Ch 3Two Stories about Flying

Two Stories about Flying

Author: Part I — "His First Flight" by Liam O'Flaherty (Irish novelist and short-story writer); Part II — "The Black Aeroplane" by Frederick Forsyth (English novelist, best known for thrillers like The Day of the Jackal).

Introduction

This chapter contains two stories connected by the theme of flying and the courage needed to overcome fear. In the first, a young seagull is terrified of taking his first flight until hunger and his mother's clever trick force him into the air. In the second, a pilot flying home through a storm is mysteriously guided to safety by a black aeroplane that, it turns out, no radar ever saw. Both stories show that fear is conquered only by facing it.

Detailed Summary

Part I: His First Flight

A young seagull is alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister have already flown away, but he is afraid to fly. Whenever he runs to the brink of the ledge and tries to flap his wings, he loses courage, certain that his wings will never support him over the vast sea. His parents scold him, taunt him and threaten to let him starve on the ledge unless he flies, but he still cannot gather the courage.

Twenty-four hours pass and nobody comes near him. He watches his parents teaching his brothers and sister the art of flight — skimming the waves, diving for fish. He sees his older brother catch his first herring and devour it while the parents proudly cackle around him. Maddened by hunger, the young seagull searches the ledge but finds nothing to eat — only a dried piece of mackerel skin remains.

Then his mother picks up a piece of fish and flies across to him. She comes close, halts just opposite the ledge — but stops tantalisingly, just out of reach. Maddened by hunger, the young seagull dives at the fish. With a loud scream he falls outwards and downwards into space. Terror seizes him and his heart stands still — but only for a moment. Suddenly his wings spread outwards, the wind rushes against his breast feathers, and he is no longer falling — he is flying! He flaps his wings, soars, and his family flies around him joyfully. He lands on the green sea, floats on it despite his momentary fear of sinking, and his family praises him and offers him scraps of dogfish. He has made his first flight.

Part II: The Black Aeroplane

The narrator, a pilot, is flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France to England at night. The moon is rising in the east, the stars are shining, and he is dreaming of his holiday and a good English breakfast with his family. He calls Paris Control, which directs him to turn twelve degrees west towards England.

About 150 kilometres from Paris, he sees huge storm clouds ahead — black mountains blocking the way. He knows he should turn back to Paris, but he has been flying for a long time and longs for that breakfast, so he risks flying straight into the storm. Inside, everything goes black; the old Dakota jumps and twists in the air. The compass turns round and round — it is dead, and so are the other instruments. The radio too goes dead; he cannot contact Paris. He is lost in the storm with fuel for only five or ten minutes.

Suddenly he sees another aeroplane — a strange black aeroplane by his side, with no lights on its wings. The pilot of the black plane waves at him, signalling him to follow. Like an obedient child, the narrator follows him, happy to be led. The black plane guides him through the storm; when they come out of the clouds, the narrator sees two long straight lines of lights — a runway! With only enough fuel left, he lands safely. When he turns to look for his friend, the black aeroplane has vanished.

The narrator asks the woman in the control centre who the other pilot was, so that he could thank him. She looks at him strangely and laughs — there were no other aeroplanes on the radar that night; his was the only one flying in the storm. The story ends with an unsolved mystery: who was the pilot of the black aeroplane, flying without lights, who saved his life?

Themes

• Overcoming fear: Both the seagull and the pilot face fear head-on; courage comes only from action.
• Necessity as a teacher: Hunger compels the seagull to fly — need pushes us to discover our hidden abilities.
• Family, love and tough love: The seagull's family appears cruel, but their trick is an act of love and training.
• Faith, mystery and hope: The black aeroplane suggests an unexplained, almost divine helping hand in moments of crisis.
• Risk and its consequences: The pilot's decision to enter the storm shows how temptation can lead us into danger.

Character Sketches

The Young Seagull

The young seagull is timid and diffident, convinced that his wings will not support him. Yet he is not a coward by nature — once pushed into the air, he flies, soars and dives as well as any bird. He represents every learner who underestimates himself; his story shows that self-doubt, not lack of ability, is the real obstacle.

The Seagull's Mother

The mother is wise, loving and clever. While the whole family scolds and taunts the young one, it is she who devises the trick of dangling the fish just out of reach, making hunger do what taunts could not. Her apparent cruelty is really deep affection combined with practical wisdom.

The Narrator-Pilot (The Black Aeroplane)

The pilot of the old Dakota is an ordinary man — loving towards his family, dreaming of breakfast — but also impatient and willing to take a foolish risk by flying into the storm. To his credit, he stays calm in the crisis, obeys the mysterious guide, and lands safely. He is honest enough to admit both his risk-taking and his gratitude.

Important Word Meanings