In the cockpit: Schallhorn recounts his time as a Top Gun pilot

Earlier this year, Tom Cruise jetted across the silver screen in “Top Gun Maverick,” 36 years after the original film was topping the box office in 1986.

Today, Steven Schalhorn, MD, is an ophthalmologist in private practice in San Diego, California. He also is a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco, chief medical officer for Carl Zeiss Meditec and chairman of the Optical Express Medical Advisory Board.

Though both "Top Gun" films are fictional, they're inspired by a real-life military aviation program, the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School, also known as Top Gun. Before becoming one of the leading ophthalmologists in the nation, Schallhorn was in the cockpit of fighter jets as a Navy pilot at Top Gun.

In a conversation with Laurie Ferguson, Schallhorn shares his stories about his time as a Top Gun pilot and instructor, including piloting F-14s and landing on aircraft carriers in the rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean.

Schallhorn discusses with Ferguson how he ended as a Navy pilot in the Top Gun program, the decision to return as an instructor, and how it has shaped his career as one of the leading ophthalmologists in the country.

At the end of the interview, we have a few pictures of Schallhorn during his Top Gun days.