Two Stories about Flying – Class 10 English Chapter 3 | Summary, Questions & Answers

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Chapter Name: Two Stories about Flying
Book: First Flight – Class 10 English
Part 1: His First Flight by Liam O’Flaherty
Part 2: The Black Aeroplane by Frederick Forsyth

Part 1: His First Flight – Question & Answers

1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly?

Answer: The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was his first flight and he feared falling into the vast sea below. Just as human babies fear taking their first steps, young birds also feel nervous before flying for the first time. It is natural to fear the unknown.

2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest?

Answer: The young seagull was extremely hungry. Seeing his mother holding a piece of fish drove him mad with hunger. Unable to control himself, he dived at the food, which made him unknowingly take his first flight. Hunger overpowered his fear.

3. Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?

Answer: The young seagull was scared to fly even after watching his siblings fly. His parents tried to encourage and even scold him to push him out of fear so he could learn to fly and survive. They knew he had to overcome his fear to live.

Part 2: The Black Aeroplane – Question & Answers

1. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk?

Answer: The risk was to fly the aeroplane into the dark storm clouds without knowing what lay ahead. The narrator took the risk because he wanted to reach Paris to spend time with his family for Christmas.

2. Describe the narrator’s experience in the storm.

Answer: As he entered the black clouds, everything around him turned dark. The aeroplane twisted in the sky, and all the instruments, including the compass and radio, stopped working. He became hopeless until he saw another plane whose pilot guided him safely out of the storm.

3. Why was the narrator not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota?

Answer: After the terrifying experience of flying through the storm, the narrator was extremely relieved to have landed safely. He was thankful and happy, so he didn’t mind leaving the aeroplane behind.

4. Why did the woman in the control room look at the narrator strangely?

Answer: She looked at him strangely because, according to the radar, there was no other plane in the sky except his Dakota. But the narrator had seen another plane which helped him come out of the storm.

5. Who do you think helped the narrator reach safely?

Answer: It is believed that the narrator’s own instincts and experience as a pilot helped him. The mysterious black aeroplane could have been a hallucination caused by stress and fear. No other plane was seen on the radar, which suggests he was alone.

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