RUTH Wilson flew a hot air balloon over the Swiss Alps at night as a 75-year-old, she learned to fly an aeroplane at 55, she has worked in the corporate world and brought up a family.
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Now at 81, the Corlette retiree is being honoured with one of the greatest accolades.
The hot air balloon pilot has been awarded an Order of Australia medal (OAM) in the Kings Birthday Honours for her service to hot air ballooning.
After 49 years of aviation, she says it's the perfect opportunity to reflect on her achievements.
"While my heart and soul is still in the sky, my head and my feet are on the earth this year, so winning this recognition has just helped me get over the grief of walking away from flying," she said.
Ms Wilson was born in North Queensland and has had homes in the United States, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.
It was in New Zealand where she found her destiny to be a balloonist while working as a journalist in 1975.
"I was looking for interesting people to interview for magazine stories and I was introduced to one of only two balloon pilots in New Zealand. He took me on my first balloon flight and as soon as I stepped into the basket I knew I had found my destiny," she said.
Within a matter of months she had her first sponsored hot air balloon and well, the rest is history.
"I've been in the air ever since - 49 years - that's half my life," she said.
"I'm grateful and privileged to have found my passion and my purpose in life."
Ms Wilson was the first national hot air ballooning champion in 1979, she has competed in the Gordon Bennett champions flying 13 hours non-stop from New Mexico to Durham and Oklahoma in 1999 and again in 2018 where she did 17 hours from Bern, Switzerland to Pordenone, Italy.
In 2002 she was inducted into the Australian Balloon Federation Hall of Fame.
"I've been blessed to experience hot air ballooning as a private pilot, a competitive pilot, a commercial pilot and I've been heavily involved in governance of the sport," she said.
"That feeling I got from lifting off was like severing my ties with earth and all the earthly responsibilities that we carry daily."
"... and then the freedom of standing in an open wicker basket and seeing the beauty and joy of nature in a 360-degree view is just the most magical gift a balloon pilot can have."
Some of her ballooning achievements include flying 4000 feet at night for the World Record Night Sky Jump in 1989, she was an Australian representative in the World Hot Air Ballooning Championships in 1981, 1983, 1987 and 1989. She also placed third in the inaugural Ladies World Hot Air Balloon Championships in 1990.
But after almost half a century of being in the basket, Ms Wilson has made the decision to hang up her flying gloves.
"The 4am wake up calls don't hold the joy for me anymore, the other thing is I'm drawn more to extreme ballooning like flying over the Swiss Alps at night, that challenge that's bigger than floating around vineyards," she said.
She realised at 75 years-old while in pitch black darkness while flying 15,000 feet in the sky peering at the alps over her basket, that she's got a story to tell.
"I'm looking down and I'm thinking Ruth what are you doing here? You're 75 years-old. So I came back from that flight, COVID hit and I sat down at the computer and I wrote my book," she said.
She published Conquering Clouds which she says is a reflection of her journey both in the sky and on the ground.
"I think I've always been so busy doing, that I never had a chance to tell anybody about it," she said.
And now that she has time to reflect, she can see that she's been a pioneer for women in aviation.
"I've certainly been the first woman over the years but I never played the gender card. My granddaughter has helped me to be more aware of the fact I've done these things as a woman," she said.
"It was a gift and it's my talent. I was born to do it."
She encouraged people to pursue their dreams and find something they are passionate about.
"If you can find something you love, do it because the money will come ... and when you're leaving this planet, it's not how many millions you have or how many houses or cars you own, it's where did you find the joy in your life?"
Ms Wilson plans to celebrate her OAM with close friends over for lunch and one of her sons who is visiting from Sydney.
Alanna Tomazin
Alanna is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on education. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at alanna.tomazin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Alanna is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on education. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at alanna.tomazin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
