The twenty-second episode of TaleSpin.
Baloo goes to F.L.A.P. to get his pilot's license renewed after he discovers it's expired. However, getting a license is much easier said than done when he discovers that his instructor is Ralph Throgmorton, who is extremely meticulous and insists on having things done in alphabetical order. Meanwhile, Shere Khan hires Don Karnage to fake a fuel shortage so that he can raise gas prices.
This episode provides examples of:
- Ambiguously Evil: While Shere Khan is a ruthless individual who mainly seeks money and power, has a sense of honor, and generally doesn't cross the line, he does have his more outright crooked moments. In this episode, he collaborates with Don Karnage to fake an oil shortage so that he can overprice his fuel.
- Arson, Murder, and Admiration: This line from Throgmorton afer Baloo saves them from Karnage and the Air Pirates by performing his Pelican Dive:Throgmorton: What you did was A. absolutely terrifying, B. breathtakingly scary, and C. C... quite simply the best flying I've ever seen!
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: Throgmorton yells at Baloo for his dangerous flight maneuvers, but finally admits that they saved them from Karnage and his Air Pirates, so Baloo gets his license back.
- Bland-Name Product: The name of Shere Khan's gas company in Khanoco, a spoof of Sunoco.
- Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: After failing his pilot's test, Baloo tries to get his mind off of Throgmorton by applying for a new job that doesn't require a pilot's license. Unfortunately, in every job he applies to, he runs into either Throgmorton or his granddaughter, Kathy, both of whom insist he do his jobs alphabetically, confusing him and getting him fired.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: While Khan typically averts this trope, he falls into this territory in this episode by faking an oil shortage with the help of Don Karnage in order to overprice the fuel.
- Driving Test: This episode involves Baloo having to retake his piloting test when he finds out his pilot's license has expired. Unfortunately, he gets Ralph Throgmorton, an instructor who has caused problems for him in the past, and whose teaching method (using the alphabet to illustrate his points) invariably puts Baloo in a panic. It gets worse when Baloo attempts to work other jobs, only for Ralph or his granddaughter Kathy to show up and try to instruct Baloo on the finer points of the job (which he seemed to do fine up to that point), only to cause Baloo to panic again.
- Elevator Buttons Mash: Baloo does this during his tenure as an elevator operator at a department store due to Ralph and Kathy Throgmorton confusing him.
- Elevator Floor Announcement: Baloo does this when he works as an elevator operator in a department store.Baloo: Second floor, ladies' lengerie. Third floor, cribs and bibs.
- Formerly Fit: A flashback in this episode reveals that Baloo was skinny when he was young.
- Fun with Acronyms: F.L.A.P. stands for the Federal Licensing Agency for Pilots.
- Good News, Bad News: Baloo fails his pilot's test around the same time that Khan raises gas prices. When Baloo returns to Higher for Hire, this exchange occurs between him and Rebecca:Baloo: Do you want the good news or the bad news?
Rebecca: Let's get the bad news over with.
Baloo: Fine. Gas prices went higher.
Rebecca: I know that! What's the good news?
Baloo: You won't need any gas, cause' I can't fly; no license! - Hydrant Geyser: In a flashback, Throgmorton's instructions confuse Baloo, causing him to crash his car into fire hydrants. This happens again in the present day when Baloo attempts to fly the Sea Duck for him.Baloo: But look on the bright side, teach. You got a free car wash!
- Mythology Gag: Twice in this episode, Baloo uses the phrase "Bare Necessities", a nod to the eponymous song from The Jungle Book (1967).
- Pig Latin: Throgmorton considers using the Sea Duck's radio to alert the authorities of the Air Pirates, only for them to shoot the radio down. Baloo tells him "Ix-nay on the adio-ray!"
- Running Gag: Baloo telling Throgmorton "You left out moronic." when Throgmorton insults him for messing up. At one point, when the Sea Duck runs out of gas due to Baloo checking its flap adapter instead of its fuel gauge when he got to F, he asks Throgmorton, "Can we cut to moronic and get on with this?"
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Throgmorton commandeers the Sea Duck to escape from Karnage's hideout, since he's the only one with a pilot's license. When he and Baloo are under attack by Karnage and his Air Pirates, Baloo takes over the controls, regardless of whether or not he has a license, to perform his Pelican Dive and evade the pirates. This act of heroism earns him both Throgmorton's admiration and his pilot's license.
- Singing Telegram: When Khan's plan to raise gas prices succeeds, Khan orders his assistant, McWhirtley, to send a telegram to Karnage congratulating him on the highjacking. When McWhirtley arrives at Karnage's hideout, Karnage asks McWhirtley if he will sing the telegram for him, and McWhirtley tells him he can't, as it doesn't even rhyme. Karnage then holds McWhirtley at swordpoint, telling him to make it rhyme and sing it, which McWhirtley does. At the end of the episode, when Khan's plan is foiled by Baloo, Khan orders McWhirtley to send Karnage another telegram. McWhirtley asks Khan if it should be a singing one, but Khan tells him, "Not this time". The telegram Khan has McWhirtley send Karnage is an explosive that explodes when Karnage opens the envelope.
- So Much for Stealth: When Baloo tries to take one of the stolen oil barrels back to the Sea Duck without being detected by Karnage or his Air Pirates, Throgmorton tells him to roll the barrel through his alphabetic instructions. This results in the barrel rolling away and Mad Dog overhearing it, leading to the Air Pirates attacking Baloo and Throgmorton.
- Trrrilling Rrrs: Discussed; when McWhirtley arrives at Karnage's hideout, Karnage refers to himself as "Don Karrrrnage!, roll the 'R'."
- Villain Team-Up: While Shere Khan and Don Karnage are usually enemies in the series, Khan does hire Karnage to cause an oil shortage so he can jack up gas prices in this episode.
- You Have Failed Me: At the end of this episode, after Baloo foils Khan's plan, Khan orders McWhirtley to send Karnage an angry letter that explodes.
