Notes For All Chapters English First Flight Class 10 CBSE
I. His First Flight
The young seagull called to fly
The young seagull was alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister had already flown away. When he wanted to fly, he could not do so. He was very much afraid of flying. Therefore, he failed to gather up the courage to fly. He was really very sad. His father and mother came near him. They called him to fly. They even rebuked him. They threatened that if he did not fly, he would die of hunger there. But he could not even move.
The young seagull can’t fly
That was twenty four hours ago. Since then no one had come near him. He had watched his parents, brothers and sister flying. His parents had been perfecting his brothers and sister how to dive for fish on their own. They called him to fly. But he could not.
Heat increases
The sun was rising in the sky. He felt the heat because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall.
Mother reaches near him with food
The seagull closed his eyes standing on one leg. He had the other leg hidden under his wing. He pretended to sleep. But his parents didn’t look at him. However, his mother was looking at him. He saw her tear at a piece of fish at her feet. He gave out a sound to get it. His mother replied in a sound and looked at him. His mother picked a piece of the fish. She flew across to him with it. He leaned out tapping the rock with his feet. His mother flew across trying to get nearer to him. The sight of food made him mad as he was very hungry. But he could not get at it.
Dives for food
The seagull waited a moment in surprise. He wondered why his mother did not come nearer. He was so mad with hunger that he dived at the fish. He fell outwards with a scream and downwards into space. His mother had swooped upwards. As he passed beneath her he heard the swish of her wings.
Flight begins
Then a great fear caught him. His heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a moment. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards. He felt the wind rushed against his breast feathers. Then it rushed under his stomach, and against his wings. He was not falling headlong now. He was soaring slowly downwards and upwards. He was no longer afraid. He could fly on his own.
Joy of flight
The seagull gave out a joyous scream. He soared higher calling ‘ga, ga, ga’. His mother gave out ‘gaw-col-ah’. Then his father flew over him screaming. Then he saw his brothers and sister flying around him. They were roaring and diving.
The scene around
Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly. He commended himself to dive and soar. He was near the sea now, flying straight over it. He saw a vast green sea beneath him. His parents and his brothers and sister had landed on this green surface of water ahead of him. They were calling him to do the same thing.
Lands on the surface of the water
He dropped his legs to stand on the green sea. But his legs sank into it. He cried with fear. He tried to rise again flapping his wings. But he was tired and weak with hunger. He could not rise. His feet sank into the green sea. His belly touched it. He sank no further. He was floating on it. Around him was his family, crying and praising him. They were offering him scraps of dog-fish.
He had made his first flight successfully.
II. The Black Aeroplane
Author flying his Dakota aeroplane
The author says that he was flying an aeroplane at 1 o’clock at night. The moon was coming up in the east behind him. Stars were shining in the clear sky above him. He was flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England. He was dreaming of his holiday. He was looking forward to being with his family at the breakfast table.
Call for Paris Control
He decided to call Paris Control. He then radioed to it. He told it that he was on his way back to England. Paris Control duly acknowl¬edged. It advised him to turn twelve degrees west.
Sees storm clouds
He duly turned to that direction. Everything was going well. Paris was about 150 kilometres behind him. Then he saw the storm clouds. They looked like black mountains in front of him. He knew he could not fly up and over them. He didn’t know for a moment what to do.
Great flying problems faced
He decided to go back to Paris. But he also wanted to get home. So he took the risk and flew into the storm. He could see nothing outside his aeroplane. Everything was black. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. He looked at the compass. It was gone. He tried to contact Paris Control. But he couldn’t contact it too. He was lost in the storm.
Another aeroplane in those clouds
Then in the black clouds he saw another aeroplane. It had no lights on its wings. He could see it flying next to him in the storm. He was glad to see another person. He was saying to follow him. The author thought he was trying to help him. So he followed him. He flew for half an hour. He had fuel only to last for five or ten minutes. He began to feel frightened. Then he started to go down.
Saved and lands jsafely
Suddenly he saw that he was on the runway. He looked for his friend in the black aeroplane. He wanted to thank him. But the sky was empty. He went into the Control Tower. He asked a woman where he was. She looked at him strangely and then she laughed. She told that there was no other aeroplane except his.
Author’s great surprise
The author was wonderstruck to hear it. He wondered who had helped him to arrive there. He was without a compass or a radio. He did not have enough fuel also in his tanks. Who was the pilot on the strange black aeroplane flying in the storm without lights ?
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