The Making of Top Gun: Maverick | Teaching Tom Cruise to Fly | F/A-18 Pilot | Patriots Jet Team

Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of Top Gun: Maverick in this thrilling episode of Combat Story. Join us as we interview Scott 'Intake' Kartvedt, Randy Howell, and Kevin 'K2' LaRosa - the masterminds behind the breathtaking aerial scenes in the movie.

Scott, a former Naval Aviator and now a member of the Patriots Jet Team, shares his journey from the Blue Angels to Hollywood. Randy, the owner of The Patriots Jet Team, talks about his experience teaching Tom Cruise to fly the L-39 jet for Maverick. Kevin, a Hollywood-bred aviation stunt man and aerial coordinator, gives us a glimpse into the world of aerial cinematography.

Dive into the world of aviation with these three pioneers as they discuss the intricacies of flying on the edge, the challenges of teaching Tom Cruise to fly jets, and the close calls and near misses that come with the territory.

Stay tuned for a special edition of Combat Story where we go flying with Scott and Randy in the L-39 in formation with the Patriots Jet Team.

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Today we hear an aviation-focused Combat Story with three pioneers in the civilian, military, and filmmaking aviation communities who were the driving force behind the aerial scenes from Top Gun: Maverick.

Many will recall our interview with Scott ‘Intake’ Kartvedt as the Accountant turned Naval Aviator who went on to fly F/A-18s, command an F-35 Squadron, fly with the Blue Angels, and now flies the Number 5 airplane in the civilian aerobatic formation flight Patriots Jet Team. Scott’s fantastic book “Full Throttle: From the Blue Angels to Hollywood Stunt Pilot” chronicles his experiences in- and outside the cockpit.

Our second guest is the owner of The Patriots Jet Team, Randy Howell, who flies the Number 6 aircraft, and who taught Tom Cruise to fly the L-39 jet for Maverick. To give you an idea of how long Randy has been flying, he has 7K more flight hours than expert aviator Sully Sullenberger, who famously landed his commercial airliner in the Hudson River after an inflight emergency. Randy and Intake made up the pair of stunt pilots for Maverick, including the intense flying in the last eight minutes of the movie, for which they were awarded the Screen Actors Guild award for action.

Our third guest is Kevin ‘K2’ LaRosa who grew up in Hollywood as an aviation stunt man, pilot, and aerial coordinator. You’ve seen him in the air in over 100 films and TV shows, including Iron Man, Avengers, Transformers, Devotion, and Maverick. Kevin “K2” LaRosa is a Motion Picture and Television Aerial Coordinator and Stunt Pilot.

This is a rare glimpse into flying with three experts and pioneers in the field. We dig into so much in this episode about flying on the edge and I hope you enjoy these stories of pushing the limits of aerial cinematography with both aircraft and cameras, teaching Tom Cruise to fly jets, and the close calls and near misses that inevitably come with aviation, as much as I did.

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