NAS Fallon

This is it. The actual TOPGUN. The Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. The Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program. The thing Tom Cruise made two whole movies about that grossed $1.5 billion. And it's in Fallon, Nevada, a desert town whose main attractions are a casino that's seen better decades, a lot of sand, and the distinction of being the one place where 'I'm a fighter pilot' doesn't make you the most interesting person in the room because everyone here is a fighter pilot. The flying is unbelievable — you'll train against the best tactical aviators in the world over the Fallon Range Training Complex, which is bigger than some New England states and allows the kind of unrestricted combat maneuvering that makes other training ranges look like parking lots. The ranges are the reason Fallon exists: no other location in the continental U.S. offers this much airspace, this little civilian interference, and this much room to simulate full-scale air warfare. Then you'll land and eat at one of four restaurants and go to bed at 9 PM because there is genuinely nothing else to do — Reno is an hour west for when you need a city, but most TOPGUN classes are too busy studying to notice. The desert sunsets are spectacular. The mission is the best in naval aviation. The town is the price of admission, and the pilots here pay it gladly because the flying is worth everything the ground isn't.