This post ‘Two Stories about Flying NCERT Solutions Class 10 English’ provides solutions for Class 10th English First Flight Chapter 3, ‘Two Stories about Flying’. This chapter has two stories fist one is His First Flight by Liam O’Flaherty and second is The Black Aeroplane by Frederick Forsyth. I recommend first read the summary of Two Stories about Flying to understand the questions of this chapter better.
PART A: His First Flight Solutions
His First Flight Thinking about the Text Question Answer
Q.1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Are all young birds afraid of their first flight? Does a human baby also find its first steps a challenge?
Ans. He was afraid because the sea lay miles below him and he felt sure his wings would never support him. No, all young birds are not equally afraid. Some are more timid than others; his brothers and even his little sister, whose wings were shorter than his, had flown away the day before without fear. Yes, a human baby also finds its first steps a challenge. It stumbles, falls and feels afraid, and needs the encouragement of its parents, just like the young seagull.
Q.2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the seagull to finally fly?
Ans. It suggests that he was terribly hungry, as he had not eaten for twenty-four hours, and the sight of the fish made him desperate. It was hunger that finally made him fly. When his mother stopped just in front of him with the fish out of his reach, he dived at it and found himself flying.
Q.3. Why did the seagull’s parents threaten him and cajole him to fly?
Ans. They did it out of love, so that he would overcome his fear. Flying is necessary for a seagull’s survival; without it, he could never catch fish or live on his own. So they scolded him, taunted him with his cowardice, threatened to let him starve, and finally tempted him with food.
Q.4. Have you ever had a similar experience, where your parents encouraged you to do something you were too scared to try?
Sample answer: Yes. I was afraid of water and refused to enter the swimming pool. My father kept encouraging me for days and finally stood a few feet away holding a float, telling me to come and get it. I moved forward without thinking and found that I could stay afloat. Like the seagull, I learnt only when I was pushed to try.
Q.5. In the case of a bird flying, success seems a foregone conclusion. In your example, was your success guaranteed?
Ans. No, my success was not guaranteed. I could have failed, or swallowed water, or given up again. But it was important to try, because without trying I would never have learnt at all. Fear only goes away when we face it.
His First Flight Writing Section
I. A short composition on your first attempts at learning a skill (humorous)
Sample Ans: My first cycling lesson was a public event. My elder brother held the carrier and promised he would not let go; two minutes later he let go. I rode gloriously for about six seconds, looked back to enjoy my own triumph, and rode straight into Mrs Sharma’s flower pots. The neighbours came out with advice, our dog came out with excitement, and Mrs Sharma came out with a broom. My knee was bleeding, my elbow was grey with dust, and the cycle’s bell had fallen off, but I insisted on trying again the same evening. By the end of the week I could ride the whole street; though for a long time I could stop only by crashing gently into a wall.
PART B: The Black Aeroplane Solutions
The Black Aeroplane Thinking about the Text Question Answer
Q.1. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
Ans. The risk was to fly his old Dakota straight into huge storm clouds. He could not fly above them and had no fuel to go around them. He took the risk because he was eager to reach home, to spend his holiday with his family and to enjoy a big English breakfast.
Q.2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Ans. Inside the clouds everything turned black. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. The compass began to spin and went dead, the other instruments failed, and the radio too stopped working. He was completely lost. Then a black aeroplane with no lights appeared beside him. Its pilot waved and signalled him to follow, and he followed like an obedient child. After half an hour his fuel was nearly finished, but the stranger began to go down and he followed. Suddenly he came out of the clouds and saw the two lines of lights of a runway. He landed safely but the black aeroplane had disappeared.
Q.3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?
Ans. Because that aeroplane had nearly cost him his life. Its compass, instruments and radio had all failed in the storm. He was so relieved to be safe on the ground that he was glad to leave it behind.
Q.4. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
Ans. He asked her who the other pilot was, but no other aeroplane had been flying that night. His was the only one she could see on the radar. His question therefore seemed strange and even absurd to her.
Q.5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely?
Ans. Two answers are possible.
(i) Some believe he was helped by a divine power or guardian angel, which took the form of the black aeroplane to save an innocent man in danger; for no plane was on the radar and it vanished the moment he was safe.
(ii) Others believe it was his own alter ego: in that moment of terror his subconscious mind and long experience as a pilot guided him, and the black aeroplane was only a vision he imagined.
I feel some unseen helping power was at work, because a man with no compass, no radio and no fuel could hardly have found a runway by himself.
The Black Aeroplane Thinking about Language
I. Meanings of the word ‘black’
| Sentence | Meaning of ‘black’ |
|---|---|
| 1. your hands and face are absolutely black | very dirty |
| 2. gave Ratan a black look | an angry, hostile look |
| 3. one of the blackest crimes | most wicked and cruel |
| 4. Harold Pinter’s black comedy | comedy that treats sad or painful subjects in a funny way |
| 5. sell these in black | illegally, in the black market |
| 6. beaten the criminal black and blue | beaten badly, till he was bruised all over |
II. Match the phrases with ‘fly’
| Column A | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1. Fly a flag | Display a flag on a long pole |
| 2. Fly into rage | Become suddenly very angry |
| 3. Fly along | Move quickly/suddenly |
| 4. Fly high | Be successful |
| 5. Fly the coop | Escape from a place |
III. Words that mean the same or nearly the same as ‘fly’
You should mark a tick in the book’s words box on page 41 which give same meaning as ‘fly’.
Tick: swoop, flit, flutter, ascend, float, skim, dart, hover, glide, soar, sail, flap.
Do not tick: paddle, ride, sink, descend, shoot, spring, stay, fall.
The Black Aeroplane Writing Section
II. Narrate your experience of being alone or away from home during a thunderstorm
Sample Ans: Last July I was alone at home when a thunderstorm broke out. The sky turned dark at four in the afternoon, the wind slammed the windows shut, and within minutes the power went off. Lightning lit up the whole room again and again, and each crash of thunder seemed to shake the walls. I sat on my bed with a torch, counting the seconds between the flash and the sound, and pretending to myself that I was not frightened. When my mother finally came home, drenched but smiling, I felt foolish about my fear but I also felt a little proud that I had waited it out alone.
