When you went into the school initially, how long ago was that? And how has the student makeup kind of changed since then? I had come out of Operation Iraqi Freedom back in 2005. And that was when I applied to be a TOPGUN instructor. I was selected. I wound up graduating as a student, became an instructor in the fall of 2005 and the beginning of 2006. And then I was there to the midpoint of 2008. So about two and a half years. And so the overall composition of the team has remained the same. The overall division of labor has remained the same. But the things that have changed. Of course, technology continues to accelerate forward. And so there’s a lot of new capabilities. Throughout the history of the program it’s always been taking a very clear-eyed look at the environment around you. You know, when you think about the United States military. It’s representative from the citizens which it serves. Right, so you draw men and women from all around the country, and in some cases the world, as we work with allies and partners. And they’ll send individuals into our military to work with us. And you’ve seen a pretty significant shift over the last decade or two as the military has prioritized diversity, not just in race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation, but also background and experience and ideas. So the more diverse your workforce is typically the more capable you are of addressing significant challenges faced today. So you’ve seen that over the course of time. You know, when I first started out as a fighter pilot back in 2001, 2002, you know, it was very normal to see a fighter squadron that was just all almost similar looking, you know, white male. And then now you see a lot more diversity with men and women, individuals of color in a fighter squadron. And I certainly would say that we’re better off for it. So we just learned that the real TOPGUN fighter pilot school is way different than what’s shown in the movies. If you wanna learn more about Guy Snodgrass’s experiences and his time at the White House, check out his books “Holding the Line” and “TOPGUN’s TOP 10”. (energetic rock music)

Cincinnati’s GE Aviation behind the noise in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Updated: 8:08 PM EDT Jun 16, 2022

An acclaimed movie like “Top Gun: Maverick” needs a top-notch portfolio of aviation sounds and who better to produce those sounds than Cincinnati’s GE Aviation.GE Aviation wrote a blog on its website on May 24 detailing the process.”Top Gun” debuted in 1986 and it was nominated for four Academy Awards. Three of the four nominations fell under the category of sound, including best sound, best sound effects and best original song.Sound engineers knew they had to top the sounds of “Top Gun” for “Top Gun: Maverick.” Skywalker Sound, which is a company that specializes in sound design, mixing and audio post-production was tasked with creating aviation sounds with their audio equipment for the movie.According to GE Aviation, the U.S. Navy and Paramount Pictures directed Skywalker Sound to them because they are the world’s largest jet engine manufacturer.Skywalker Sound informed GE Aviation executive Tom Lodge that they wanted a portfolio of jet engine sounds that would be used in the movie.“If anyone has a portfolio, it’s GE Aviation. We have engines ranging from the 2,000-pound thrust HF120 engine to the 105,000-pound thrust GE9X engine, and everything in between,” Lodge said.In April 2019, a Skywalker Sound crew brought their audio equipment to GE Aviation headquarters in Cincinnati.They started recording a GE Honda HF120 engine from a HondaJet business aircraft. The crew then traveled to GE Aviation’s Peebles Test Operation where they captured recordings for the first production run of a particular GEnx-1B. This is the engine that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to GE Aviation.While in Peebles, the crew also got to record the world’s most powerful commercial aviation engine and sounds of overhead cranes being moved. The Skywalker Sound team said they were grateful for GE Aviation’s generosity.Their cooperation and hospitality enabled us to record very special and unique sounds that we would have had difficult access normally,” Al Nelson with Skywalker Sound said.”Top Gun: Maverick” is currently in theatres. Click here to watch the trailer.

CINCINNATI —

An acclaimed movie like “Top Gun: Maverick” needs a top-notch portfolio of aviation sounds and who better to produce those sounds than Cincinnati’s GE Aviation.

GE Aviation wrote a blog on its website on May 24 detailing the process.

“Top Gun” debuted in 1986 and it was nominated for four Academy Awards. Three of the four nominations fell under the category of sound, including best sound, best sound effects and best original song.

Sound engineers knew they had to top the sounds of “Top Gun” for “Top Gun: Maverick.” Skywalker Sound, which is a company that specializes in sound design, mixing and audio post-production was tasked with creating aviation sounds with their audio equipment for the movie.

According to GE Aviation, the U.S. Navy and Paramount Pictures directed Skywalker Sound to them because they are the world’s largest jet engine manufacturer.

Skywalker Sound informed GE Aviation executive Tom Lodge that they wanted a portfolio of jet engine sounds that would be used in the movie.

“If anyone has a portfolio, it’s GE Aviation. We have engines ranging from the 2,000-pound thrust HF120 engine to the 105,000-pound thrust GE9X engine, and everything in between,” Lodge said.

In April 2019, a Skywalker Sound crew brought their audio equipment to GE Aviation headquarters in Cincinnati.

They started recording a GE Honda HF120 engine from a HondaJet business aircraft. The crew then traveled to GE Aviation’s Peebles Test Operation where they captured recordings for the first production run of a particular GEnx-1B. This is the engine that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to GE Aviation.

While in Peebles, the crew also got to record the world’s most powerful commercial aviation engine and sounds of overhead cranes being moved.

The Skywalker Sound team said they were grateful for GE Aviation’s generosity.

Their cooperation and hospitality enabled us to record very special and unique sounds that we would have had difficult access normally,” Al Nelson with Skywalker Sound said.

“Top Gun: Maverick” is currently in theatres. Click here to watch the trailer.