By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
For most people, the legendary fighter jets featured in the movie “Top Gun” exist only on a movie screen.
For retired Navy fighter pilot and "the real life Maverick," CJ “Heater” Heatley, those aircraft were everyday life.
Heatley spent 28 years in the U.S. Navy, flying both the F-4 Phantom and the iconic F-14 Tomcat during a career that took him across some of the world’s most dangerous regions.
He logged almost 3,000 hours in the F-14 and almost 1,500 hours in the F-4. Beyond combat deployments and international operations, Heatley also became part of aviation history as both a graduate and instructor at the Navy’s elite Top Gun school.
Now, decades after flying missions across the globe, pieces of that career have found a new home in western Kansas.
Heatley recently donated his military memorabilia collection to the town of WaKeeney, specifically the Prarie Rose Inn, where visitors can view the community’s restored F-14 Tomcat exhibit that features an actual F-14 Tomcat.
The collection also includes flight suits, photographs, patches, street signs and personal artifacts gathered throughout nearly three decades of military service.
For Heatley, the display represents far more than memorabilia.
“The Top Gun flight suit is hard to earn,” Heatley said. “That means a lot. The city of San Diego gave me the street signs, that means a lot, and all the photos are reminders of what we did on cruise when we were away from our family.”
Rather than pointing to one prized possession, Heatley said every piece tells part of the same story.
“That is basically 28 years of Navy life,” he said.
Heatley graduated from Top Gun in 1975 before returning as an instructor in 1977. During that time, he also became a MiG pilot, serving in two separate aggressor squadrons known as the Red Hats and the Red Eagles. Those units trained American pilots by replicating enemy aircraft tactics during mock aerial combat.
His military career stretched far beyond training exercises.
Heatley said he flew missions and deployments connected to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, the South China Sea, Korea and the Mediterranean. He described encounters with Russian aircraft across the Mediterranean and Chinese aircraft operating near Korea during tense periods overseas.
Despite those experiences, one of the most recognizable chapters of Heatley’s life came in Hollywood.
Heatley worked on the original 1986 movie “Top Gun” for four months, appearing alongside actor Tom Cruise during filming. While he did not teach Cruise how to fly, Heatley said the actor treated both him and his family well throughout production.
Heatley also played a major behind-the-scenes role in creating some of the movie’s most memorable aerial footage.
“I shot most of the over-water scenes in the movie,” Heatley said. “All the missile shoot scenes, landing scenes and dogfighting.”
Using a large Aeroflex movie camera mounted inside Navy aircraft, Heatley captured footage from the back seat of both TA-4 and F-14 aircraft while flying alongside the movie’s action sequences.
Today, those memories and artifacts sit thousands of miles from the ocean inside a small Kansas community that unexpectedly became meaningful to the retired pilot.
Heatley said the connection began when he stopped in WaKeeney and visited the restored Tomcat display. After meeting local residents and learning the story behind how the town acquired and transported the aircraft, he developed an appreciation for the community’s passion for preserving aviation history.
“I kind of fell in love with WaKeeney,” Heatley said.
That decision carried even greater meaning because of his current health challenges. Heatley shared that he is living with three progressive terminal diseases and wanted to ensure his collection ended up somewhere people would value and appreciate.
“I know I do not have much time left,” he said. “Being able to enhance the experience for the visitors that see our Tomcat is pretty meaningful to me.”
For visitors walking through the exhibit, the display offers more than uniforms and patches. The collection provides a personal look into the life of a Navy pilot who experienced combat deployments, Top Gun training, Cold War-era aerial operations and even a role in one of the most famous aviation films ever made.
And for Heatley, there is comfort in knowing those stories will continue long after his flying days ended.