In the Picture Steve Pratt takes a look at the latest on the big and small screens. Flying the dragon by Nigel Burton TOM Cruise's character in Top Gun has become something of a movie icon. Striding across the burning asphalt of Andrews Air Force base, his aviator shades shielding those blue eyes from the sunlight, his helmet held casually in one hand, his puny physique pumped up thanks to the standard-issue flight suit. The garb worn by fighter pilots hasn't changed much since Top Gun was made more than a decade ago. But if Cruise ever decides to make a sequel, his combat gear could be very different.
Humans are the most fragile and unreliable part of any modern day fighter aircraft.
Our bodies simply aren't able to withstand the amazing gravitational forces exerted by aircraft as they accelerate through the sound barrier several times over. The dangers posed by these G-forces were first noted by Nazi engineers who found Stukka pilots sometimes blacked out as they dived towards their targets. The effect of gravity prevents blood reaching the brain. Pilots feel dizzy, lose their vision and then their consciousness. While these suits are undeniably effective, they are also painful to use.