Man Among Mavericks: A Magnificent Man in his Flying Machine - The Storyof Lester Brain

Description

Who on earth was Lester Brain? Neil Cadigan came across this little-known aviator who changed the face of Australian aviator history. Here was a man who was one of Australia's true pioneers, not like the flamboyant flying men Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, Bert Hinkler or the Smith brothers. Grabbing a long-forgotten transcript of an interview with Lester, Neil set off on a journey following the path of Lester Brain, traversing the unpredictable terrain of Australia, visiting places like Broome, Alice Springs, Camooweal, Cloncurry, Brisbane and Longreach. He discovered a man whose amazing flying adventures read like a boy's own annual. From prospecting for gold reefs in the Tanami Desert to rescuing the hapless aviators Anderson and Hitchcock, whose aircraft, the Kookaburra, went missing while searching for Kingsford Smith and Ulm. In 1929, Lester was rated the best aviator in Australia, taught many of the country's greatest pilots, rescued survivors during a Japanese attack on Broome during World War II, took the controls for inaugural mail and flying-boat services for Qantas, and contributed more towards the world-renowned safety record of Qantas in its formative three decades than any other aviator.

Neil Cadigan is a respected rugby league and sports journalist with 30 years' experience. He is the co-author of The Two of Me with Andrew Johns. Neil is based in Sydney.

Australian history/Aviation/Sport/Biography