Retired Navy Commander recalls experience as stunt pilot in Top Gun: Maverick

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Whether it’s flying in the Middle East or on the set of a blockbuster movie, Retired Navy Commander Frank Weisser has done it.

Weisser is a Blue Angel Aviator who flew the aerial stunts in Top Gun: Maverick.

All of those times you saw Tom Cruise flying at low altitudes, maneuvering through mountains at intense speeds? It may have actually been Commander Weisser. KCTV5 sat down with him to get a closer look at the movie scenes driven by real-life military experience.

“We filmed scene after scene after scene, and I’m sure for the parts they did in the studio is the same way, but we just, we went up and we flew a really aggressive dynamic scene flying through a canyon,” Weisser said. “If it wasn’t exactly the way he had envisioned it, we went and did it again. And we did that over and over and over again.”

FULL INTERVIEW: Stunt pilot speaks on experience in Top Gun: Maverick

Weisser’s new book ‘LEAD SOLO: Learning Life’s Vectors from an F/A-18 Blue Angel Aviator’ is available now.