Tom Cruise P-51 …

[Mark Allen M]

Guy seems comfortable flying it. Good for him. Fly safe!



https://youtu.be/v1iZtBM23bY

[Archer]

He has owned his Mustang since 2001 according to these pages: http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p51regis ... 12840.html and https://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/s ... l/44-12840

I seem to recall from news items from a long time ago that he took the time to properly train for it and work up to the skillset needed for a high performance single-engined taildragger. If you look up his ratings you'll find:

Certificate: COMMERCIAL PILOT
Date of Issue: 6/1/2019

Ratings:
COMMERCIAL PILOT
AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND
AIRPLANE MULTIENGINE LAND
INSTRUMENT AIRPLANE
ROTORCRAFT-HELICOPTER

Type Ratings:
C/HA-420


Limits:
ENGLISH PROFICIENT.
AUTHORIZED EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT: AV-L39(VFR ONLY) N-P51.
HA-420 SECOND IN COMMAND REQUIRED.
THE HA-420 IS SUBJECT TO PILOT-IN-COMMAND LIMITATION(S).

[Dave Hadfield]

In his movie American Made (which I really enjoyed) he seems really comfortable around aircraft in a way that most actors try to be, but fail at.

[Snake45]

I remember several years ago they did a story on this on 20/20. They carefully edited the video so it LOOKED like Tom was flying the P-51 with Baba Wawa in the passenger seat but I say there is NO WAY any insurance company would let both of them in the same P-51 at the same time. Baba also lost major credibility points with me when she said the Mustang was painted "in the colors of the famous Tuskeegee Airmen." Do some research, Baba, not every P-51 with red on it anywhere is a TA tribute airplane. Epic fail.

[Lon Moer]

Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connelly, "Top Gun Maverick" movie promo screen shot.....

[Mark Allen M]

Be interesting to know how many hours he’s logged in his mustang.

[Stephan Wilkinson]

"in the colors of the famous Tuskeegee Airmen." Do some research, Baba

Speaking of research, they were the Tuskegee Airmen.

[Dan Jones]

The man obviously has a good sense of humor.

[JohnB]

It would be interesting to know about his training.
Obviously not military (or old school AG etc.), so what did he fly, and for how long, to get to a level of competence so not to hurt himself.

I would imagine worked his way up from a Stearman and/or T-6.

You have got to give him credit, my hat's off to him.
Regardless of your opinion of him as an actor or person, he seems to be the"real deal" as a pilot.

Quite a change from other Hollywood pretenders...I suspect half the guys in the"Fast and Furious" franchise can't drive a stick shift, or the guys pretending to be cops or cowboys be able to competently handle firearms.

Last edited by JohnB on Tue May 24, 2022 2:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Matt Gunsch]

He started flying after Top Gun, at one time he had a Pitts.

[wendovertom]

Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connelly, "Top Gun Maverick" movie promo screen shot.....

ScreenShot_20220524085536.jpeg

LOL - good story completely unrelated to this thread - but for Jennifer Connelly.

My buddy LOVES Jennifer Connelly and she was in Wendover for "The Hulk" filming. My buddy asked my Dad to get an autograph for him. My Dad did end up chatting with the crew and giving them a brief history of the base. He actually gave Ms. Connelly his business card with my buddies name on the back. About 3 weeks later my Dad got this really sensual headshot of Jennifer signed to him! LOL - so much for looking on the back of the card - HA - my buddy has it hanging in his office and a good story to boot.
My Dad has never held much for actors - he met this nice little englishman back in 2003 / 2004 while they were "making a film about Burt Munro". Only after he had chatted several minutes with the guy did he realize it was Anthony Hopkins.

Anyway - back to warbirds.

Tom P.

[Cubs2jets]

Sooooo.....

I'm sure somebody recognizes the airport they are flying out of. Where is it?

C2j

[Mike]

I'm sure I read somewhere that Matt Jackson did much of Tom Cruise's P-51 training

[Saville]

I have often wondered if Cruise flies his Mustang...I guess he does.

I wonder what was used for a camera aircraft in the video?

My respect for Cruise increased dramatically when he appeared on "Inside the Actor's Studio"many years ago. He was asked what his favorite sound was. He said, "The sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin." That may have been before he owned the P-51.

[airnutz]

My respect for Cruise increased dramatically when he appeared on "Inside the Actor's Studio"many years ago. He was asked what his favorite sound was. He said, "The sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin." That may have been before he owned the P-51.

That episode aired January 2004. He was probably in full Merlin intoxication by then...