Very honoured to be awarded this Virtual reward, as it's the 75th anniversary of D-Day as well today, and this gentleman served during this, I've decided to make this cache to commemorate one of Edinburgh's very own heroes :) As pilots tend to use compasses, you will need a compass (or use the compass function of a phone or gps) for one of the questions
Captain Eric "Winkle" Melrose Brown (21/1/1919-21/2/2016)
Eric Brown was a Leith man who served in the British Royal Navy as an officer and a test pilot. He flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history, and he was also the most decorated pilot in the history of the Royal Navy. He trained at the RAF Turnhouse (Edinburgh Airport now) in the late 1930's and became a fighter pilot and flew in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1941. He served on the HMS Audacity during this battle and had shot down two Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor maritime patrol aircraft before the Audacity was torpedoed on Dec 21st by the German Submarine U-751 and sank. He actually was only one of two people to survive the night in the water as the other people who survived initially all died of hypothermia. This was the first of 21 near-death experiences he survived, and he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service on the Audacity, to quote the people who awarded him: "For bravery and skill in action against enemy aircraft and in the protection of a convoy against heavy and sustained enemy attacks".
Captain Winkle went on to get 3 world records (one of which was record for flying the greatest number of different aircraft - including 14 different types of Spitfires and Seafires), and set the bar by successfully completing 2407 aircraft carrier deck landings (another world record) and 2721 catapult launches.
There is more information on this man's many feats on the wall behind the statue of the man himself at the posted coordinates as well as a list of some of the planes he flew. The statue was unveiled by the Duke of York in July 2018.
To claim this virtual, please answer the following:
1) Stand directly in front of the pair of goggles he's holding, and face the direction they're pointing in a sort of downward direction - what direction on the compass is it? (north, south, east, south east, etc)
2a) Take a look at the information board, look for the Havilland DH.60 Moth plane (the top plane in the list) - what is the tail number listed here? (Just to clarify, it's 5 letters, not the year)
2b) Now look for the next plane in the list - the 1937 Miles Magister. What's the tail number on this plane? (Numbers and letters please).
3) Take a picture of yourself or something of yours next to the statue (if you're camera shy) - feel free to do a pose, but as long as the Captain is in the picture.
The answers should be sent via email or the message centre. You can log anytime, but the answers must be sent within 3 weeks of the log - anyone that doesn't send the answers by this point, or reveals spoilers in their log will have their log deleted without warning. (The same will go for a log without a picture of you or something of yours with the statue)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy visiting this statue :)
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.