On Tuesday, Powell, 31, revealed on Instagram that he had received his pilot's license after Cruise paid for his flight school as a Christmas present. In the Instagram post, Powell shared a video of himself celebrating with his instructor after successfully flying his first solo flight.
"Try not falling in love with aviation after living out every pilot's dream while shooting @topgunmovie," the actor wrote. “Especially when you see the way @tomcruise flexes it. After wrapping a shooting day, Tom would rocket off into the sunset in his P-51 while I would limply shuffle into the cast van.”
Powell continued: “The wings were just so much cooler than the wheels…and for Christmas, Tom bought me an iPad with my flight school downloaded and prepaid. And yesterday, after months of flying, studying, and testing...I'm the real deal."
This is a video of me after my first solo flight,” he added. "It's a tradition in the aviation community for your instructor to tear away your shirt signifying that teacher's finally 'off your back.' My instructor @wallysaygers is just following the ceremony, he doesn't rip off my clothes after every flight."
Powell concluded his post by writing, “Thank you Tom for being my hype man every step of the way. If you're looking for me, look