- "Mistakes, they can help you grow and change. It's all part of earning your wings."
- — Big Jake
Jay Jay has finished his flight training and is about to face his first delivery route alone, but upon waking up early before doing so, he ends up falling asleep when he lands. Jay Jay learns from Big Jake that anyone can make mistakes, which helps him correct the route and get it done in time.
Plot[]
One spring morning, Jay Jay and Herky are helping Brenda with her flowers when Jay Jay notices something on one of them. He assumes it to be a worm, but Brenda takes one look and recognizes it as a caterpillar. Jay Jay still thinks it's a worm, and Brenda says it won't be one for long; as one day, it will be able to fly alongside him. Jay Jay is skeptic, as worms can't fly, but the caterpillar will when it grows up. Brenda realizes it's getting late and reminds Jay Jay he's going to miss his training flight with Big Jake, and he leaves to find him.
Jay Jay finds Big Jake and tries to apologize for being late, but he stops him to say something. He tells him since their training flights have been going well, he decides he's ready for a delivery route of his own. He suggested that to Brenda, but he won't be ready for it until after a few more training flights. Jay Jay is excited, and begins working hard to learn.
Big Jake takes Jay Jay to Sandy Landing, which is the scene of the delivery route. There, he meets Captain Wentworth, who he'll be delivering supplies for. She says to him that something tells her they're going to be friends, to which Jay Jay agrees. As the days pass, he continues to train really hard for the delivery, but after each flight, he goes back to the hangar to check on the caterpillar. Even though it's getting bigger, he still doesn't see any wings yet, but Brenda informs him he will some day.
The flight training continues on, and soon came the day of Jay Jay's last training flight, as tomorrow was going to be the day he was going to fly his very own delivery route.
No sleep before early flying results in sleeping on the job, and Jay Jay is unable to make it.
That evening, Jay Jay was so excited that he can hardly sleep, and was awake long before sunrise. He takes off and arrives at Sandy Landing, just in time to see the sun come up. Wondering what it looks like on the beach, he decides to land there before going to meet with Captain Wentworth later on.
Seconds after landing though, Jay Jay began to feel sleepy due to the sleepless night and early flight. Eventually, he falls fast asleep and forgot about the delivery in turn. When he awakens a few hours later, he realizes he's going to be late for the delivery and tries to move, but he can't due to his engine being waterlogged from the wet ocean air. Captain Wentworth, who is impatient, believes Jay Jay decided not to fly this run and announces it's time to ship out, and it sails away while Jay Jay watches in sadness.
Jay Jay learns he can learn from mistakes.
Back at the hangar, Jay Jay finds out the caterpillar he was checking on is seemingly "gone", as Big Jake arrives. Upon learning about what happened, Big Jake informs that the caterpillar isn't gone, but inside the cocoon. Jay Jay assumes he's hiding and wants to hide in there with him, and tells Big Jake the whole story about missing his delivery. Big Jake shows him that the caterpillar isn't hiding, but changing, as he's growing up. Jay Jay is also already doing something to grow up: every day he learns new things. He then informs him to go to bed early, as he's still on the route. In addition, mistakes will help him grow and change, which is part of him "earning his wings", like the caterpillar. The next day, Jay Jay handled the delivery perfectly and he and Captain Wentworth became friends.
Jay Jay has earned his wings, both learned and as a reward.
Days later, Jay Jay had received a big surprise. Upon being congratulated by Big Jake, Brenda presents him with his very first "Wings", which is a certificate of award for what he did. Big Jake is happy he earned them, and Jay Jay celebrates this.
"Come fly!"
Later on, Jay Jay got an even bigger surprise when he went to go check on the caterpillar. By the time he reached the plant where it was on, the cocoon he was in had opened, and is now a butterfly. Jay Jay realizes that Brenda was right and he did grow wings, and follows behind, saying he earned his wings too. The last scene is Jay Jay flying through the air while singing a happy song, the butterfly flying alongside him as Brenda promised.
Quotes[]
Characters[]
- Jay Jay
- Herky
- Big Jake
- Brenda Blue
- Captain Wentworth (debut)
- Tracy (cameo)
- Snuffy (cameo)
Locations[]
- Tarrytown Airport
- Main Hangar
- Kids' Hangar
- Sandy Landing
Trivia[]
- Morals:
- It's important to learn from mistakes; that way you'll grow up smarter.
- Don't stay up too late on the day before something important.
- Captain Wentworth's first appearance and her only appearance in the TLC era until Tuffy's Trip To Pangabula.
- This episode revolves around Jay Jay.
- A storybook adaptation is based on the episode.
- In addition, a PC game is based on the episode. Debi Derryberry, Sandy Fox, Julie Renick, and Chuck Morgan reprise their roles in it.
- Snuffy and Tracy appear briefly, but they do not speak.
- The phrase "earn your wings" means to reach a goal or make something successful.
- It's not to be confused with an alternate, controversial meaning which means to give oral sex to a woman going through menstruation.
- Moral: We all make mistakes and they can make us grow every day when we learn from them
- A clip from this episode appears in "TV with Herky".
Christian Dub Edits[]
The following lines were redubbed when it was shown on the Christian VHS release:
Goofs[]
References[]
Gallery[]