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Mar 4, 2022 · Rear Adm. (Ret.) Kenneth "Pete" Pettigrew, callsign "Viper." (U.S. Navy) With that in mind, being outnumbered 2-to-1 by the best planes the People's Air Force of North Vietnam could fly didn't ...
Jan 7, 2024 · His real-life name is much cooler: Viper. At least, that’s his callsign. Rear Admiral Pete “Viper” Pettigrew lent his callsign to Tom Skerrit’s character, Commander Mike Metcalf, in Top Gun. Beyond serving as the technical advisor on the film, Viper arguably made Top Gun what it is today.
- Pete Pettigrew’s Military Career
- The Us Navy’s Topgun School
- Pete Pettigrew’s Service, Post-Topgun School
- A Career in Film Soon Came Calling
- Pete Pettigrew’s Legacy
Prior to becoming an adviser on the first Top Gun film, Pete Pettigrew had an impressive career in the military. He began his service in the US Naval Reserve, and became a naval aviator in 1966. He completed Fleet Replacement Training with Fighter Squadron 121 (VF-121) and reported to Fighter Squadron 151 (VF-151), with whom he served two combat 10...
After his deployments to Vietnam, Pete Pettigrew returned to San Diego. As one of the top fighter pilots in the Navy, he was made an instructor in the Navy Fighter Weapons School, training pilots in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat from 1969-72. A signat Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, where the training was held, read, “The four-week course st...
The training Navy pilots received at NAS Miramar soon paid dividends. Prior to the program, the kill-to-loss ratio for naval aviators was around 2:1. Following the training program, it rose to 12:1. The Navy was impressed with these stats and offered up additional funding to expand the school. Pettigrew returned to Vietnam in 1972 and was stationed...
While making Top Gun, director Tony Scott and producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer were very concerned with the film being accurate, and what better way to do so than by hiring a TOPGUN instructor? This led to Pete Pettigrew becoming an advisor for the movie, and allowed him to develop a working relationship with Paramount Pictures. Pettigre...
When Pete Pettigrew ended his Navy career in 1998, he’d participated in over 375 combat missions in Southeast Asia, culminating in over 3,400 hours flying fighter aircraft. For his service, he was awarded a number of decorations: the Joint Superior Service Medal, two Navy Commendation Medals, 30 Air Medals, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying...
Jun 14, 2022 · Pettigrew made a cameo as Charlie's "older man" date named Perry, who showed up right after the song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." While Pettigrew didn't star as himself, it was still a cool experience to have someone like Skerritt portray him and work with Paramount Pictures for three years.
Oct 13, 2017 · Pete Pettigrew the real "Viper" shares his story being a part of the making of "Top Gun" ⚓️
Jun 17, 2022 · Rear Admiral Pete Pettigrew, callsign "Viper," served in the US Navy from 1964 to 1998, completing 325 combat missions and 529 carrier landings along the way. In one of his bios he says “I am the only former Top Gun instructor with a confirmed kill”—a MiG-21 over Vietnam on May 6, 1972.
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Mar 4, 2017 · A locker scene was also added to the movie. ‘We’re paying $1 million for Tom Cruise so we gotta show some flesh’, said technical advisor Pete Pettigrew. Pettigrew, incidentally, was the real life ‘Viper’, a TOP GUN instructor who once shot down a MIG during the Vietnam War. He plays Charlie’s ‘older man’ date at the officer’s ...
