Top Gun: MaverickGoofs

Maverick launches from the aircraft carrier off the right bow catapult. Parked aircraft are lined up over the left bow catapult, taking it out of service. A few minutes later when the last aircraft of the mission is launched, the parked aircraft are gone.

Maverick's facial hair changes constantly, randomly going from completely shaved to stubbly, sometimes in the same scene (the carrier elevator scene with Warlock, for example).

When Rooster does his second set of push ups the plane says Lt. Reuben Fitch Payback then next scene says Lt. Bradley Bradshaw Rooster.

The firepower of the helicopter would have pierced the dead trunk and killed the pilot behind it.

Maverick and the WSOs struggle to aim the laser designator at the target. This is incorrect as the targeting pod sensor is gimbaled, and is able to "lock" onto any object and display fully stabilized video on the screen.

While climbing out of the depression and moving away from the target, Maverick and the other Weapon System Officers operate the Raytheon ATFLIR targeting pod to "laze" the target until the laser guided bomb impacts. This is impossible, as the targeting pod's field of view only extends forward, to the sides, and downward. It cannot look behind.

In the canyon before Rooster increases speed there is a GoPro camera visible attached to the rear of the jet.

However, as stated in the Trivia section: the filmmakers decided not to clean up one aspect of their aerial photography that keen-eyed viewers might notice: the barely perceptible reflection of the cameras in some shots. "There was talk about, do we get rid of them? But that would have make (sic!) it even more synthetic," he said. "We worked so hard to get it in camera that we left them in there a little bit intentionally, because we're really capturing this."

In US Navy insignia, the rank of Captain (Capt) is an O-6. In the other services, the rank of Captain (CPT) is O-3, while O-6 is called Colonel (COL). So this is, in fact, correct in the movie and not a error as claimed here. The original comment is below so people can see it along with the correction. Original error report: In one particular scene, Maverick has Colonel insignia on his jumpsuit but he is referred to throughout the movie as Captain Maverick.

An Admiral tells Maverick that the uranium enrichment plant his team is to destroy was built in violation of a "multilateral NATO treaty." A NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) treaty would have been signed by only the U.S. and certain of its allies, not by the unnamed enemy country which would not have been bound by it.

Unless they are raiding a plant in Turkey.

Although Maverick and Rooster are flying an F-14, the reflections in their helmets show an F-18 cockpit.

When Pete jumps from Penny's bedroom window, you can see the gravel path shake, obviously designed to cushion Cruise's landing.

Obvious "de-aged" picture of Kilmer as an Admiral in his uniform (at Top Gun and at the funeral).

Adm. Simpson says that the Cobra maneuver could have gotten all three pilots killed, but Hangman didn't join the fight, and Maverick and Rooster didn't have RIO's, so only 2 people could have died.

When the F14 takes off, the landing gear is clipped off. A scene of an emergency landing on the carrier into an arresting net would be appropriate and still add some suspense to the movie.

In the beginning scene, Maverick(Tom Cruise) is seen during morning time (Daylight) working on his plane, then riding his motorcycle to the base past the guard shack (again daytime) into a Hangar. Then getting prepped for the test flight. During the roll out for test flight/take off, Daylight morning turns into Sunrise somehow mysteriously going backwards in time.

During a carrier landing sequence, while the rest of the scene takes place with the sun high enough in the sky to be out of frame, there is one brief shot from the cockpit view where the sun is shown slightly above the horizon, silhouetting the carrier in a sunset glow. It returns back up out of view for every subsequent shot of the sequence.

When Maverick explains that they will have to navigate the canyon at 660 knots. His lips don't quite match the first 6.

The action mostly takes place at the "Top Gun" pilot training school in San Diego, but the actual United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (commonly TOPGUN) was moved in 1996 from Naval Air Station Miramar (in San Diego) to Naval Air Station Fallon, in Western Nevada.

In the screen of the mission control center, 48°52.6'S 123°23.6'W is labeled as the coordinate of the enemy airfield. In real life, 48°52.6'S 123°23.6'W , known as Point Nemo, is a point located in the Southern Pacific ocean and officially known as "the oceanic pole of inaccessibility". It is the point in the ocean that is farthest away from any land, surrounded by more than 1,000 miles of ocean in every direction.

When Maverick and Penny go sailing they are clearly on San Francisco Bay, with Angel Island and hilly topography visible in the background. But San Francisco Bay is about 500 miles from San Diego, where the story takes place, and would be impossible to go to on a day trip. Nearby San Diego Bay has relatively flat topography.

After leaving the canyon the planes were attacked by radar-homed missiles. However, they scattered flares that are effective against IR guided missiles only.

Pete Mitchell is shown as an O-6 (CAPT) rank. Given the average 6 years it takes to reach 0-3 (LT, Mitchell's rank from the first movie) and the 33 years that have passed since then, Mitchell would have served 39 years in the Navy. An officer with Mitchell's disciplinary record and inability to attain flag rank would have been forcibly retired long before this film's events.

Cain says that drones don't require pilots but in fact they do. Because they are flown remotely, the pilot is not subject to the same hazards that the pilots of manned aircraft face such as G-forces, enemy fire and having to eject.

In the early bar scene, Bob is supposed to rack a game of nine ball. But the 14 ball is clearly in play, which would not be a part of nine ball game.