Lesley Crowther-Scott

A child of the 1940s, Lesley was removed from school against her wishes and sent to work to support her family, but she never forgot her childhood dream of becoming a pilot.

While working six days a week and looking after her own family, Lesley used her precious nights and Sundays to study and take lessons. At the age of 35, flying became her escape and her one true love. Estrangement from her husband and children was the price she paid to touch the clouds.

With a flying career spanning 40 years from her first lesson to her retirement at 73 as Australia’s oldest female pilot, in Up There, Lesley shares her bigger-than-life story with characteristic honesty and irreverence.

Lovers, friends and enemies form the amazing array of characters that populate Lesley’s life as she recounts her memories of living and flying in over 15 countries. Working for the Red Cross and United Nations in regions where war and civil unrest make daily life dangerous, she recalls her hair-raising African adventures – from being shot at mid-air in Angolan skies to fending off an attempted robbery in its streets.

A straight-shooting Australian working in a male-dominated industry, Lesley has always fought against injustice with humour, resilience and compassion. Her no-nonsense stance has occasionally cost her jobs and relationships, but she has gained a wealth of life lessons and sensational stories that will delight the next generation of pilots and adventurers alike.