Talk to Me, Goose

In 1930, the critically insane Howard Hughes produced the film Hell’s Angels, ambitiously using hundreds of real planes to re-create WWI dogfights. A superb pilot and certified wild man, Hughes went on to make incredible advances in aviation, setting multiple speed records. Fifty-odd years later, Tom Cruise (before he became critically insane) played Maverick in the timeless Top Gun. If you’re under age 40 (or maybe even 50), there’s a good chance you’ve dreamed about attending Top Gun school and having a cool call sign such as Iceman, Hollywood, Jester, Viper, or Merlin (okay, maybe not Merlin). Cruise was of course acting, but those guys really exist. You can see them this Saturday at the Wings Over Miami Air Museum’s Third Annual Air Show at the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport.

You’ll see aviators including Dale Snodgrass, a legendary U.S. Navy Top Gun pilot with more hours in the F-14 Tomcat than anyone in the nation. Today from 10 to 4, a mix of legends and legends in the making will perform stunts that would make Cruise question his faith in Xenu.
Sat., March 1, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 2008