Avionics News October 2016 - 11

Do not be in a rush to run out of town immediately,
because St. Patrick's Day is Friday, March 17, the day
after the AEA Convention concludes.

cares. Relaxing is something easy to do with the sights,
sounds, food and music.
Most people associate New Orleans with the Vieux
Carré (Old Square), or as most people call it, the French
Quarter. There are a number of exceptional museums
easily walkable to the convention's host hotel. The Historic
New Orleans Collection on Royal Street is one of my
favorite museums.
Here are a few more facts from New Orleans that you
may not know:
New Orleans, while it is the Gulf of Mexico's busiest
port, is not on the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, the city is
nearly 100 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River.
While most people associate New Orleans with its French
influence, you also will see Spanish, African, Caribbean,
Creole, German and Italian influences throughout the city.
The governor of French Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le
Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, founded the city of NouvelleOrléans in 1718 and maintained French rule until 1763
when the French signed treaties ceding Louisiana to Spain.
For 40 years, the Spanish ruled New Orleans until 1803
when Louisiana was reverted back to the French and sold
20 days later to the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
About 25 miles southwest of New Orleans is a body of
water called Lac des Allemands, which is French for Lake
of the Germans. The lake was named for the early German
settlers who inhabited this region of the Mississippi delta.
Today, the surrounding area is still known as the German
Coast. While the French influence of New Orleans cuisine
is apparent, not so apparent to the traveler is the German
influence in breweries, sausages and breads. And while
many of the established businesses are long forgotten,
there are still remnants of the elegant past. Because of the
geopolitical issues of the times, the Grunewald Hotel was
compelled to change its name to the Roosevelt Hotel; an
exceptional example of 19th century architecture. It was in
the Grunewald Hotel's Sazerac Bar where the Sazerac, the
quintessential New Orleans cocktail, became famous.

The Irish Channel Historic District is located between
the Garden District and the Mississippi River, bound
by Magazine Street, Delachaise Street, Tchoupitoulas
Street and Jackson Avenue. According to the city of New
Orleans, "Although the District is called the Irish Channel,
in the 19th century, it was home to working-class people
of varied origins, including German, Irish and Italian
immigrants, as well as native‐born Americans, and free
people of color. The origin of the neighborhood's name has
been the source of debate, as has what truly constituted the
center of the Irish population of New Orleans at any given
time. It is, however, home to one of New Orleans' most
distinctive parade traditions, the Irish Channel St. Patrick's
Day Parade, which adds cabbages, potatoes and carrots to
customary parade throws like beads and moon pies."
This brings me to an important piece of trivia regarding
your attendance at this year's AEA Convention. Do not
be in a rush to run out of town immediately, because St.
Patrick's Day is Friday, March 17, the day after the AEA
Convention concludes. The Downtown Irish Club Parade
is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. that evening. For more
information about the St. Patrick's Day festivities in New
Orleans, visit stpatricksdayneworleans.com.
Here's another bit of trivia: Where was the first airport
to install an instrument landing system? I'll answer that in
a moment.
Also, have you ever looked at the IATA codes for
airports and the history behind them? I always thought the
IATA codes and the ICAO codes were the same, but I stand
corrected. The International Civil Aviation Organization
airport codes are used by air traffic control and airline
operations such as flight planning. They differ from IATA
codes, which are generally used for airline timetables,
reservations and baggage tags. For example, the IATA code
for London's Heathrow Airport is LHR, and its ICAO code
is EGLL.
Continued on page 74
avionics news

october

2016

http://www.stpatricksdayneworleans.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News October 2016