This posting is based on a talk I gave to The Villages Philosophy Club on 19 July 2019. plus supporting stuff from my Blogs and other sources.
PART 3 - TOASTMASTERS AND MY EARLY CAREER AT IBM
MY IBM CAREER STARTS
IBM Federal Systems in Owego specialized in making digital computers that could stand the rigors of use in military aircraft. At the time, virtually all airborne computers were of the analog type, so we were pioneers the new digital world.
We were also responsible for integrating these digital computers into the Avionics ("aircraft electronics") Systems, connecting them and making them work seamlessly with the (mostly analog) sensors and controls and displays.
After we won the Avionics integration contract for the Air Force/Navy A-7 D/E, I was the "cognizant engineer" responsible for the Head-Up Display (HUD) and the Moving Map.
Our customer was Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), the airframe manufacturer, located in the Irving/Arlington area of Texas, between Dallas and Ft. Worth. How did I, a brash Brooklyn engineer get along with those Texans? Well, as I'll explain, it was rocky at first, but ended well.