This month marks 40 years since the hit film "Top Gun" was originally released in theaters. On Friday night, aviation enthusiasts held a meet-up at Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova to celebrate the movie that makes so many people want to become pilots. "'Top Gun' is actually why I wanted to join the military," said Dylan Baldock. "Watching all these cool guys in these big jets going fast, the look like they're having a lot of fun, and so I was like I could use some of that." He's inspired by the film that came out decades before he was born. Now he's joining the Air Force to become a pilot. "I saw it for the first time when I was in fifth grade and ever since then, all I've wanted to do is fly fighter jets," Baldock said. Baldock is among the "Top Gun" fans attending a special free screening to commemorate the movie's 40th anniversary.
It was back in May of 1986 that the film starring Tom Cruise was first released. "Seeing the fighter jets all over again, it's just so exciting," said Anastasia Long, the chapter president of the local experimental aircraft association, who organized the event.
The film and its sequel, "Top Gun Maverick," were shown in a double feature at Mather Airport inside a massive hangar alongside real airplanes. "It's a very unique experience and it's building the camaraderie among the aviation industry and those that want to get into it," Long said. A generation later, the story of Goose and Mav is still motivating people to climb into a cockpit. "They get inspired and then they want to learn more about it, they want to figure out how can I do this, how can I fly an airplane?" Long said.
"I know people that are joining to fly all because of the movie," Baldock said. Parts of "Top Gun Maverick" were shot in El Dorado County at the Lake Tahoe airport, which portrayed the snow-covered enemy air base in the film.
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