CLASS X

TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING

II. BLACK AEROPLANE

WRITTEN BY:

FREDERICK FORSYTH

CHARACTERS OF THE STORY

1) The narrator- A pilot who was flying his Dakota aeroplane over France back to England lost his
way due to storm.
2) The unknown friend- A pilot who was flying the black aeroplane helped the narrator to find the
way in the storm.
3) The woman- The working woman in the control Centre whom the narrator asked about the
black aeroplane.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Frederick Forsyth is an English novelist, journalist and occasional political commentator.

SUMMARY
The narrator was flying his old Dakota DS088 aeroplane over France. He had planned to go to
England. The sky was clear and the moon was shining in the sky. The narrator was happy to have an
easy flight. He was dreaming of meeting his family and having a good breakfast on reaching home. It
was 1:30 AM. On his way he called the Paris control room and informed about his flight and
destination. He was advised by the Paris control room to turn 12 degrees west. He checked the
compass and other instruments and followed the instructions. He also switched over to his second
and last fuel tank.

Everything was going good. Suddenly he saw huge storm clouds in front of him. He could not fly
over them because he did not have enough fuel. He could go back to Paris but he decided to take
risk. He flew his plane straight into the black clouds. Meanwhile he saw that his compass and other
instruments had stopped working. He did not know where he was and how to come out of the
clouds. He was lost in the storm. Suddenly he saw a black aeroplane in the storm. The pilot of the
black aeroplane waved his hand and asked the narrator to follow him. The narrator followed him
like a child. The black aeroplane flew in front of the Dakota for about half an hour. The fuel in the
Dakota was about to exhaust. The narrator was scared. His plane could fly for ten minutes more.
Suddenly the narrator saw that he is going towards the runway. He landed safely on an airport. The
narrator wanted to thank the pilot of the black aeroplane so he asked the woman at the control
Centre about the second pilot. The woman replied that there was no other plane in the sky that
night. The narrator was surprised to know that there was no one in the sky last night in the storm
except him.

POINTWISE EXTRACT OF THE STORY

1) In the story the narrator was flying to England to enjoy his holiday.
2) He wanted to reach England on time so that he could enjoy a good English breakfast with his
family.
3) The sky was clear with bright stars.
4) At 1:30 in the morning, the narrator flew in his Dakota aeroplane and he was instructed by the
Paris control to turn 12 degree west.
5) He was about 150 kilometers away from Paris and suddenly he saw cloud storm.
6) The fuel was less and the weather was not good but the narrator took the risky decision to
continue his journey.
7) All the instruments of his plane stopped working and he lost his way.
8) Meanwhile a black aeroplane appeared by the narrator’s side and the pilot there wave his hand
to follow his plane.
9) The narrator followed the black aeroplane and flew for half an hour and finally landed safely on
the runway.
10) The narrator asked about the pilot of the black aeroplane in the control Centre.
11) The woman sitting in the control Centre replied that there was no such plane in the sky last
night.

DIFFICULT WORDS:
1) Compass- instrument for telling directions.
2) Runway- a strip of hard ground along which aircrafts take off and land.
3) Frightened- terrified
4) Followed- chased
5) Obedient- one who obeys
6) Glad- happy
7) Radar- a system for detecting the presence, directions, distance and speed of aircraft, ships and
other objects by sending out pulses of radio waves which are reflected of the object back to the
source.
8) Strangely- in a strange manner
Q.1 Comprehension passage: - (From the text)
“The moon was coming up in the east, behind me, and stars were shining in the clear sky above me .
there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was happy to be alone high up above the sleeping country side. I was
flying my old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England. I was dreaming of my holiday and looking
forward to being with my family. I looked at my watch : one thirty in the morning. ‘I should call Paris
control soon.’ I thought.”

Questions:-

a) Who is ‘me’ here in the first line?

Ans. ‘Me’ here is the pilot of the Dakota aeroplane.

b) What indicates that the weather was fine at that time?

Ans. The rising moon, the stars and cloudless sky indicate that the weather was fine.

c) Which two things made the pilot happy?

Ans. The coming holiday and the meeting with the family made him happy.

d) Why did he think of calling Paris control?

Ans. He thought of calling Paris control to report where his aeroplane was at that time. He also
wanted to know the direction of the rout to England.

e) Find the word from the passage which means: - ‘without any company’.

Ans. Alone.

Q.2 What made the woman in the control Centre look at the narrator strangely?
Ans. The narrator asked about the mysterious aeroplane that had guided him through the dark
clouds to safety. But there was no such aeroplane over there. The lady did not see nor did she come
into contact with that aeroplane. So the narrator’s asking question about that aeroplane startled
her.
Q.3 Do you agree that this story is a mystery? Justify.
OR

Discuss ‘the black aeroplane’ as a mystery.

Ans. “The black aeroplane” is obviously a mystery. The mystery is built around the black aeroplane
and it’s pilot. It is difficult to understand from where there black aeroplane came, and how it was
flying in the storm without lights. The pilot who was flying this aeroplane is also wrapped in the
mystery. He helped the pilot of the old Dakota to arrive safely at the airport. That means the
instruments of the black aeroplane were functioning properly. This seems improbable as we are told
that the instruments of the control Centre could see the Dakota. With pilot of the Dakota, we are
also left wondering; “who was the pilot and the strange black aeroplane, flying in the storm, without
lights”?

PREPARED BY:-

SUMEETA SRIVASTVA

EAST SINGBHUM