Up, Up and Away! Traditional Cache
Massquerade: I am regretfully archiving this cache since there's been no response from nor action by the cache owner within the time frame requested in the last reviewer note. The cache owner should retrieve any remaining cache contents at their earliest convenience.
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This Park ‘N’ Grab is here to commemorate three things: the pop culture of Superman, the modern history of aviation, and war veterans. (If you don’t care to read about any of these, hey, it’s just a Park ‘N’ Grab.) The Related Web Site above links to the site for Beverly Municipal Airport. There is a dog park nearby for Beverly residents only.
Superman first appeared (along with World War II in Europe) in 1938 within the pages of Action Comics #1, but much of the mythology associated with Superman and many of the supporting cast of characters originated in his radio adventures. Superman first discovered his greatest weakness, Kryptonite, in his radio adventures long before it appeared within the pages of the Superman comics. He also regularly teamed up with Batman and Robin on radio before the trio joined forces in the comic books. The radio series' influence also extended to the big screen. The Fleischer Superman movie-cartoons were nominated for Academy Awards, and featured voices from the cast of the radio series. The phrase “Up, up and away!” let the radio audience know that he was about to “take off” flying. Other catch phrases attributable to Superman are: "This looks like a job - FOR SUPERMAN" and
"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"
"Look! Up in the sky!"
"It's a bird!"
"It's a plane!"
"It's Superman!"
"Yes, it's Superman - strange visitor from another planet who… fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way." Comprehensive web site for Superman lore here: (visit link) . When this cache was published, over 120 caches around the world already had the phrase "Up, Up and Away!" in their titles.
I’d like to think that part of Superman’s appeal over the years has to do with the common-man daydream of flying around, as if in a plane, without needing a plane. After WWII, especially in North America, there was a boom in general aviation, both private and commercial, as thousands of pilots were released from military service and many inexpensive war-surplus transport and training aircraft became available. Manufacturers expanded production to provide light aircraft for the new middle-class market.
By the 1950s, turboprop propulsion began to appear for smaller commuter planes, making it possible to serve small-volume routes in a much wider range of weather conditions.
Since the 1960s, composite airframes and quieter, more efficient engines have become available. The most important lasting innovations have taken place in instrumentation and control. The arrival of solid-state electronics, the Global Positioning System (yesss!), satellite communications, and increasingly small and powerful computers and LED displays, have dramatically changed the cockpits of airliners and smaller aircraft as well. Pilots can navigate much more accurately and view terrain, obstructions, and other nearby aircraft on a map or through synthetic vision, even at night or in low visibility.
Parking on the side of the road where the cache is keeps you invisible from the administrative offices and their muggles (behind the hill on your left). If you’re staying a while, simply use the parking lot. Not difficult to be stealthy for this hide, but sometimes this road is busy.
The reason the Park ‘N’ Grab is here is so that you drive close enough (probably while turning around) to see the enormity of the veterans’ memorial, which features a mounted-as-if-flying-fast Vietnam War era US Army HUEY UH1-D helicopter.
(visit link) The interesting red and black snub-nosed plane across from the memorial is a Russian MiG-15UTI (visit link) .
A pilot friend from Boston University once flew me to Nantucket Island in a WWII era two-seater Russian Yakovlev Yak-52, and he surprised me by buzzing a yacht on the way. Kinda felt like Superman then, although I prefer “underwater flying”: SCUBA diving.
Comic/cartoon aficionados might enjoy another cache of ours, H.P. Lovecraft 4: Arkham Asylum GC2T6PY in Danvers or The Riddler GC4KT20 on the Ipswich / Hamilton border. Military machine aficionados might enjoy another cache of ours, Patton Park GC2FQ34 in Hamilton. First-To-Find prize is rarer than our usual coin leave, a Roosevelt dime that is .900 silver. Imagine the stress of being Commander-in-Chief during a war! Co-FTFers mtnlion mothergoose and huntmhd found a way to share during hunting season (now that's diplomacy)! Sounds like a Warner Bros. cartoon 
Although comic book heroes and war machines may get categorized as being stereotypically “guy stuff,” the freedoms we enjoy and the sacrifices military families make really affect everyone.
Please bring your own writing implement.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq gur fvyire cbyr