The Christen Eagle was the most beautiful little airplane Buzzy had ever seen. He had often watched the Eagles darting about the clouds, their rainbow paint shining in the sun as they snap rolled and spoke to each other with their roaring engines.
They would point their noses down and dive into the clouds and dissapear, and just when Buzzy thought they had gone, there they were again, looping high above him and looking like they might never come down.
Yes, being an Eagle would be the most wonderful thing in the world!

But Buzzy was just a little Cub, and growing up to be an Eagle wasn't going to be easy. He was having an awful time trying to get all his parts to work properly!

Buzzy's mother and father told him to be patient, that in time, and with a lot of practice, he would grow and learn, and everything would be fine. But Buzzy was in a hurry. He wanted to be an Eagle right now!

One day, while he was flying along practicing his Dutch rolls, stalls and spins, Buzzy noticed a group of planes hanging around an old abandoned hangar near the edge of the airport. He didn't recognize anyone from the air and so he landed and taxied up to them.

The hangar was dark and dirty. In the shadows he could see planes that looked broken and uncared for. It wasn't a very pleasant place and Buzzy recalled his parents warnings to stay away from this area of the airport.

But it was too late to worry about that now because rolling up beside him came two sleek, black, growling airplanes, and even though he had never met them before he knew who they were.

The Pitts brothers were the bad boys of the local airways. They had been known to lie, cheat and steal, and were the biggest bullies around. Most of all, they hated Eagles!

"Well look what we have here" said the nearest brother, "It's Buzzy, the wannabe Eagle!"

"Don't look like no Eagle to me" said the other brother, "Looks more like a baby chicken!"

They laughed, and Buzzy wished he could turn and take off, but his little engine just would not start.

"Hey little chicken" growled one of the brothers, "we've got something that will make you fly just like a grown up Eagle, wanna try some?"

Buzzy was scared. He had heard about things you could put in your gas tank that would make you feel like you were flying higher than ever before. His parents had warned him about them and the people that sold them. But he knew some of his friends had tried the stuff and it didn't seem to have hurt them.
And he did so want to fly like a real Eagle.

The Pitts brothers kept on bugging him, urging him to try the "Magic" flight gas, and all the other planes around the hangar were watching and calling to him to "Give it a try!"

And so Buzzy said yes, and they filled his tank with the strange mixture.

His engine started immediately, and he thought it had never run so fast!

He pointed his nose into the wind and was in the air in half the time it usually took.

He was climbing now, almost straight up, and it seemed he could fly all the way to the sun if he wanted to!

He was looping and rolling, and climbing and diving, and he felt like he could do anything, that nothing could stop him.

His little engine was racing now, "One more dive" he thought, "to build up speed for that outside loop."

Down he came, faster and faster, nearer and nearer to the ground till he pulled up his nose and pointed it toward the sky again.

And then it happened, his overworked motor quit, his propeller stopped turning and and he wasn't going up anymore. He was spinning out of control and heading very quickly for the ground!

Buzzy was in the repair shop for three days before he woke up. He had broken his wing and crushed his landing gear. His prop was bent and his engine was still not running smoothly. He was lucky to be alive!

His parents and brother were at his side looking very tired and worried. They didn't scold him or give him a big lecture about what he had done. They thought he had learned his lesson.

And he had!

He understood now that there was no quick and easy way of reaching your goals, that practice and hard work were the keys to success.

He also knew that he would never again use any "Magic" potions to make himself feel better or do things more easily, no matter who tempted him to do so.

Life and flying were all the highs Buzzy needed!

Buzzy grew up to be a fine Christen Eagle. He flies every day, and most of the time you will see him with the new young Eagles, teaching them the lessons he has learned, and helping them fly a straight course.