‘Top Gun: Maverick’s’ Hypersonic “Darkstar” Mystery Plane Has A Real-World Relative
SPOILER ALERT – This story contains
Top Gun: Maverick
plot points
In the opening moments of
Top Gun: Maverick
,
Tom Cruise’s Capt. Pete Mitchell takes an an experimental hypersonic plane called
“The Darkstar” on an unauthorized test run. Those who’ve seen
the trailer — or the movie, at this point — will recall a low-flying
triangular aircraft blowing past a lonely guard post on the desert floor.
In a half-second, the flyby literally blows the roof off the shack.
A flash of the scene in an early behind-the-scenes trailer set
the aviation blogosphere aflutter — and not just because of the mind-blowing visual.