Despite his age and a heart condition Hilton Ashton, a 66-year-old retired stock broker and Ballito resident, has achieved his life-long ambition to become a pilot.
“I am an adventurous character and I need a challenge,” said Ashton, who completed a 15 500 km ride across Australia on a motorbike back in 2008 – only five years after he had a pacemaker fitted for a heart condition in 2003.
With the stringent flying regulations in place, Ashton said that he did not continue his flying pursuits as he feared his pacemaker would be a problem.
So he put his dreams on the back burner but the desire to fly never left.
In September last year Ashton took up the challenge once again, contacting Dave Daniel at Come Fly, located next to the Mvoti toll plaza, for assistance.
“I have always wanted to fly,” said Ashton, and after passing his medical in September last year and logging 55 hours of fly-time, he was awarded his national pilot’s license (NPL) on May 14.
Now that he has the freedom to spread his wings, he plans to soar up and down the Dolphin Coast in the Foxbat light aircraft he owns with a partner.
He also aspires to take his love for aviation to new heights by flying over the Namib Desert and the Okavango Delta sometime in the not-so-distant future.
“I will fly as long as I can,” said Ashton, who said his greatest passions in life are golf, his motorbike, his aeroplane and, saving the best for last – his wife, Da.
“I cannot be happier than I am right now, and it is because of my wife.”
Ashton believes firmly that anyone can achieve anything they set their minds to, and to all those out there with a desire to fly, he has simple advice: “Follow your heart and follow your passion. It might be difficult, but it can be done.”
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