Artifact Details

Title

Holt, Ray oral history

Catalog Number

102792869

Type

Moving image

Description

Ray Holt was an unlikely candidate to develop a microprocessor chip set for the US Navy’s new F-14 variable-wing fighter jet. He was a lackluster student, fully committed to a starting a career as a professional baseball player after High School. Career counselors advised him not to go into engineering because he exhibited low mechanical aptitude, so he majored in forestry at the University of Idaho. With these unlikely beginnings, Holt ended up with a BSEE degree from Cal Poly in Pomona, California and then joined Garrett AiResearch, where his first assignment was to the team tasked with designing the world’s first digital electronic flight computer, the CADC (Central Air Data Computer), for the US Navy’s F-14 Tomcat fighter. The CADC was a microprocessor chip set, the first of its kind. Most people have never heard of it because it was classified for 30 years.

Date

2023-05-26

Participants

Holt, Ray, Interviewee
Leibson, Steve, Interviewer

Publisher

Computer History Museum

Duration

02:12:09

Format

MP4

Category

Oral history

Collection Title

CHM Oral History Collection

Credit

Computer History Museum

Lot Number

2023.0092
 

Related Records

102792868 Holt, Ray oral history