 To coincide with the release of the movie Top Gun Maverick in 2022, Flight Simulator 2020's developers Asobo added some free DLC to the simulator that was themed around the Tom Cruise blockbuster. The star of the DLC was however not Pete Maverick Mitchell but the fictional experimental spy plane that Tom Cruise's character flies at the start of the film. The aircraft is called the SR72 Dark Star and although its performance statistics are frankly insane it is generally accepted these days that the aircraft or indeed something not unlike it probably exists in a Lockheed Martin experimental facility somewhere if in fact it's not already in service in the deepest blackest parts of the American military. Utilizing a combination of conventional after burning jet engines at lower speeds and very unconventional scram jets at higher speeds and altitudes the plane is capable of reaching speeds bordering on Mach 10 at 120,000 feet. For its introduction into Flight Simulator 2020 the plane has been beautifully modelled both in appearance and behaviour. Indeed it was during the making of this video that we realised that the game even goes as far as to simulate the sonic booms generated around the Dark Star's flight path as it moves. Whilst things tend to happen a lot quicker in the Dark Star's cockpit for obvious reasons inside the cockpit is actually quite serene once you get used to it. But what does such extreme performance in an aircraft look and sound like to the outside observer? Once airborne the plane accelerates very quickly particularly once the afterburners are ignited and it's at these speeds that you start to get your first impressions of what is to come. This is what Mach 1 looks like at around 20,000 feet as the plane passes. Were you at ground level? This is what you'd hear. Interestingly our flights during the making of this video showed that the speed of sound appears to have been modelled as well. The sound of the boom at ground level taking longer to reach the observer once the plane had passed by. Once the plane accelerates past Mach 3 using conventional engines the scramjets can be ignited and as they take over and begin to accelerate the plane through Mach 6 and Mach 7 as it climbs higher and higher the exterior of the Dark Star can be seen glowing red hot on its leading edges as friction with the Earth's thinning atmosphere heats the outside. It's at around 120,000 feet that the SR72 is in the sweet spot for its maximum performance and it's able to achieve truly hypersonic speeds. And to a stationary observer this is what the Dark Star passing at Mach 9.5 looks and sounds like. The Dark Star can't do these kinds of extraordinary speeds at lower altitude but if it could this is what the pilot would be seeing out of the cockpit at ground level. Have you flown the flight simulator SR72 Dark Star yet? What speeds were you able to achieve and what was the highest altitude that you took the aircraft to? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video be sure to like and subscribe to make sure you see all our content and if you'd like to help support our work here at the Burpit you can also become a patron and gain access to exclusive perks, content and community events just like the wonderful folks you see listed on screen right now.