Private Plane

Plot

The episode opens with an artillery attack disturbing Blackadder's rest; he considers it futile because "Jerry is safe underground". When an air raid begins, Blackadder leaves an angry message for the Royal Flying Corps, only to learn it was a display by the Flying Corps. Squadron Commander Lord Flashheart crash lands in the trench and punches Blackadder, mistaking him for a "Boche". Baldrick and George are impressed by Flashheart, but Blackadder is not. Flashheart offers George a place in the Flying Corps; Blackadder becomes interested upon hearing of the "Twenty Minuters" squadron, named because new pilots spend only twenty minutes in the air. At Staff HQ, Blackadder attempts to transfer to the Flying Corps; Captain Darling tries to prevent it, but General Melchett allows it. At basic training, Blackadder discovers the flight instructor is Flashheart and that the squadron's name actually refers to the twenty-minute life expectancy of new pilots. Darling tells Blackadder he will be fine with a good navigator, but the navigator is Baldrick. Shortly after takeoff, Blackadder and Baldrick are shot down and captured by Baron von Richthofen, who wants to learn British humour. He tells them they will teach home economics to young German girls in a convent outside Heidelberg, a fate Blackadder secretly welcomes. George attempts a rescue with Darling and Melchett but is told it is pointless; they show him a life-size model of recaptured land measuring seventeen square feet. George recruits Flashheart, who rescues Blackadder and Baldrick. Blackadder feigns injury, but Flashheart forces him out. Richthofen appears and speaks of nobility; Flashheart shoots him and calls him a "poof".