GQ Breaks Down TopGun Flight Scenes with Former Navy Pilot

TopGun Options CEO and former Navy fighter pilot, E. Matthew ‘Whiz’ Buckley, breaks down flying scenes from movies including “Top Gun,” “Pearl Harbor,” and “Behind Enemy Lines.”

“The Breakdown” is a digital series produced by GQ Magazine featuring experts in their respective fields analyzing popular Hollywood movies. In this episode, Buckley breaks down military aviation scenes, discussing how realistic – or unrealistic – the portrayal of the craft and actors are done. Other guests of the popular series have included pro skateboarder Tony Hawk, racing driver Danica Patrick, and pro golfer Brooks Koepka. Buckley’s episode was the 27th of the first season.

“Hollywood knows how to put on a good show, but they don’t always get it right, shared E. Matthew ‘Whiz’ Buckley, former Navy fighter pilot and CEO of TopGun Options. “It was a fun experience, and I look forward to doing it again.”

Buckley graduated from Jacksonville University and was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy, where he was selected for flight training. He flew the F/A-18 Hornet for the United States Navy for 15 years, graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOP GUN), and flew 44 combat sorties over Iraq off the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Kitty Hawk. Buckley left active duty from the Navy in late 2000 yet continued flying the F/A-18 Hornet for the Naval Reserve out of Naval Air Station Fort Worth. During his time in service, he earned many honors, including two Strike/Flight Air Medals by the President of the United States.

Watch the video below.

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Photo Credit: Eliyahu Yosef Parypa / Shutterstock.com