Atlanta native pilot hits the big screen in Tom Cruise film Top Gun: Maverick

Who knew that Atlanta had some bragging rights when it comes to the box office hit Top Gun: Maverick?

Any time Atlanta can be associated with an accomplishment like having one of our own apart of something so monumental, we have to bring light to that. Introducing Commander Frank J. Weisser – a graduate of North Springs High School and the U.S. Naval Academy. Weisser’s hard work and experience flying at extremely low altitudes led to him getting a call to perform flying scenes in Top Gun: Maverick. Yes, we are talking THE Top Gun: Maverick starring Tom Cruise.

Weisser told Fox 5 this all started back in 2018, as he worked on and off for the movie, all the way through the summer of 2019.

“The liaison for the movie went to a lot of trouble to find the experts in every field,” Weisser said. “And the reason I was involved is because as a Blue Angel, I’ve flown so many airshows at really low altitudes, that the scenes where they needed airplanes at abnormally low altitudes, they used me for.”

So, the question we are all dying to know – how was it working with Tom Cruise as a pilot? “I flew with Tom Cruise a lot … Tom flies a lot personally, so he’s really strong in the airplane. That’s important to me, because when the passenger is really strong like he was, it means there’s no limit to what we can do with that airplane,” Weisser said.

Top Gun: Maverick is in theaters now and has already broken records at the box office . This is the films second weekend and it’s coming in higher than its first, with $90M and a running U.S./Canada total of $295.6 million. This is also a domestic record for Tom Cruise.

Watch the full trailer below: