Top Gun and aviator sunglasses

Top Gun - a movie that just about every person has seen, and most probably enjoyed. After all - what man wouldn't want to be Tom Cruise - flying a F-14, riding a Kawasaki Ninja, and of course - charming a gorgeous female astrophysicist. On the reverse - what woman would not want to be swept off her feet by aforementioned man?!
Some people however have managed to take this to a whole new level.....for example - I worked with a foreign flight crew in North West Africa. For something like a month, these two pilots would come back from a 7hr sortie and sit down to lunch - and Top Gun. The first three days it was bearable, by day twenty when everything started to have a Top Gun quote to go with it, it became a little much. I now read posts by young pilots throwing out these quotes and cringe every time...I'm sorry - I can't help it. I hope no doctors-to-be are quoting Greys Anatomy quotes to all who will listen.

Top Gun has done nothing to aid in the general publics perception of pilots as arrogant, speed loving, womanizing, aviator-wearing individuals who need a 'good woman' to 'tame' them. Run quick ladies - there are male pilots all over the globe in need of 'saving' - it doesn't matter if they are flying cargo in Alaska, scenic flights in Africa, or commercial trans-Atlantic flights. I'm not sure what is to be done with all the female pilots in aviation - Top Gun didn't cover that.

So it may come as a shock then that I am not sure that I know any pilots who sports Ray Ban aviators (or knock-offs)...I do however know a great deal of non-aviation people wearing them as an 'on trend' item! In fact, currently in Serbia there are so many people wearing aviators I find myself having to bite my tongue from going up to them and asking 'So, are you a pilot?'

I suppose there are worse things that could have become a fashion trend - at least we don't have people walking around wearing firemen helmets...that would have been hell of an uncomfortable, and pretty tough for women to pull off as sexy.


Anyway, I must go and feed our dog - he's called Maverick by the way...