If you are searching for Two Stories about Flying Class 10 notes for your board revision, this page gives you a tight, complete breakdown of both prose pieces in First Flight Chapter 3 for the current CBSE session. The chapter pairs two tales of courage in the sky.
The first, ‘His First Flight’ by Liam O’Flaherty, follows a young seagull afraid to leave his ledge. The second, ‘The Black Aeroplane’ by Frederick Forsyth, tracks a pilot lost in a storm with dead instruments, guided by a mysterious plane.
These notes cover summaries, themes, character sketches, literary devices, and exam pointers so you can revise the entire chapter without rereading the textbook.
Chapter Overview: Two Tales of Courage in the Sky
One chapter, two authors, one shared idea: courage in the face of the unknown. Use this side-by-side comparison to hold the structure in your head before you dive into the details.
| Story | Author | Protagonist | Central Conflict | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| His First Flight | Liam O’Flaherty | Young seagull | Fear of flying off the ledge | Conquers fear and flies |
| The Black Aeroplane | Frederick Forsyth | Narrator pilot | Lost in storm, no fuel or working instruments | Lands safely; guided by a mysterious black plane |
You can find more chapter-wise guides on our main Class 10 English notes hub.
His First Flight: Summary of the Young Seagull’s Journey
A young seagull sits alone on a narrow rock shelf projecting from a cliff, his ledge. His two brothers and his sister have already flown away the day before. He had tried to join them, running to the brink and flapping his wings, but the sheer drop beneath him froze him in place.
Convinced his wings were too small to carry him, he retreated to his sleeping hole under the ledge.
His parents tried every tactic. They flew around calling to him shrilly, upbraiding (scolding) him, and threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away (NCERT, p. 1). The whole family even gathered on a plateau across from him, taunting him for his cowardice. But nothing moved him.
A full twenty-four hours pass with no food. Starving, he watches his mother standing on a high hump, tearing at a piece of fish. He begs: “Ga, ga, ga.” She screams back derisively (in a mocking manner that makes him feel stupid) (NCERT, p. 3). Then, she picks up a piece of fish and flies across toward him.
Eagerly, he leans out to meet her. But when she is just opposite him, she halts, wings motionless, the fish almost within reach of his beak. Maddened by hunger, he dives at the fish. He falls outwards and downwards, screaming in monstrous terror. But the next moment, his wings spread outwards. The wind rushed against his breast feathers
, and he realised he was not falling headlong anymore; he was soaring. He made his first flight (NCERT, p. 3).
For a full set of notes for the previous story, see our The Thief’s Story notes.
The Black Aeroplane: Summary of the Storm and the Mysterious Guide
The narrator is flying his old Dakota aeroplane (call sign DS 088) over France, heading back to England. The sky is clear. He checks his watch—one thirty in the morning. He calls Paris Control, which advises him to turn twelve degrees west. He switches to his last fuel tank, dreaming of a big English breakfast (NCERT, p. 6).
Then, 150 kilometres behind Paris, he sees storm clouds. They are huge and looked “like black mountains standing in front of me across the sky.” He cannot fly over them and lacks the fuel to fly around them. He considers returning to Paris but decides to take the risk and flies straight into the storm to get home.
Inside the clouds, everything is suddenly black. The aeroplane jumps and twists in the air. He looks at his compass and sees it turning round and round, dead. The other instruments and the radio are dead too. He is lost in the storm (NCERT, p. 7).
Suddenly, he sees another aeroplane next to him in the black clouds. It has no lights on its wings, but he can see the pilot’s face. The pilot waves and mouths, “Follow me.” The narrator follows the strange plane like an obedient child. After half an hour, with only five to ten minutes of fuel left, the guide goes down.
The narrator follows and suddenly emerges from the clouds to see two long straight lines of lights—a runway.
He lands safely. He turns to look for his friend in the black aeroplane, but the sky is empty. He asks a woman in the control centre about the other pilot. She looks at him strangely and laughs, saying no other aeroplanes were flying that night.
The narrator’s Dakota was the only one she could see on the radar (NCERT, p. 7).
For the next chapter guide, check our From the Diary of Anne Frank notes.
Theme Analysis: Fear, Courage, and the Unknown
Examiners often ask you to analyse the themes of these stories. You must cite specific moments to support your points.
| Theme | Evidence from Story |
|---|---|
| Overcoming Fear | The seagull only conquers his fear of the ledge when his mother halts with the fish just out of reach, forcing a hungry dive. The narrator pushes through his fear of the black storm clouds to reach home. |
| Parental Guidance | In His First Flight, the parents do not give the seagull food directly. They taunt, threaten, and finally, the mother uses the fish to trick him into taking the plunge, teaching by pushing. |
| Help from the Unknown | The black aeroplane appears when the narrator’s compass, radio, and fuel are completely gone. It suggests that hope can arrive from a mysterious source when you need it most. |
For a deeper look at how courage and conviction drive human conviction, see our notes on Chapter 1: A Letter to God.
Character Sketches: Seagull, Narrator, and the Unknown Pilot
For 5-mark character questions, base every trait on an action from the text.
The Young Seagull
He is initially cowardly and timid, refusing to fly even when his younger siblings do, because he feels certain his wings will not support him. He is driven by natural instinct—hunger. When his mother halts with the fish just out of reach, he is maddened enough to dive. Once he dives, he discovers his wings spread outwards automatically.
He shifts from trembling fear to joyful soaring, proving he was always capable.
The Narrator (The Black Aeroplane)
He is an experienced and confident pilot at the start, happy to be alone high above the sleeping countryside. However, he shows a reckless side by flying into a storm rather than turning back to Paris because he wants an English breakfast. When the instruments fail, he becomes frightened and helpless, dependent on a stranger.
He ends the story humble and grateful, walking away from the old Dakota without sorrow.
The Unknown Pilot
An ambiguous, silent, and helpful figure. He appears without warning in a storm, flying a black aeroplane with no lights on its wings. He guides the narrator to safety and then vanishes completely.
The control centre woman says no other plane was on the radar, leaving the student to decide if the pilot was a real person, a phantom, or imagined guardian.
Literary Devices in Both Stories
Examiners reward students who quote the exact line that demonstrates a device. Simply naming a device with no line is worthless.
| Device | Exact Quoted Line | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | They “looked like black mountains standing in front of me across the sky.” | Compares storm clouds to massive rocky mountains, showing how impossible they seemed to cross. |
| Personification | The wind “rushed against his breast feathers, then under his stomach, and against his wings.” | Treats the wind like a living force supporting the bird, making the sensation of flight feel immediate and active. |
| Imagery | The description of the “vast green sea beneath him, with little ridges moving over it.” | Creates a visual picture of the sea from a bird’s perspective, giving the reader a sense of height and depth. |
| Metaphor | Storm clouds are described as “black mountains”. | Directly calls the clouds mountains to emphasise their huge, solid, and dangerous shape. |
Important Quotes for Exam Answers
Citing quotes in your answers shows close reading. Keep each quote to a line or two.
| Quote | Story | What it reveals |
|---|---|---|
| “I’ll take the risk.” | The Black Aeroplane | The narrator’s reckless but determined choice to fly into the storm. |
| “Ga, ga, ga.” | His First Flight | The young seagull begging his mother for food. |
| “Follow me.” | The Black Aeroplane | The silent guidance of the unknown pilot. |
| “Yours was the only one I could see on the radar.” | The Black Aeroplane | The mystery: if no other plane was on the radar, who helped him? |
Key Textbook Questions and How to Approach Them
Frame your answers around what the examiner expects to see. These revision pointers guide your approach.
His First Flight (Thinking about the Text, p. 5)
- Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? State the fear of falling, the sheer drop, and his feeling that his short wings would not support him.
- What does “The sight of the food maddened him” suggest? Explain that hunger was the trigger that finally forced him to act.
- Why did his parents threaten and cajole him? They wanted to push him into trying; they knew he could fly but he lacked the courage to start.
The Black Aeroplane (Thinking about the Text, p. 9)
- What is the risk and why does he take it? The risk is flying into a storm with the last fuel tank; he takes it to get home for breakfast.
- Describe the storm experience. Mention the dead compass, spinning round and round, and the dead radio.
- Why did the woman look at him strangely? She was confused; her radar showed only one plane in the storm, not two.
- Who helped the narrator? Answer with a reasoned opinion. The text leaves it deliberately open-ended.
Author Background: O’Flaherty and Forsyth
Liam O’Flaherty
An Irish novelist and short story writer, known for works that explore nature and psychology. His writing often focuses on the instincts and struggles of animals and humans against harsh environments (NCERT, p. 1).
Frederick Forsyth
A British author best known for thriller novels like The Day of the Jackal. His work relies on suspense, realistic detail, and unexpected twists, all visible in the mysterious set-up of The Black Aeroplane (NCERT, p. 6).
Moral and Message of the Two Stories
This often appears as a 3-mark question.
- Story 1 (His First Flight): Fear of failure is the only real obstacle. Once you take the first step, capability follows. The seagull could fly all along; he just needed a push to try.
- Story 2 (The Black Aeroplane): Courage and hope can guide you through the darkest moments. Help may arrive from unexpected sources, and faith matters when reason and instruments fail.
Common Mistakes Students Make in This Chapter
Avoid these strict error-to-correction traps to stop losing easy marks.
| Mistake | Correct Rule | How to Check Your Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Students write the seagull’s mother directly fed him. | She flew toward him with fish but halted just out of reach, forcing him to dive. | Reread the section where she halts with motionless wings. |
| Students call the black aeroplane pilot a ghost as a fact. | The text leaves it ambiguous; the radar shows no other plane, but the narrator felt guided. | State the evidence for and against, then give your reasoned view. |
| Students say the narrator wanted to return to Paris. | He thought about it but chose to fly into the storm to get home for breakfast. | Check the line: “I wanted that breakfast.” |
| Students mix the two stories’ morals. | Story 1 is about self-belief; Story 2 is about hope and mysterious guidance. | Match the word self-belief to the seagull, and guidance to the pilot. |
Exam Notes: What Scores Marks on This Chapter
Observed patterns from past board exams and marking schemes:
- Character sketches on the young seagull or the narrator appear frequently. Answers earn marks by citing actions (“when he dives for the fish”), not unsupported adjectives. This step earns the mark.
- Open-ended questions like “who helped the narrator?” reward a reasoned opinion. A student gets marks for giving evidence either way, not for picking one fixed answer.
- Quote-based questions like “I’ll take the risk” require linking the quote to the theme of risk and consequence.
- Long-answer questions often combine both stories around the single theme of courage.
Revision Summary: Quick Recap of Both Stories
Scan this the night before the exam.
His First Flight
- Young seagull afraid, siblings already flown away.
- Twenty-four hours pass; he is hungry and alone.
- Mother uses the fish trick; halts just out of reach.
- Dive leads to flight; wings spread automatically.
- Lands on the green sea; family praises him.
The Black Aeroplane
- Pilot flying Dakota DS 088 over France to England.
- Storm clouds “like black mountains” block his path.
- Instruments and compass dead; radio silent.
- Black aeroplane with no lights guides him out.
- Lands safely; plane vanishes.
- Radar shows only his Dakota; mystery remains.
Frequently Asked Questions on Two Stories about Flying
What is the main theme of Two Stories about Flying Class 10?
The main theme is courage and overcoming fear. The chapter shows this in two ways: a young seagull conquering his fear of flying, and a human pilot pushing through a storm with the help of a mysterious guide.
Who wrote the two stories in this chapter?
‘His First Flight’ was written by Liam O’Flaherty, and ‘The Black Aeroplane’ was written by Frederick Forsyth.
What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
Hunger compelled him. When his mother flew across with a piece of fish but halted just out of his reach, the seagull dove for the food and discovered his wings spread outwards automatically.
Why was the narrator not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota?
He was shaken and relieved to be safely on the ground after a terrifying storm where his instruments failed and fuel nearly ran out, so he felt no attachment to the plane in that moment.
Was the black aeroplane real or imagined?
The text leaves it ambiguous. The control centre woman says no other plane appeared on the radar, but the narrator clearly saw and followed the pilot. A student can argue either way using this evidence.
Reference: NCERT Class 10 English textbook, chapter Two Stories about Flying. You can also read the official NCERT First Flight textbook pages for this chapter for reference.
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