Taking a Transcontinental Flight in the Hypersonic Darkstar, Virtually

Ride along on a Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 journey in the semifictional scramjet based on the Lockheed SR-72 and flown by Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’

Patrick Chovanec

Friday, September 29, 2023 at 04:48 PM ET

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The scramjet in the movie "Top Gun: Maverick" was roughly based on the Lockheed SR-72, which is supposedly in development. [Image courtesy of Patrick Chovanec]

Key Takeaways:

The article details a simulated cross-country flight in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 using the Darkstar scramjet from *Top Gun: Maverick*.
The flight traversed 2,000 miles from California to Washington, D.C., achieving hypersonic speeds up to Mach 9.1 at altitudes of 127,000 feet, requiring specific maneuvers like an inverted dive to break the sound barrier and scramjet ignition.
Despite its theoretical 25-minute capability, the journey took approximately 50 minutes due to operational factors such as takeoff direction and a careful, early deceleration strategy to prevent aircraft breakup during descent.

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For this session in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020), I’m going to be flying the semifictional Darkstar scramjet flown by Tom Cruise at the beginning of the 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick.

The flight I’ll be taking will be from Miramar (KNKX), the former location of the Top Gun academy outside San Diego, to Joint Base Andrews (KADW) outside of Washington, D.C. If I do everything right, the 2,000-mile trip should take just 25 minutes.