Top Gun: Maverickhas been receiving rave reviews ahead of its premiere, which might prompt more than a few fans to dream about becoming fighter pilots themselves. Now, as part of the movie’s promotional efforts, they can at least get a cool nickname just like Captain Pete Mitchell.
Top Gun: Mavericksees not only Tom Cruise return in his iconic role butalso Val Kilmeras “Iceman,” as well as a new crop of pilots with similarly cool monikers such as “Phoenix,” “Hangman,” “Payback,” “Fanboy,” and “Coyote.” Aviator call signs are nicknames given to many aviators in substitution of their name for communication purposes, usually being made up of wordplay with their actual names or certain personality traits they exhibit in training. Although not a strictly military tradition, forTop Gunstyle fighter pilots it’s a must.
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With all that in mind,Top Gun: Maverick’s marketing team made it really easy for anyone to get a proper call sign without the hassle of all the hard military training all actors had to go throughas part of their respectiveTop Gunroles. This is thanks to a web app tool that lets users enter their names and scan their faces with the help of AR. After doing so, a brief round of questions about their personality will reveal whether they should go by “Husky” “Broadway” or something more edgy and worthy of aMortal Kombatcharacter like “Frost.”
The site does require users to grant camera access in order for them to secure a selfie with a pilot helmet filter they can use on social media later on. While there’s an option to select two other call signs after the process is complete, it must be noted military tradition dictates one can’t pick their own call sign. Plus, the more annoying a pilot finds the call sign that’s been given to them, the more likely it is to stick for the long run.
