July 27, 2026
Tomcat? More like Drama-cat
3D-printed F-14 Tomcat uses FPGA recreation of the first microprocessor
Fans cheer the tiny Top Gun brain reboot — but one commenter says it’s still just a toy plane
TLDR: An engineer recreated the original F-14 fighter jet’s flight computer and tested it in a 3D-printed model, reviving a big piece of aviation and chip history. But the comment section instantly turned into a reality check, with the standout hot take dismissing it as basically just a toy plane.
A retro military tech flex turned into a very online identity crisis this week after engineer Adam Taylor rebuilt the F-14 Tomcat’s famous flight computer in modern hardware, then showed it off inside a 3D-printed model plane. On paper, it’s a wildly cool history-meets-hobby story: the original F-14’s onboard computer helped calculate speed, height, and other flight data, and even played a big role in controlling the jet’s dramatic swing wings. Taylor has now recreated that whole system and made the design open source.
But the comments immediately did what comments do best: skip past the engineering miracle and go straight for the roast. The loudest reaction wasn’t “wow, the first secret microprocessor lives again,” but essentially, hold on, let’s not get carried away here. One blunt commenter cut through the excitement with the devastatingly simple jab that it’s “not an F-14 Tomcat” at all — just “a toy that looks like one.” And honestly? That one-liner has the energy of a whole internet pile-on packed into a single sneeze of contempt.
That set the tone: half the vibe is awe over reviving a legendary 1970s jet brain that some fans insist beat Intel to the “first microprocessor” crown, and half is people refusing to let a cool project sound cooler than it is. The result is classic tech-comment drama: history nerd triumph, model-plane nitpickery, and one deadpan dunk stealing the show.
Key Points
- •Adam Taylor recreated the F-14 Tomcat’s Central Air Data Computer in an FPGA and demonstrated it in a 3D-printed scale model.
- •The article says the original CADC used the MP944, which entered service in June 1970 and remained secret until 1998.
- •The MP944 is described as a 20-bit, pipelined, parallel multi-microprocessor running at 375 kHz and executing 9,375 instructions per second.
- •The original six-chip CADC system performed real-time calculations including altitude, airspeed, and Mach number to support the F-14’s sweep-wing control.
- •Taylor’s open-source release includes VHDL code, documentation, and testbenches for all six CADC chips, implemented on a Spartan-7-based SoM in the Adiuvo Embedded System Tile.