The Black Aeroplane (Two Stories About Flying), Class 10th English

The Black Aeroplane (Two Stories About Flying), Class 10th English 

Topics Covered:

1- Introduction 

2- About The Writer 

3- Chapter Summary 

4- Word-Meaning 

5- Textbook Exercises 

6- Short Question/Answers 

7- Multiple-choice Questions 

8- To Recapitulate 

1- Introduction 

The story is surrounded by three characters. The narrator (story teller), the pilot of black aeroplane and the woman of control centre. The story teach us that with courage and will power, we can face all the hurdles of our lives. Whenever difficult situations come have patience and never give up. As "Problems are not stop signs, They are Guidelines".

In the story the narrator was flying old Dakota Aeroplane from France to England. He was caught into black clouds. Because of his courage and determination, he was able to land safely to the airport. 

2- About The Writer 

• Frederick Forsyth was an English novelist and journalist. 

• His best piece of work are 'The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs Of War, Icon, The Cobra & The kill List'.

• His birthplace was England. 

• He is best known for thrillers such as 'The Fist Of God'.

• From his story we learn the lesson that we should never loose hope. With courage  and determination we can face any kind of storm and overcome it 

3- Chapter Summary 

The narrator was flying his old Dakota Aeroplane. He was flying from France to England. He was very much excited as he wants to meet his family and have breakfast with them. It was 1:30 am in the morning. He decided to call the Paris control as he wants to know about his direction. Paris control advised him to turn 12 degree west. When he reached beyond Paris, he saw huge storm clouds. He knew very well that, it was impossible to fly up in this storms of cloud. He checked the fuel, which was also less. First he thought of going back to Paris. But he don't want to miss the breakfast with his family. So he decided to fly through the storm.

Appearance Of Black Aeroplane 

So the narrator decided to take the risk, and he flew into the storm. He was unable to see because everything outside the plane was black. His compass also stopped working. He was not able to contact the Paris control because his radio stopped working. He was completely lost in the storm.

Suddenly, he saw another black Aeroplane with no lights on its wings. The pilot of that Aeroplane raised his hand towards narrator. The narrator felt that the pilot of the black Aeroplane wanted to help him. So he started following the black Aeroplane. The reason behind this at that time he had no choice. He followed the black Aeroplane for about half an hour. 

Suddenly, he saw the airport runway lights. He landed safely but when he turned to look for the black Aeroplane, he could not see it anywhere. 

Mystery Continues 

After landing he went to the control centre of the airport  as he wanted to thank black Aeroplane's pilot who guided him in the storm. He asked the woman in the control centre about the mysterious plane. At this, the woman stared him and laughed. She told him that there was no other plane flying on that stormy night. The narrator was surprised to know that he was all alone flying. He wondered who helped him and where that black Aeroplane gone. The story ends here. This is an open ended story in which we have to depict the proper ending.

4- Word-Meaning 

• Narrator- story teller

• Beyond- far away 

• Determined- firm decision 

• Consequently- as a result 

• Storm- cloudburst, tempest

• Strange- weird

• Wondered- think about 

• Radar- a machine used for locating objects at various distance 

• Countryside- a rural area

• Obedient- ready to follow order

5- Textbook Exercises 

i- 'I'll take the risk'. What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?

Ans- The risk narrator talks about is 'the decision of him to fly through the storm clouds'.

The narrator took the risk because he wanted to go home and to have breakfast with his family. 

ii- Why was the Black Aeroplane called strange?

Ans- The black Aeroplane was called strange because it was without light on its Wings and it was black in colour.

iii- Describe the narrator's experience as he flew the Aeroplane into the storm.

Ans- As he entered the storm, he could not see anything outside the plane. As it was totally dark. Even his compass stopped working. It was a very frightening experience for him.

iv- Why does the narrator say, "I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota....."?

Ans- He had a terrible experience of flying. In the storm, the old Dakota Aeroplane turned and twisted. Even his compass stopped working. So when he had landed safely, he was not sorry for leaving the plane. Infact he was happy.

v- What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?

Ans- When the narrator asked her about a black aeroplane, then she looked at him strangely because the airport radar showed only narrator's plane in the sky and no black aeroplane. 

vi- Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answer. 

Ans- As per my point of view, The help was sent by God in order to help him and to land safely. No matter how much science progress, still there is a power which controls all the happenings of the world. That power is called God.

Thinking About Language 

▪︎ Study the Sentences given below:

a- They looked like black mountains. 

b- Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black. 

c- In the black clouds near me, I saw another aeroplane. 

d- The strange black aeroplane was there.

The word 'black' in Sentences a and c refers to the very darkest colour. But in b and d (here) it means without light/with no light.

'Black' has a variety of meanings in different contexts. For example :

a- 'I prefer black tea' means 'I prefer tea without milk'.

b- 'With increasing pollution the future of the world is black' means 'with increasing pollution the future of the world is very depressing/without hope'.

Now try to guess the meanings of the word 'black' in the Sentences given below. Check the meanings in the dictionary and find out whether you have guessed right.

i- Go and have a bath, your hands and face are absolutely black....... •

Ans- The hands and face are black because of dirt.

ii- The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green.....•

Ans- Here 'black' refers to an angry look.

iii- The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity........•

Ans- Here 'blackest' refers to the crullest crime against humanity. 

iv- Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter's black comedy........•

Ans- Here 'black' refers to gloomy comedy. 

v- Sometimes shopkeepers stores essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black......•

Ans- Here 'black' refers to they sell the goods at a higher price. 

vi- Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue.......•

Ans- Here, 'black' refers that the criminal suffered excessive beating by the villagers. 

▪︎Look at these Sentences taken from the Lesson you have just read:

a- I was flying my old Dakota aeroplane. 

b- The young Seagull had been afraid to fly with them.

In the first sentence, the narrator was controlling an aircraft in the air. In the second sentence, the seagull was afraid to move through the air, using its Wings. 

▪︎ Match the phrases given under with their meanings:

i- Fly a flag- display a flag on a long pole.

ii- Fly into rage- become very angry. 

iii- Fly along- move quickly. 

iv- Fly high- Be successful. 

v- Fly the Coop- escape from a place.

6- Short Question/Answers 

i- Why did the narrator follow the pilot of another aeroplane? (C.B.S.E. 2016)

Ans- The narrator followed the pilot of another aeroplane because he had lost his way in the stormy clouds. He had no other choice, so he followed the black aeroplane. 

ii- Why did the narrator want to meet the pilot of the black aeroplane?

Ans- The narrator wants to meet the pilot of black aeroplane because he wanted to thanks its pilot who guided him out of the stormy clouds.

iii- What message the narrator wants to give to the readers through the lesson 'The black Aeroplane'?

Ans- The message that narrator wanted to convey is that never loose hope whatever the situation be. The narrator became hopeless as he lost all the contact with Paris control and all his instruments were dead. At that time the mysterious black aeroplane helped him to land safely. 

7- Multiple-Choice Questions

i- Why did the narrator turned back?

a- to help his friend. 

b- to see his friend in the black aeroplane.

c- to show runway.

d- to say thank you to his friend. 

Ans- b ( to see his friend in the black aeroplane.)

ii- The pilot asked the woman in the control centre about......

a- his friend 

b- other plane and its pilot 

c- breakfast 

d- brunch

Ans- b ( other plane and its pilot )

iii- What is old Dakota?

a- a town

b- a person

c- the name of the plane

d- the black aeroplane 

Ans- c ( the name of the plane )

iv- An instrument that tells direction.

a- radio

b- compass

c- radar

d- tank

Ans- b ( compass )

v- Where was the speaker going?

a- to the Us

b- to France 

c- to England 

d- to Sydney 

Ans- c ( to England )

8- To Recapitulate 

I have tried my best to cover all the Exercises related to this Chapter. And it would be a great help in your upcoming Exams. If any doubts you can reach me through the comment section box and I will Get back to you as soon as possible. Thank You...

ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR EXAMS....