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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 Australias true pioneers, not like the flamboyant flying men Charles Kingsford Smith,MoreWho 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 Australias 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 boys 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 countrys 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. A Man Among Mavericks: The Story of Lester Brain by Neil Cadigan
