re: Top Gun question re: the hard deck

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Jester went under the hard deck because he knew that he’d been beat, he pussed out and ducked below 10,000 feet.

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Everyone knows why he did it. That's not what the thread is about.

My question is did he get into trouble for it, or I guess should he have? And IMO the answer is yes.

The only thing I can think of is that 10,000’ is still higher than the highest point in the area where they’re flying. Setting the deck at 10k assures then that no student who may be unfamiliar with the area hits a mountain.

Viper, as an instructor, would be familiar with the area/terrain and may not get in trouble for breaking the hard deck.

But then we also see them flying through the mountains later so idk.

No expert on this, but in a real life scenario, an enemy aircraft could use this tactic to lure a fighter into the range of anti-aircraft systems...under the hard deck. Pilots are cocky. Tactics can be used to exploit that.

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They could fly under the hard deck, hence the opening scenes across the surface of the desert, and Goose telling Maverick, watch out for those mountains Mav". So they were already flying under the hard deck. The rule was not to "engage" and Jester knew Mav couldn't fire upon him under the hard deck.

So yes, Mav would have been reprimanded, and no, Jester would not have. He would have just been a punk.

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That makes sense. I guess my issue with it is that in Top Gun, points/wins mean everything. So for example, if tops in the class came down to Ice/Slider being ahead just barely, and the only reason they won is because Maverick/Goose got fricked out of those points because Jester bailed like a fig and cost them, that would be unfair and not right IMO. Mav/Goose dominated that fight with Jester, but walked away with no points because Jester is a petty a-hole.

BTW, found my other threads on Top Gun:

Goose/s fidelity (2019)

Ice should've gotten shite for murdering Goose (2015)

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that it was Maverick and Charlie flying around together. Is she? Or have I always just misread that scene?

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That's a misread. The jet scene was just because it looked badass.

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Charlie was a pilot, was she not? I know she is a "civilian" contractor (so you do not salute her), but I always assumed the very end of the movie, when the two jets fly off and flip, that it was Maverick and Charlie flying around together. Is she? Or have I always just misread that scene?

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Charlie was a civilian. No way the Navy is letting her fly a multimillion dollar jet, even if she is a pilot.