Enjoy the aerial scenes of the first couple of minutes of Top Gun recreated with Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS World).
DCS World is a free to play combat flight simulator pretty popular among aviation enthusiasts from all around the world.
“DCS World is fundamentally a deep, authentic and realistic simulation designed also to offer a more relaxed gameplay to suit the user and his particular level of experience and training. The ambition is to hand hold users from novice pilot all the way to the most advanced and sophisticated operator of such complex weapons systems as the A-10C Warthog or the F/A-18C Hornet. The only next step is the real thing!” says its official website.
DCS is expandable through additional modules as well as user-made add-ons and mods and this is one of the reasons why the are hundred websites, forums, Reddit Communities and Youtube channels dedicated to the “the most authentic and realistic simulation of military aircraft, tanks, ground vehicles and ships possible.”
Just Google “DCS World” and a microcosm of interesting content (that can also be useful to learn more about combat aircraft!) will appear in front of your eyes.
One of the coolest videos I’ve found by accident lately is the one below. A DCS player that uses the nick Forest Rat in Youtube has recreated the aerial scenes in the very first minutes of Top Gun (when the two F-14s piloted by Mav and Goose and Cougar and Merlin are vectored by the aircraft carrier to intercept the incoming aircraft that will turn out to be MiG-28s).
Although some will notice that a few details are not exactly the same as the movie (for instance, the scene at the 0:24 mark shows a single seat F-5 while the movie featured a two-seater), the clip is stunning and shows the realism that DCS is able to offer.
Beware, the only aerial scene that was not recreated in the simulator is the one in black and white that shows the two MiG-28s at 1:55 mark.
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This video is a testament to the influence of “Top Gun” among aviation lovers +30 years since it was released in 1986. The original movie has influenced and inspired generations of enthusiasts all around the world and this explains the spasmodic wait for the sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” hitting the theaters in June 2020.
BTW if you want to see more DCS footage, browse Forest Rat’s channel where you can find also plenty of Iron Eagle stuff).
