Friday, December 19, 2008

Top Gun and Cake - Part 2

A lighter post than part 1.

It's quite sad that I know 90% of the answers of...

The Top Gun Exam

1. On what date did the USN establish an elite school for the top one percent of pilots?

2. What did the Navy call that school?

3. What hand signal does the pilot give the catapult officer to indicate he is ready to be launched?

4. What colour flight deck jerseys do the aircraft refuellers wear?

5. What ocean is the aircraft carrier operating in at the beginning of the movie.

6. Which aircraft carrier is it?

7. What is the carrier’s hull pendant number?

8. In the opening air combat sequence why does Cougar “break high and right”?

9. At what range from the Enterprise does the air combat commence?

10. What is Maverick’s idea of fun?

11. At what range from the carrier’s flight deck does Maverick “call the ball”?

12. What is the name of the Admiral’s daughter that Maverick has in his list of high speed passes?

13. What are the last words Cougar says before he throws in his wings?

14. What is the geographic location of Fightertown USA?

15. What was the Navy kill ratio in Korea and what did it fall to in Vietnam?

16. What does “ACM” stand for?

17. What beer is the ditsy blond drinking when Maverick and Goose arrive in the target rich environment of the officers club.

18. What manoeuvre does Charlie brief that a MIG 28 cannot do?

19. What is the hard deck on Maverick’s first hop at Top Gun?

20. What type of aircraft does Jester fly?

21. Complete this phrase by Jester. “You can run but …..”

22. What colour is the F-14s Head Up Display symbology?

23. What colour does it turn at lock on?

24. What is written on the coffee cup of the air traffic control officer when Maverick buzzes the tower after his first hop against Jester.

25. What alternative career does Goose consider after he and Maverick have been chewed out by Viper for flying below the hard deck?

Bonus Questions

26. What is the name of the squadron on the honour board outside Viper’s office and what date were they deployed to WESTPAC?

27. What is Charlie’s address and what time is dinner?

28. Who has the best set of “ripped abs” in the volleyball game.

29. When Viper is de-briefing the second mission (2 v 2) he tells Maverick that he made a wrong choice. What should Maverick have done?

30. What training mission is it when Maverick leaves his wingman?

31. What is the motto on the recruiting poster in the Top Gun locker room?

32. On what training mission does Goose get killed?

33. What are the switch settings on the F-14s HOTAS armaments switch?

34. When Maverick’s No 1 engine flames out - is it the port or starboard engine?

35. What is the blatant error in the Admiral’s briefing about the “situation” involving the crippled communications ship?

36. What sector is Ice allocated?

37. What is Maverick’s plane number? (Trick question)

38. Is Maverick left handed?

39. How many aircraft did Viper lose from his squadron in Vietnam?

40. What carrier did Viper and Tom Mitchell fly from?

41. When Viper is telling Maverick about “Bogies all over the sky like fireflies” what is he talking about?

42. How many rows of medals does Maverick wear on his ice cream suit at the Top Gun graduation ceremony?

43. When Maverick reports he is supersonic, how long will it take him to get to the battle?

44. The first MIG shot down gets hit by a missile. Where does it get hit?

45. What is the air warfare call sign of the aircraft carrier?

46. How much would it cost you to play three songs on the jukebox at the bar in Fightertown?

47. In the movie credits which of the US Navy pilots doesn’t have a callsign?


How many can YOU answer?

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Top Gun and Cake - Part 1

No quote this time to segue into the blog. Sorry, I just couldn’t find one that incorporated Top Gun and cake.

It is mid-December already, signaling the near ending of another year. Another twelve months of my life has passed, and as always during this time of year, I look back on what I’ve done to see if there has been any progress. At a quick glance, the score appears to be - World: 1, Jeremy: 0. I know what you’re thinking, Oh great, another emo post, how original. Yet, secretly you’re intrigued. Your reading speed increases as you desperately race from one word to the next if for no other reason than to comprehend the sentences that spell out my emotional turmoil. Perhaps it’s some sadistic schadenfreude you try to hide. Perhaps you’re just as emo. Perhaps it is all. Perhaps it is none. Perhaps.


Either way, we’re two weeks into December and the normal “rush” that occurs during this time of year is definitely in full effect. It’s a global – well okay, not global, but definitely widespread – sprint to the finish line, all while trying to tie up loose ends and accomplish last year’s resolutions. For me, I currently feel like I’m in the eye of the storm; two turbulent weeks have passed, and two more turbulent weeks are ahead. A lot of the flurry has revolved around work, and work-related drama. I’ll elaborate, since you’re probably curious as to what it’s all about, but to protect the innocent, real names will be replaced with characters from the hit 80s movie Top Gun. Yes, I know Top Gun is probably the most overtly homosexual movie ever created but it’s still one of my favorite movies of all time. Deal with it.


There’s been a lot of tension amongst us pilots. A lot of towers have been buzzed, hard decks broken, and abandoning of wingmen. Hollywood and Wolfman have stocked the hanger with missiles, while Merlin was too close for missiles and had to switch to guns. Iceman and Slider engaged and successfully splashed multiple bogies, however, couldn’t get a good tone on many. Goose was killed. Viper is trying to get Maverick to fly with Jester, though Mav is already feeling the need for speed.


Okay…that didn’t play out as well as it did in my head. Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire.


*Insert awesome literary segue*

Dealing with all the drama, both in and out of the work place, has led me to see that the older I get, the more I realize the immensity of my emotional capacity. I find myself always trying to do the right thing, when there are times I know in my heart that I want to go in a different direction. It’s a constant battle between heart and mind, whose battle lines become clearer as I mature in my young adult life. I've been fighting. Fighting for something that I don't know is even there. However, the sheer act of fighting for something gives my life purpose, a goal, a milestone to strive for and eventually surpass. The optimist in me fuels my desire, accelerates my ambition, but can possibly be my greatest fall. I set myself up for something great or something terribly miserable. It's a risk I'm willing to take. It's been a risk I have always taken, throughout my life. However, I never really noticed this trend until recently. Nothing worthwhile materializes without taking that risk. It's what keeps existence exciting, boundless.

Three years ago, I would have told you I was 100% happy with my life. A loving family, amazing friends, and someone who loved me and that I loved back. Picture perfect, but in the inside, I think I knew the life I was leading wasn't as pristine as I thought it to be. It's naive to think your life is ever perfect (so maybe I'm slightly pessimistic after all). Perfection is an illusion that is reinforced by society, your friends, even your own mind. I don't think I'll ever reach that 100% goal, but I want to die trying. Life is about the journey and my definition of love and life is ever changing.
I have learned so much of myself in the past few years. The way I handle things now, differs so greatly than the way I would in the past. I just hope that one day I'll be able to release what has embedded itself so deeply in my heart. I guess that’s what I'm fighting for; a chance to expose my heart, bleeding, in the open.

I feel like some of the most trying and important days of my life are still yet to come. All there is left is to hope for the strength to carry on and prevail. To quote The Matrix, “Hope – it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength and your greatest weakness.” Some dreams refuse to die. Some souls never know when the cause is lost. Such ignorance can be truly awe-inspiring.

End of part 1.