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50 free Top Gun trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Top Gun opened in May 1986 to mixed reviews and a $15 million budget, then added theatres for a month and became the biggest film in the world that year. It turned Tom Cruise into a global star, sent a Berlin ballad to the Oscars, sold a record 2.9 million VHS tapes and put Navy recruiting booths in cinema lobbies, all from a magazine article about pilots at Miramar that numerous screenwriters had turned down. These 50 questions cover the film and how it got made: the California magazine piece that inspired it, the Saab commercial that won Tony Scott the job, the actor who chose Full Metal Jacket instead, the Navy's script changes, Christine Fox and the real Viper, the F-5s standing in for MiG-28s, Scott Altman buzzing the tower, the cheque written to turn an aircraft carrier, the aerobatic pilot the film is dedicated to, the Toto dispute that handed Danger Zone to Kenny Loggins, Kansas City Barbeque, the Top Gun House that became a pie shop, the National Film Registry, Hot Shots! and the 36-year wait for Maverick. Easy questions stick to callsigns and songs; the hard tier asks about squadrons, camera formats and video games. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a one-line explanation. Play it solo or print it for a movie night next to our Top Gun: Maverick quiz.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who directed Top Gun?
Tony Scott
He was hired on the strength of a Saab commercial that raced a 900 turbo against a Viggen jet.
Q 02Who stars as Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell?
Tom Cruise
Producers wanted him after Risky Business; he was in London shooting Legend when offered the part.
Q 03What is the callsign of Maverick's radar intercept officer, played by Anthony Edwards?
Goose
He dies after ejecting and hitting the jettisoned canopy during Hop 31.
Q 04Who plays Maverick's rival, Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky?
Val Kilmer
He found the script silly but was contractually obliged, and reprised the role 34 years later.
Q 05Who plays civilian instructor Charlotte 'Charlie' Blackwood?
Kelly McGillis
She went shoeless in her scenes to match her co-star's height.
Q 06At which naval air station is the Fighter Weapons School set?
Miramar
The base in San Diego nicknamed itself Fightertown USA.
Q 07On which aircraft carrier are Maverick and Goose stationed?
USS Enterprise
Carrier deck shots were mostly of normal operations; the crew took what they could get.
Q 08Which fighter do Maverick and Goose fly?
F-14 Tomcat
One of the jets used, BuNo 160694, now sits in the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi.
Q 09What real aircraft portrayed the fictional enemy MiG-28?
Northrop F-5
The MiG-28 does not exist; the opening dogfight was moved to international waters at the Navy's request.
Q 10Who plays Commander Mike 'Viper' Metcalf?
Tom Skerritt
The character was based on Rear Admiral Pete 'Viper' Pettigrew, the film's technical advisor.
Q 11Who plays instructor Rick 'Jester' Heatherly?
Michael Ironside
His surname nods to Charles 'Heater' Heatley, who shot the aerial photos for the original article.
Q 12Which future Oscar winner plays RIO Sam 'Merlin' Wells?
Tim Robbins
Merlin flies with Cougar, then with Maverick in the climax.
Q 13Who plays Goose's wife, Carole Bradshaw?
Meg Ryan
Their son Bradley was played by twins Aaron and Adam Weis.
Q 14What is the callsign of Maverick's first wingman, who resigns after the opening dogfight?
Q 21Where was the opening dogfight originally set before the Navy asked for a change?
Cuba
It was moved to international waters; a carrier-deck crash scene was scrapped too.
Q 22Why was Charlie rewritten from a sailor into a civilian contractor?
Fraternisation rules
The character was based on Christine 'Legs' Fox, a mathematician at the Center for Naval Analyses.
Q 23Which real-life civilian analyst inspired the character of Charlie?
Christine Fox
She specialised in Maritime Air Superiority tactics for carrier defence.
Cougar
John Stockwell played him; his departure gives Maverick and Goose the Top Gun slot.
Q 15Who plays CAG 'Stinger', commander of the carrier air group?
James Tolkan
He sends Maverick and Goose to Top Gun with a reprimand for ignoring the landing order.
Q 16Which magazine published the 1983 article that inspired the film?
California
Ehud Yonay's 'Top Guns' featured aerial photography by Charles 'Heater' Heatley.
Q 17Who wrote the screenplay for Top Gun?
Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.
Epps sat in on declassified Top Gun classes and was flown in an F-14 for research.
Q 18A commercial for which carmaker got the director the job?
Saab
It showed a Saab 900 turbo racing a Saab 37 Viggen fighter; Cronenberg and Carpenter had declined.
Q 19Which actor turned down Maverick for political reasons and made Full Metal Jacket instead?
Matthew Modine
He felt the film's pro-military stance clashed with his politics.
Q 20Who persuaded the reluctant star to take the part of Maverick?
Ridley Scott
The director's brother talked him round while he was filming Legend in London.
Q 24Maverick's character was loosely based on which Vietnam ace?
Duke Cunningham
Viper, by contrast, was modelled on Pettigrew, who cameos as a colleague of Charlie.
Q 25In which coastal city did filming begin on June 26, 1985?
Oceanside
The Graves House there became Charlie's home and is now a pie shop called High Pie.
Q 26Which numbered Navy carrier air wing supplied the F-14s and crews?
Fifteen
Its squadrons VF-51 Screaming Eagles and VF-111 Sundowners both get nods in the film.
Q 27How much did the director pay by cheque to have the carrier turned for five more minutes?
$25,000
The captain had told him that was what it cost to turn the ship.
Q 28Which future NASA astronaut flew the jet that 'buzzes the tower'?
Scott Altman
He was also the pilot flipping the bird in the opening sequence.
Q 29Where were most of the aircraft-over-land sequences shot?
NAS Fallon, Nevada
Ground-mounted cameras were used; air-to-air footage mostly came from a Learjet.
Q 30Why was the film shot in the Super 35 format?
Wider lenses didn't fit the cockpits
External F-14 camera mounts had been built by Grumman for The Final Countdown.