Fans of the classic 1986 movie Top Gun may be inspired to attend the real-life version of the flight school it's based on, but any recruits have to be careful about expressing their love for the film. In a long-standing tradition, anyone on staff at Topgun who makes the mistake of quoting the Tom Cruise movie has to pay a penalty fine.

Directed by Tony Scott, Top Gun starred Cruise as the talented but reckless naval fighter pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, who is sent to train at the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School program - better known as Topgun - at the Naval Air Station in Myramar. The film was produced with the support of the Navy in exchange for final script approval (among the adjustments made: Kelly McGillis' character, Charlie, was changed from a military officer to a civilian instructor, so that her relationship with Maverick wouldn't violate fraternization policy). Not only did the Navy make several of its fighter jets available for filming, most of the flying sequences were shot at the Naval Air Station in Fallon, Nevada, where the real Topgun school would later relocate to.

Related: Top Gun: The Actor Who Almost Played Tom Cruise's Maverick

Top Gun proved to be a powerful recruitment tool for the Navy, with recruitment booths even set up in theaters to snag patrons who were freshly inspired by seeing Maverick in action. However, it appears that people at the real Topgun school quickly got sick of the movie references, as there is now a $5 fine applied to any member of staff who quotes from the movie. That means no feeling the need for speed, no egos writing checks your body can't cash, and definitely no "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you" - unless of course, the quoting party is ready to pay the fine.

Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise in Top Gun

The good relations between the U.S. Navy and Top Gun soured somewhat during the original development of Top Gun 2. In September 1991 the U.S. military's image was marred by the Tailhook scandal, in which dozens of women and several men were allegedly sexually assaulted by aviation officers at the 35th Annual Tailhook Association Symposium. The fallout included a number of a high-level resignations, and amid the scandal the Navy withdrew its support for Top Gun 2, reportedly pointing the finger at Maverick's aggressive flirtation with Charlie as encouraging the behavior seen at the Tailhook Symposium.

Though it lost its original planned release date to the COVID-19 lockdown, there is still a sequel to Top Gun on the way this year. Now planned for a December 2020 release, Top Gun: Maverick sees the return of Cruise as the titular character, who never rose above the rank of captain and is still flying fighter jets. If the sequel is as big a success as its predecessor, perhaps Topgun will start imposing an even bigger fine for quoting Top Gun: Maverick.

More: Every Song On The Top Gun Soundtrack

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